[Kitchen]

Hey everybody!

I just got my new leo last night and it is currently in a small 5gallon untill I get his 20 set up. Which brings me to my question. I am putting him on a coco fibre compound that comes in brick from. So it had to be soaked first. My question is do I have to wait for it to be completly dry before putting him in? That would take a very long time. I just want to be safe and sure before I do anything.

Thanks,
Stephen

[CapCitySteve]

Stephen,
I use the coconut fiber also, but i only use it in the humid hide. My suggestion is to actually use news paper. paper towel, or for a more professional look, craft paper (4 bucks for a 20 ft role at office max or something similar) to line the bottom of the tank. And then use the coco fiber (moist) in a ziploc container with a hole cut out of the top in order for the Leo to climb in and get some humidity when he / she wants.

Leo come from a more dry climate and having the coco fiber covering the entirety of the tank has several disadvatages: 1. It will be to moist/humid as they like drier environments 2. harder to clean and will harbor the smell of feces when the gecko eliminates. Please refer to the leopard gecko care sheet on here or at LEOPARDGECKO.COM before setting up your new geckos tank.

Steve

[Kitchen]

I know that this substrate hold moisture but it does dry out very nicely. I used it for my cordylus lizards. And when it is dry it stays dry. I mainly want to know if it will hurt my gecko to put him in there while it is still wet. It will be wet for another day or so I would say.

[CapCitySteve]

ok cool, well in that case I don't think it will hurt. The heat will prolly help it dry faster. You can always wait if your concerned.

[Kitchen]

Just to be safe i am just going to go with something different. Better safe than sorry I guess. I am going to go with the sand/clay combo that some people have mentioned in the substrate forum I think.

Thanks again for your input.

[CapCitySteve]

Just my opinion, but i liked your first choice better. I have seen numerous Leos die from sand impaction.

[hyposhawn]

Originally Posted by CapCitySteve

Stephen,
I use the coconut fiber also, but i only use it in the humid hide. My suggestion is to actually use news paper. paper towel, or for a more professional look, craft paper (4 bucks for a 20 ft role at office max or something similar) to line the bottom of the tank. And then use the coco fiber (moist) in a ziploc container with a hole cut out of the top in order for the Leo to climb in and get some humidity when he / she wants.

Leo come from a more dry climate and having the coco fiber covering the entirety of the tank has several disadvatages: 1. It will be to moist/humid as they like drier environments 2. harder to clean and will harbor the smell of feces when the gecko eliminates. Please refer to the leopard gecko care sheet on here or at LEOPARDGECKO.COM before setting up your new geckos tank.

Steve

Actually Leos don't come from a complete dry climate. I know you know they come from the desert but they live in moist burrows in the under ground that aren't completely dry or 100 degrees like the hot sand above. That's why it's a better idea to keep the warm side not in the high 90's but inbetween 88-91. They rarely come out and when they usually do it is at night when it's like 60-70 degrees. A humid hide is a must especially when facing skin shedding. The humid hide SHOULD be on the warm side on the UTH when shedding because they want the nice temps to shed. So when they are shedding put a moist deli cup filled with lightly misted vermiculite or spaghum moss on the UTH and provide a cool hide as well.
Even though they like kind of damp enviroments they don't like complete and coconut fiber is not exactly the kind of substrate you want. Please switch to paper towels.

Oh yeah, humidity levels should be between 30-55. A humidity gauge is highly recommended.

[kinglion887]

Im a new leopard gecko owner also....I use paper towel as a substrate and i have a butter tub that I cut a whole in and I put paper towel in that tub and spray it down for humidity....I keep her warm side at about 88 to 91

[Martinotti Reptiles]

Why does he have to switch his geckos to paper? That's unnecessary. I don't see why he couldn't keep his gecko on coco bedding without problems. It can be completely dry, or moist, which makes it really perfect for maintaining different humidities. I really don't understand why paper is the prefered alternative to something more "natural," if not more native (not that coconut fiber is native to much of anything, but it's like dirt) unless you've got dozens of animals. And if he wants to use a hard-packed sand/clay mix then that's his perogative. Lots of people use it with great success.

To answer the question and the point of this thread, if it's really soggy then just leave it outside to dry. If it's just a little damp then there's really no issue. It tends to dry without fuss overnight.

[hyposhawn]

Originally Posted by Martinotti Reptiles

Why does he have to switch his geckos to paper? That's unnecessary. I don't see why he couldn't keep his gecko on coco bedding without problems. It can be completely dry, or moist, which makes it really perfect for maintaining different humidities. I really don't understand why paper is the prefered alternative to something more "natural," if not more native (not that coconut fiber is native to much of anything, but it's like dirt) unless you've got dozens of animals. And if he wants to use a hard-packed sand/clay mix then that's his perogative. Lots of people use it with great success.

To answer the question and the point of this thread, if it's really soggy then just leave it outside to dry. If it's just a little damp then there's really no issue. It tends to dry without fuss overnight.

You should use a dry substrate. It is not Ok to use damp substrate under most cases. Coco bedding is not suggested and it can't be compared to dirt. It hold in to much humidity. Humidity level is important and if not properly controlled it can lead to respiratory infections.