question about cleaning ...

[crankypunk]

Hi everyone im new in here with a leo gecko named skooter i've had him for only 2 weeks now...
He is currently on cal-sand and i was wondering how do i go about cleaning his terrarium ???
up to now i been cleaning the poop everyday and washed the windows every friday with a moist cloth ... i was wondering if more then this should be done like taking out all the sand and cleaning ruffly everything then putting back everything ??

Also do i have to change the sand ever ??

Should i simply change to repti carpet to make it easyer ??

I have an UTH so im scared to take everything out and washing with water ( even if its unpluged i dont want water to cause any damage afterwards ..

so im a little confused can you guys/girls help a newbie out o>

[Matt.B]

With sand you can use a plastic spoon and spot clean but I recamend that you use something else. Repti-carpet needs to be washed in the washer so I would recamend either paper towel/newspaper or repticarpet with a piece of paper towel/newspaper in its pooping corner.
Matt

[Tim and Julie B]

Okay, first off congrats on the gecko! Now, to get to the main problems. Leopard geckos are not found in the desert. They live in dry scrub-lands and rocky outcroppings so it is best to maintain thier environment as such. Sand is not suitable, so yes you should change to something else (but not repti-carpet). If you would like a natural look use tiles. Your local home supply store will have a large selection to choose from and if you give them the inner dimensions of your tank they will cut the tile for you. The reason why repti-carpet is also bad is because geckos like to dig and scratch around and they can rip out nails on the carpet stuff. Honestly, whoever invented it should be kicked in the shins! lol

As far as the UTH and cleaning goes you can simply remove everything and using a damp sponge and a bleach/water solution(heavily diluted) wipe all the walls and floor down then rinse by pouring water into the tank a few times and then dump it out. You don't need to submerse it to get it clean:D

If you decide that you don't like the idea of tile, you're better off using paper towel or blue shop towel. It's very inexpensive and can be cleaned by discarding every couple of days! Much easier than sifting through sand and digging up poopies.

Julie

[Reptile Kings]

There's a big "Cleaning and disinfecting" section on the Caresheet link of my website.
Take a look to get some good tips.
www.reptilekings.com
Hope this helped,
-Sam

[crankypunk]

so you mean only 1 big cleaning every 4-5 months and changing the sand should be fine ?

[Ixidor]

like she said you probably shouldn't use sand it is not their natural enviornment but it can also cause impaction when the geckos try to catch food or when they feel they need more calcium, over time it will starve your gecko and kill it, there is no cure......