Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I currently only have one leopard gecko. She has been on sand almost her whole life. I am getting a juvenile in september. When she turns 6 months old I am probably going to switch her to sand also. I have noticed that not many of the people on this forum use sand. I know everyone says it causes impaction, but I moniter it closley and feel I should be using it since that is what they are naturally found on. I was hoping I could get some people's opinions on sand. Thanks for any comments.

Here's my experiences:
Every leo that I have kept on sand (the so called "digestable sand" or not) has got an impaction. I don't know why they eat it, but they do. And they weren't babies either, they were full grown adults. I would never recommend sand as a substrate for a leopard gecko.

And a very interesting e-mail I got from someone who observed them in the wild (remember, some people refer to leopard geckos as fat-tailed geckos):
"The fat tail or leopard gecko is a common lizard in the stony countryside of
Pakistan. It inhabits rocky stony terrain, mudflats with sparse grass and
bushes, in mesic to xeric conditions. It is gregarious: several lizards live
in colonies in holes in the ground, under stones, and in crevices among
rocks, especially in stone walls demarcating fields or houses. The gecko
climbs several feet to return to its selected crevice. It selects a permanent
site which is shared with others. Nocturnal, it comes out just after sunset
and goes foraging around, returning just before dawn. At some places it is
semiarboreal. Its activity is restricted by environmental changes. Dry, cool,
and very windy weather inhabits its activities, and it mostly stays home; hot,
still, humid nights in rainy season bring it out in large numbers. It
hibernates from October to February, while in warmer parts of its
range hibernation may be delayed to November."

Notice he said nothing about sand at all. They don't live on it. And the other interesting things are that they live in groups and that they are semi-arboreal in the wild. Hope this helps people confused about what substrate to use!

Adam

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They dont naturally live on sand. They live on hard packed soil and rocks. Their feet arent made to walk on sand either, this is why thier feet sink into it. Use slate, as there is no risk with it and it is more natural for them.
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Josh
My Email

Thankyou for the comments. It is a shock to me that they don't naturally live on sand. That is what I have been told for years by breeders, books, online, and the petstore (which is not always reliable anyways.) Maybe it is outdated information, and has been labeled a bad substrate after I stopped researching. Well I will use this information to help me when I set up my 20 gallon long. Thanks again.
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3 dogs,1 cat,2 gerbils,1 fish,and one leopard gecko....well only for the moment!

My adult geckos are on play sand. They do not eat it. They DO, however, excavate burrows under their hides, with as much enjoyment as a gecko can be said to have.
There is no right or wrong on this issue, there simply isn't enough research done on it, yet.

Actually, they're naturally found on sandy, rocky soil, with grasses and other desert-adapted vegetation. Sand is, certainly, more natural than paper towels. My personal opinion is that if a gecko doesn't eat substrate, then sand is perfectly safe, and probably has psychological benefits which being kept on a flat surface they can't dig in does not have.

However, careful observation is necessary. I wonder at the high number of captive geckos demonstrating substrate-eating behavior which would surely be fatal in the wild, and my theory is that it may be a genetically linked behavioral disorcer. I intend to eventually work on proving or disproving that theory. Some geckos will eat substrate compulsively, develop an impaction, and die. Others will NEVER do this.

Hmm, have you observed them in the wild? From what you wrote, it sounds like you haven't. The guy who sent me that info HAS seen them in the wild and they do NOT live on sand. I'm not going to go by what some guy on the internet read in a book somewhere when I can go by someone who actually knows his stuff. And leos don't eat sand in the wild because there is no sand to eat! If there was, they would eat it and get an impaction just like ones in captivity do!
Adam
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I live in an arid grassland region, and there is plenty of sand around. Not pure sand, but sandy soil. And it's not all hardpacked. Obviously, leos like to dig, as well, to increase the size of hiding areas under rocks and such. I have directly observed them doing so. This loosens up the soil, even if it was originally packed, and if they were prone to eating loose sand or soil in the wild, they would die of impactions.

I'm going to have to assume that one arid grassland region is probably fairly similar to another, and that considering the fairly wide range of areas leos are found in, they do live in areas where they have access to plenty of loose sand and soil!

Again, I think this is all a big excuse people are using to avoid finding out whether captive bred leos have a genetically linked behavioral disorder that will need to be addressed in breeding programs. I guess it would be a big pain to actually care about that. Much easier just to keep them on paper towels or newspapers, and not have to worry about the issue. And stating that it's a fact that they don't belong on loose substrates makes it ok to ignore the potential problem.

I'm not buying it. I don't think that eating loose substrates is natural behavior for these animals, and I think the problem is in the captive breeding lines' genetics. My leos are industrious diggers. I very much doubt this is something they LEARNED to do.

You have no proof to back any of your statements up. Your argument that not allowing leos to dig is could cause a behavorial disorder is useless as there is no backup to this. When you can prove it, then you will have an argument as to why sand would be a better substrate than paper towels(or any other substrate that doesnt allow digging). But as of now, sand has been proven to be much more risky and can lead to more problems in leos than any "un-loose" substrate could.
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Josh
My Email

Wow, you took it from speculation into the realm of fabrication...

I never said that not being allowed to dig would cause behavioral disorders in leos. Where in the world did you get that one?

What I SAID was that I suspected that eating substrate to the point of impaction was a behavioral disorder, and not a natural behavior. And that it might be genetically linked, which would explain why some people can't put any of their geckos on sand for 3 seconds, while others keep their entire breeding collection on it with no problems.

Excuses for why geckos eat substrate are no less speculative, and are often touted as fact. For example "because they have a mineral deficiency". Even some geckos which have ample mineral intake will eat substrate, while others who don't never will. They DO have access to materials they could eat in the wild, yet it seems incredibly improbable that wild geckos would eat dirt until they die. Animals that did this would have been weeded out of the gene pool a very long time ago. Something else is going on.

My geckos aren't eating their play sand. I feel just find about using it with them, as a result, and they certainly seem to enjoy it. By that I mean they show behaviors they wouldn't have the opportunity to show if they were kept on a solid floor, such as digging to enlarge hiding spaces. This MIGHT reduce their overall stress level....no one has done any research into the longevity of geckos kept on various substrates, now have they? We do not KNOW.

To claim that other substrates are safer is to completely ignore the fact that geckos show behaviors on sand that they do not have the opportunity to show on paper towel. It ignores the possible psychological impact of their environment, and I simply think that people need to start actually doing some experimentation with this instead of becoming militant in their opinions, when they have no facts to back them up.

If you believe that all geckos may eat loose substrates, regardless of genetics, then you need to prove it, just as I need to prove that they don't. Right now, it's a matter of preference.

It is proven that geckos will eat loose substrates. How do you think impactions happen???? Also, in a previous post of yours, you said that you leos love to dig, and that it could possibly cause behavoral disorders when they are not allowed to dig.
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Josh
My Email

"I'm going to have to assume that one arid grassland region is probably fairly similar to another, and that considering the fairly wide range of areas leos are found in, they do live in areas where they have access to plenty of loose sand and soil!"

Personally, I'm going to listen to someone with personal experience over someone who just assumes things.

"And stating that it's a fact that they don't belong on loose substrates makes it ok to ignore the potential problem."

There is a potential problem, and then there is the problem we know is there. Leos do eat loose substrates, maybe not all of them but alot of them and I think that justifies them being kept off of that stuff.

Also I would like to add that I don't think paper towel is the best substrate, slate and other rock is.

Adam
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Again, if leopard geckos do not have access to soil in their native land, then why do they instinctively know how to dig to enlarge hiding spaces?

Even my leo will try to push itself under sticks and rocks that are in her cage, it's just in your case that they can move away the surface beneath them. Leos love to be scrunched in between two or more solid surfaces because they feel safer, and I believe this is why they would shove themselves in between two rocks, or in your case sand and rocks.
Adam
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