t-rex calci-sand

[mleary]

Currently I have my leo's substrate as repti-carpet. I am planning on moving him into a larger cage and while I was at it, I wanted to create a more natural looking habitat.

I was thinking about using slate rock with a little bit of sand packed in between the spaces. I saw this brand of sand called t-rex calci-sand. It is a calcium based sand that says it is ok in small quantities and can even be beneficial. 100% digestible.

He already has a dish of calcium powder and with me only using a small amount of sand to pack in between the spaces, do you think this will be safe?

 

[cat_named_noodles]

If your gecko is a juvenile, I wouldn't recommend it. Maybe wait till he/she's full grown. If your leo if full grown already, it's probably ok, especially if you feed feeders in a dish, there's little chance of ingesting the sand. You could always grout between the tiles and push sand into the top of the grout-no chance of ingesting the sand, but then the tank may look more like a kitchen floor..lol..

 

[rglove]

The sands aren't all good. Calcium sands are less better than normal sands because some leopard geckos like the calcium and try the sand and continue eating sand because like the calcium.
Paper towels are the best.

 

[Allee Toler]

It should be fine as long as you keep a calcium dish, he's fully grown, and there's minimal sand exposure.

When there's calcium in the sand, their instincts tell them to eat it. Try finding a sand without calcium in it.

 

[cat_named_noodles]

To my knowledge, the T-Rex stuff isn't 100% Calcium carbonate (also called Aragonite; this is the calcium in most Reptile calcium supplements). There is one I know of that's supposed to be 100% Calcium carbonate in round grains. I don't endorse it, haven't used it and I don't know anybody who has, but I imagine it would be the safest thing out there if you're going to use sand. It's labeled to "significantly lower the risk of impaction." Reptile Sciences™ - All Natural Products for Your Reptiles' Health

 

[Kichi]

I personally would not recommend using the T-Rex calci sand. I've had bad experiences with it with other desert type lizards. The bags I've had were smelly, chalky, and the retpiles didn't seem to enjoy it.

I'd try using another brand. My local petstores offer a brand from Zoo Med called Repti Sand. It doesn't have added dyes or chemicals. I've never used it, but it'd be the brand I would recommend, as I use their aspen bedding and various other products.

 

[rglove]

All the sands cause impaction. The people say that is digestible but thats not correct to say. That can be digestible to a big animal like an iguana, DB and can't to a little animal like a leo.

 

[matias]

All the sands cause impaction. The people say that is digestible but thats not correct to say. That can be digestible to a big animal like an iguana, DB and can't to a little animal like a leo.

Wierd that there are still leo's in wlid huh?
sinds in my mind there is sand in pakistan...:roll:

Sand is never digestible, but it just passes trough the digestive system.

In my opinion the impaction thing is a bit overrated.:?
As you forsee in enough calcium supplement gecko's wil not eat ecces sand.
They only will take bits by grabbing food. No problems there.
I keep all my leo's on papertowels for easy cleaning. I have never had problems with normal sand.

 

[rglove]

Wierd that there are still leo's in wlid huh?
sinds in my mind there is sand in pakistan...:roll:

In pakistan have clay and rocks, not sand.

Sand is never digestible, but it just passes trough the digestive system.

Wrong! Leopard geckos are small, and have a small and not preparated digestive system and the sand passes trough the digestive system but anything stays there and that cause impaction.

In my opinion the impaction thing is a bit overrated.:?
As you forsee in enough calcium supplement gecko's wil not eat ecces sand.

This is wrong too. The calcium supplement will reduce the risk of getting impacted but dont exclue that.

They only will take bits by grabbing food. No problems there.
I keep all my leo's on papertowels for easy cleaning. I have never had problems with normal sand.

...

 

[Allee Toler]

Actually, they put the calcium in the sand to help reduce the chances of impaction, but it's the opposite. The gecko will eat it more if there's calcium in it.

I say don't do sand on the whole tank. I have sand in mine (corners, and cracks of the viv i made from grout) to help hold it in place and seal it.

 

[Spots1230]

Paper towels are the best in my opinion.

 

[hyposhawn]

I would not reccomend sand at all but that's your call.

 

[lemonjello]

If you are ONLY USING SMALL AMOUNTS of sand to FILL SMALL SPACES between rocks there should be no worry at all. As long as you don't see him eating the sand on purpose he should be fine. A little sand every once in a long while won't hurt; it is kind of like the chitin in cricket's shells-- Not all that harmful.


Matias said:

"Wierd that there are still leo's in wlid huh?
sinds in my mind there is sand in pakistan..."


Actually, leopard geckos don't live on sand in the wild-- They live on rocks and hard packed dirt. There is little to no substrate in their habitats that is possible to ingest. While there may be small patches of sand here and there, sand is pretty tough to walk through (compared to rock/hard soil), so they tend to avoid it.

 

[matias]

Thank you, lemonjello. Then my information must be incorrect. However, in the past, breeders used sand as well. There must be sand between the cracks in Pakistan as well due to erosion.

@Allee Toler:
The purpose of the calci sand is that you use it in stead of normal sand. In addition to enough use of calcium suplements on the food. In this way, they will hardly lick the sand and if they lick the sand, it will be better digestable due to the fact that there is some calcium in stead of sand compared to normal sand. I don't think it matters that much.

@rglove:
I stated that sand isn't digestable because it isn't an organic material, so technically it is never digestable.
Offcourse you always have a risk that a gecko will become impacted, but if you dust your crickets with enough calcium, the risk will be smaller. The gecko has now no need anymore to lick sand.

Matias