[OffshoreMetal]

Originally Posted by RawrBabee

Alright. I got a question. If i were to keep the calcium sand in the half of an inch layer in the tank, and just added the sand on top in a thick layer. Would that be okay so i dont waste the calcium sand or do i need to get the calcium sand out completely?

Leopard geckos like to dig in the sand so it wouls just mix it and its still not a good idea to have calcium in the sand. Playsand can be bought extremely cheap for a big bag. I bought a bag for my old tank wich used to house hermit crabs, It cost me 3$ and had enough sand to completely replace the sand in my 5g tank over 5 times.
The idea is to get sand that wont clump alot when wet, So if you leo end up ingesting some ( Can happen , Like if he miss a cricket ) then it would just pass trough.

[RawrBabee]

Have you guys ever had a problem with your geckos eatting a little bit of sand while catching crickets.

[OffshoreMetal]

Originally Posted by RawrBabee

Have you guys ever had a problem with your geckos eatting a little bit of sand while catching crickets.

Mine sometimes eat sand when missing crickets but thats not a problem at all. She's been doing this for over a year now and never had any problem. I have some Fine quartz sand , Doesnt clump alot when when so it just pass trough.

[Elizabeth Freer]

Originally Posted by OffshoreMetal

Mine sometimes eat sand when missing crickets but thats not a problem at all. She's been doing this for over a year now and never had any problem. I have some Fine quartz sand , Doesnt clump alot when when so it just pass trough.

Quartz sand is composed of rounded granules and is less likely to cause impaction! In my opinion, folks should stay far away from silica sand which is composed of sharp, pointy crystals, far more likely to accumulate in the gecko's gut. Silica sand can include the finest of beach sands. Still a "NO!" in my book. Check your sand out under a microscope if you have any questions.

[RawrBabee]

Originally Posted by OffshoreMetal

Mine sometimes eat sand when missing crickets but thats not a problem at all. She's been doing this for over a year now and never had any problem. I have some Fine quartz sand , Doesnt clump alot when when so it just pass trough.

I got just a plain bag of playground sand. Im sifting ALL of it at the moment. Just to get put and rocks or anything that shouldnt be in there. Like i said i have calcium sand in there right now. And that has been in there for about 2 or so weeks, and shes eaten some of the sand by missing crickets. As far as i know she isnt eating just becasue of the calcium. She has a calcium bowl and she usually licks that.

[Elizabeth Freer]

All playground sand is composed of silica crystals. There is a high possibility that the silica will accumulate in your gecko's gut and cause impaction.

OffshoreMetal says that he is using a fine quartz sand.

Once again, calci-sand is unsafe for your leopard gecko because of the possibilities of habitually licking calcium from the sand even though you have a dish of calcium for your gecko.

[RawrBabee]

Originally Posted by Riverside Reptiles

There are different opinions about using sand at all. I've been using it for 20 years with no problems. But pretty much everyone agrees that calci-sand is REALLY bad. That's why I suggested reading the substrate thread...so you can educate yourself and make your own decision on what's best for you and your animal.

My gecko is shedding right now. And she got some sand on her old skin i knew she was gonna eat. So i tried to get off as much sand as i could get off. Do you ever have a problem with that? Or when your gecko does shed does she end up eating sand too?