Thirsty?

[Kevin McRae]

I caught my female leopard drinking this evening so I thought I would show you this little cutie:)http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/60610_1_Adult_High-Yellow_Leopard_Gecko.jpg

[Matt.B]

Is that sand? I noticed its in the water and that is EXTREMELY dangerous. I would personaly go with paper towel or news paper but slate is a good alternative to.
Matt

[Kevin McRae]

Yep it sand............and the sand is not usally in the dish but some got in there..............I change it daily.

I know the "rish"i'm taking

[Kevin McRae]

"risk" I'm taking but thanks for your concern.

[Matt.B]

So you would rather have it look good than be safe? Im sorry but that is just not right.
Matt

[Kevin McRae]

Hmmmm, they have been on sand for over 3 years now.....and they have never been sick or stressed, so why change the lizards cage when they are perfectly healthy?

Thats how you prouduce stress.

[Kevin McRae]

people have different opinions....

[leo breeder]

hi m8.
there is an old saying if its not broke DONT fix it.(lol)
i keep all my adults on sand(have done for years now) and never had any problems(i keep all my babys on the paper towel for the first year.(or until they are adult size )

[Kevin McRae]

Yep thats the same thing I was going to do too, keep all adults on sand, and all babys off.

[herpslave]

Let him make his own mistakes. Some da he may get what he does not want...

[Kevin McRae]

Sand is a good substrate but it can be harmful but so can crickets.

You could but a cricket with your leo and overnight the cricket could bite the lizards eye(99.9% chance that won't happen but there is still that 00.1 chance it could). And your lizard could die from infection if not treated.

I will take my chances, I am sure they would rather be on sand than paper towel.

[Matt.B]

I sure they wouldnt. BTW if your leaving crix in over night then you obviosly dont know much on the care of leos. They dont live on sand in the wild they live on slate and clay so sand is both not good for them and not natural (I know paper towel isnt natural but its safe)
Matt

[leo breeder]

whats all this with the sand thing??
some people like it some dont (i do i have never had any problems i have been keeping leos for well over 10 years now on SAND)
let people make there own minds up what they want to use(i did an experiment 1 leo on sand 1 on paper i had more problems with the 1 on the paper ie bad sheds foot trouble missing crixs when feeding and eating the paper towel that one cost me 1 baby albino so dont try and tell me paper is any better than SAND.)
the best substrate is notrhing at all so why dont we just use that think about it its as save as houses!!!!!!(we put in what we want to make it look nice!!!!!)
i am now of my soap bow!!
have a nice day.

[latazyo]

adults are fine on sand...sorry everyone ruined your thread Kevin

[Kevin McRae]

Yah whats up with that?????

Thats a cool pic with the leos tongue out and people would rather comment on the sand?:p

[Matt.B]

Because sand is dangerous.Thats all I have to say
Matt

[Kevin McRae]

Yes you have mentioned that already and you pointed out that, thats all you had to say but your still writing.......

[CHRISANDBOIDS14]

Haha, this is funny.

Kevin: GREAT pic! Lol. Its not too common that people catch their herps drinking! Thanks for sharing!

C.

[latazyo]

Kevin, the reason so many people are posting is because that younger/inexperienced hunter leos may tend to take up sand with a bite of the prey

sand can cause severe impaction causing death, I had my young leo on sand and observed him actually licking up tongue-fuls of sand

his poops were obviously about 25% sand 75% food

I immediately changed him over to paper towels

I now keep all of my leos in a rack and for convenience they're on newspaper

I also used slate, which was my favorite display substrate for sure

the reason so many people post is because they hear it from someone else and feel the need to repeat it over and over again (as seen here)

as you can see, nobody bothered to gather any information about you or your setup prior to suggesting that sand it bad...for all any of us know you could be a professor or you could have taken the lizard out of your rack and put it in a display tank for photos or that you are a beginner...no one would know

but again, nice pic, and when it rains here it pours

[Kevin McRae]

I have never noticed my leopards licking the sand but I have a calcium dish in the cage and they enjoy it.

I don't know what I am classed as(begginer or what ever)but I have more than 5 years experience with reptiles, I have not had any babys but I do have eggs incubating.

Thanks for the comments

[bighillreptiles]

the old sying if not broke don't fix it nice pix only started keeping geckos and have mine on calsa sand by zoo med paul

[herpslave]

The point is: Sand is dangerous. I know people who have had there herps on calci sand for 8 years and not had a problem that they knew about. For all you know your leo could have minor sand impaction and not be showing many signs. But wouldn't you rather be safer then sorry. Some day your herp may suffer horribly to impaction. This will mainly be all your fault! Another thing is Leopard geckos are not native to walking on sand much. They prefer gravel, and rocky areas and spend most time there. The only time they would be on sand is when they are trying to find a place to sleep if there are no other rocky hides they can find. Or it is just baking outside and they need to cool off quickly in a hide, and lastly if they are really hungry... The point is your just Stubborn It does not matter if you are a professor or some bum that didn't even do his first year of highschool. This is probably one of the most dangerous substrates for a leo that is reccomended by pet stores... And you risking it is just not a smart thing to do.

[sketchy4]

:rolleyes:

[sketchy4]

Originally posted by Kevin McRae
Hmmmm, they have been on sand for over 3 years now.....and they have never been sick or stressed, so why change the lizards cage when they are perfectly healthy?

Thats how you prouduce stress.
youve had them for 3 years, yet you have to ask all of these questions that normally a new leo owner would ask. with three years under your belt you should know these things. that just kind of questions whether or not youve really had them that long. im not saying you havent, its just questionable.

Bottom line: sand can cause problem later in life.

[hooter]

Excuse me for my unknowledgeable approach to this topic as i do not keep or care for leos as of now. Wouldnt slate be hard to clean as in having to take out all the peices unless you have one big peice in there...

Sorry i know hardly anything of Leo care but i plan to read up very soon and get me a trio but is large smooth river rock a good substrate? I have seen many tanks with this and it looks natrual and probably nice for the leos to live on...

[BoidKeeper]

People it's his gecko and he came here to post a pic of it for us to see not for us to tare up. If you don't like what you see either post your concern once in a constructive way keeping cheap shots to yourself or don't post at all. Too many threads have been railroaded lately by people trying to tell other people how to keep their animals.
There is no further need to share any of your opinions on the dangers of sand to this person. He's heard it all already. This thread was not intended to be a leo husbandry thread so all of you that are trying to turn it into one can stop. We heard what you had to say and your comments have been noted.
Happy posting,
Trevor

[leoncurrie]

Hey Trev,
It's mods like you that make this site enjoyable to be a part of. Glad to see you sticking up for the guy that just wants to share his herps with everyone.

[latazyo]

hooter, 3 pieces of slate would be billions of times easier than cleaning 6000 river rocks!!!

you just lift them out, wipe them off and put them back in!!!

[Kevin McRae]

Thanks trev.....All I wanted was people too say cool tongue man......but I am not surprised as what has happened....