substrate for leos

[LISA127]

I was wondering if anyone could share their opinions on the best sand substrate for leos. I have been keeping leos for many years, but have never used any type of sand as a substrate. This is mostly due to so many conflicting opinions as to what sand is safe to use. Some people say no play sand, some say no calci-sand! Anyone want to share their ideas?

[Emily-Fisher]

I use paper towels. There is nothing bad about it....so why go against them? If that's your current substrate, I wouldn't switch no matter what people tell you :)

[Colonel SB]

I use cali-sand ground up with mortar & pestal. It looks good and they can digest it. For a note I feed them in a seperate container.

[Edwin]

I use paper towels, as I too have heard many different opinions on sand substrates. I believe that baby leos should be kept on paper towels, but can be switched to sand once they are over 6" in length.

Hope this helps.

[depressor86]

i use newspapers. easy to clean, cheap, safe.

[Clownfishie]

If you're going to switch to sand, IMO you should try to find a sand with a very fine grain -- while CalciSand is supposedly digestable, I know that there have been some tests that show it's not as digestable as they claim it to be. Personally, I've used ReptiSand without any problems -- fine grain play sand would probably be fine as well.
Please note that sand is not suitable for leos under 6" in length, longer would be better. Before my collection grew to the size it is now, I kept adults (10+ months) on reptisand, and younger animals on paper towel or newspaper. Now I just keep everyone on newspaper, because it makes maintenance a lot faster and easier... doesn't look as pretty, but it does the job :)

HTH
Jen

[drewlowe]

when i first started to keep leos i tried the calci-sand. I didn't like it. To many problems with it for me. I now use bed a beast. I know of alot of people who don't care for it. I love it though, Ive never had a problem with it at all. My thoughts on subtrate for leos.

[Samba]

I would use a product called 'Lizard Litter'. I mainly use paper towels, but if you can find this go with it! It's relatively inexpensive, doesn't mold, absorbs moisture and odor, is disgestable, and leos love it (well mine do anyways). I've found this substrate (which is a plant material... but not bark or shavings) has the most pros against the cons. It's easy to clean and looks great! I recommend this product with an outstanding 5 stars!!!! LOL =D

[Alicewave]

I refuse to use sand or any similar type substrate for a lot of reasons, they are not safe, not really anything close to their natural environment, and are messy. I used paper towels for safety and ease of clean up but I recently began using ceramic (or slate) tile. It's really nice. It's cheap, Home Depot will custom cut it for you, it looks REALLY REALLY cool, it's closer to the natural environment (rocky terrain) and holds heat really well.

[Blazin]

Paper!

[drewlowe]

Samba i have tried that lizzard litter you are talking about for my colony of leos( all adults over 2 years). I'll i had were problems from it. Within 2 weeks all they were pooping was lizzard litter. I keep a dish of calcium powder in there at all times. I had to immediatly remove the lizzard litter and within a month the poops were back to normal. But also people have to remember what works for one person may not work for another.

Alice wave i've kinda seen the slate enclosures, and i was wondering more about them. The cages i have seen they are in combination with paper towles, do you have to use in combination with them. If possible could you post a pic of your cage with it, so i can get a better understanding of slate. Or could i use it in combination with bed n beast.(even though i don't think it would look as nice with it.)

[Alicewave]

Here we go. I'll post pics of two different enclosures using slate.
Here is one of the Leopard geckos Mating. This slate has a slightly shiny coating which I don't like as much but Chris liked the colors of this tile.
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/949gecko_sex-med.jpg

This is a full view of one of my tanks using a moer matte tile:
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/949dcp_1556.jpg


When I have it cut I leave a little space so it's easy to pry up the tiles then I cover it with hides and stuff. This is also where I place the thermostat probe.
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/949dcp_1552.jpg


Here is a picture that really shows the texture of the tile:
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/949dcp_1551.jpg


I then put paper towel in the pooping corner. Thanks for looking. :)

[drewlowe]

Wow those are nice. Around how much did that cost and how big are your cages so i kinda have a comparison on how much it will cost me. Are they easy to clean. If need be can you take the slate out and clean and disenfect and reuse them. sorry i know it's alot of questions but i want to be prepaired if i do switch. hehe now all i have to do is try to talk my boyfriend into switching.

With that stuff it looks as if you wouldn't ever have to worry about impactation which would be wonderful. Can you use it for baby and juvi leos. (remember i have never used slate). I also have 1 75 gal, and 3 20 gallons i would have to convert. if i switched to this stuff.

By the way nice shot of mating. Every time i get the chance to get a pic they are done and over with right when i get the camera ready. I guess they don't want anyone else to see. LOL

Thanks for the help alicewave.

[damzookeeper]

Originally posted by Alicewave
Here we go. I'll post pics of two different enclosures using slate.
Here is one of the Leopard geckos Mating. This slate has a slightly shiny coating which I don't like as much but Chris liked the colors of this tile.
http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/949gecko_sex-med.jpg

I then put paper towel in the pooping corner. Thanks for looking. :)


Baha! Alice, that first picture is a porn pic. lol. Very cute and well done cages btw. I love the look of the ceramic tile. ;)

I use paper towel. I will never use sand. I used repti-carpet once too but it was a pain to clean and I was always afraid the geckos would catch their nails or teeth in the carpet when hunting.

[Samba]

Alice, (Meg) I love the slate look! I have designed a "toilet" you could use for the 'pooping corner'. I will post a pic when I can... I've found the geckos tanks easier to clean using this method!

DrewLowe, I'm sorry you've had problems with the Lizard Litter, but it is designed to be safe if consumed. Personally, I haven't had my leos eating too much of it, and I only buy it when I can afford it. (Here a 4 quart bag costs you $10.99). I do like it though and it has worked well for me. One of the things I like about it is that I can drop some mealies in there for the geckos to find later (which adds a little enrichment to their lives, I'm sure!)

Mostly I use paper towels, as it is inexpensive and easy to clean. On holidays we celebrate with the different designs with the paper towels. Oh, shut up, I know I'm corny! LOL

[Alicewave]

It's very cheap. At least here in the states each 12"x12" tile is about 2 dollars. Those are 20 gallon long tanks and it take two full tiles plus one cut to about 12x4.5". Measure your tank first though! Chris's 20 gallon wasn't quite 12 inches deep and we hat to have home depot shave about another half inch off each tile. But anyway, home depot cuts it for free so total substrate cost is about 6 or 7 dollars and it lasts forever! (Unless you drop a tile). The end piece that I have cut to 12x4.5 is so that it leaves enough space to pry up the tiles when I want to clean them. Hope this helps. :) glad you like the porn also.