[Lizzylizard]

She is on a very fine sand, with some calcium sand here and there. She didnt really come out when I had felt down even though thats what she was use to. I am aware of impaction but so far she loves it and she is able to dig and move the sand around where she wants it.

[Elizabeth Freer]

Originally Posted by Lizzylizard

She is on a very fine sand, with some calcium sand here and there. She didnt really come out when I had felt down even though thats what she was use to. I am aware of impaction but so far she loves it and she is able to dig and move the sand around where she wants it.

Please remove any calci-sand. This is hugely NOT recommended ever.

Be sure you place feeders in a feeding dish to lessen the chance for your leo to get a mouthful of sand when he/she dives for a cricket. To keep crickets in a shallow feeding dish, cut off the back legs at the cricket's "knees". Impaction can happen at any age, though it is more prevalent in youngsters. Do you have a dish of pure calcium in the tank? Are you lightly dusting her prey? Cage temps?


PLEASE NOTE: To continue with Lizzylizard's thread see: nOOb to leos---habitat questions

[EsotericForest]

I work at Petco, and when people ask me what substrate to put their new leopard gecko on, I'm honestly at a bit of a loss. As soon as the question comes up, all the different points of view on the substrate starts running through my head and I have to pause and think for awhile. Most of the time I end up just suggesting reptile carpet just to be on the safe side...even though I think it looks like crap, and the leos seem to just hide under it most of the time so you never see them. I'm really hesitant to suggest any sand, and I never do for young leos. As I've mentioned before I have mine on a hard baked clay so they can't ingest it, but honestly 99% of the people I deal with don't want to put forth that kind of effort. I kept my leos on the crushed walnut shell substrate for over 8 years without any problems, so sometimes I will suggest that.

What do you think my safest suggestion should be most of the time? I know there seems to be exceptions to every rule, but I'd like a good rule of thumb from not only personal experience, but others as well.

Also, I recently had a lady ask if she could use the eco earth for substrate, thoughts?

[Elizabeth Freer]

My biases would be to recommend paper towels and/or slate tiles as a substrate AT LEAST till the gecko is 1 year old and the owner gets experience with geckos.

Would not recommend Eco Earth (cocopeat fiber) for the arid environment leos need.

There have been posts about leos getting their teeth and claws stuck in reptile carpet.

[EsotericForest]

So you see my dilema . I do suggest paper towel for the first year, but most people don't want to do that because it doesn't exactly look nice. I do tell them if they want to do sand they should at least wait until they're adults, and maybe feed them in a separate container so they don't accidentally ingest substrate.

[Allee Toler]

Originally Posted by EsotericForest

So you see my dilema . I do suggest paper towel for the first year, but most people don't want to do that because it doesn't exactly look nice. I do tell them if they want to do sand they should at least wait until they're adults, and maybe feed them in a separate container so they don't accidentally ingest substrate.

Their natural environment is mostly hard packed clay, rocks, and very little loose sand. I think you should suggest broken slate tiles with the edges sand papered. They look really nice and natural when you lay them in the tank. They're super easy to clean as well. Take out the pieces that they poo on, wash with hot water and soap, dry, put back. Even a beginner leo keeper can do this. Not to mention its significantly cheaper over time than sand (i.e. you don't have to buy more).

[Elizabeth Freer]

I believe that YOU are giving all the correct recommendations! The health of a gecko is far more important to me than looks! For those customers who need to be convinced further, share these links:
My dear Peach & Leo has sand impaction

[Ozymandias]

EsotericForest i have the same problem working at petstore. i find especially with parent doing this for the kids the vast majority of people aren't going to go out and get the extra stuff for there tank if we don't have it. thay just don't want to take the extra effort a bit sad but just the way it is. alot of times what i sell is Keepers Choice Bedding, it's basically cypress much but it's a hell of a lot better than sand.

what i wish my boss would do, would be to have a bin full of slate and ceramic tiles but i know he's not going to. i've mentioned this idea to him and he find it overly cautious and wont switch over. but till i own my own store i really cant change that and i give out all the advice i can.

[Riverside Reptiles]

@ Esoteric and Ozy...what you might consider doing is making a substrate handout to give to customers that describes both the ups and downs of various substrates for leos. There is no perfect solution to the substrate issue and besides, you can't force people to do anything anyways. The best thing that you can do is give them all of the information and let them make an educated decision for themselves.

[Ozymandias]

that's actually a good idea Ethen and i will probably make a write up. the one problem i'm going to have is getting my boss to let me hand it out, not sure what his reaction would be to this to be honest but will see.