Recently purchased 2 Leopard Geckos and was wondering whats the best loose substrate. They are both fully grown geckos and are healthy. I see people say sand, then others say sand is bad. I also see people say eco earth, then others say eco earth is guarenteed death. I see people say coconut fiber, then others say that will kill them instantly. What do I go with? Im not a fan of paper towel or tiles, it doesnt look natural. I would like it to be as natural of an enviroment as it can be for them.
Best Loose Substrate?
- Thread starter Rocketeer
- Start date
There will never be consensus on substrates. It does seem to be pretty clear that hatchlings should not be on loose substrate and that calcisand is not a good choice. If you feel you really have to use sand, play sand is the best bet but it's far from a natural substrate for leopard geckos (they're not Lawrence of Arabia!). I have done well with eco earth in the one bioactive environment I had for awhile (now I have lightly textured beige ceramic tile and it looks fine). Here's a Gecko Time pair of articles about leopard geckos' native habitat and the resulting bioactive enclosure that the author built for them:
https://geckotime.com/holistic-design-in-bioactive-vivariums-leopard-geckos-part-1/
https://geckotime.com/holistic-design-in-bioactive-vivariums-leopard-geckos-part-2/
Aliza
https://geckotime.com/holistic-design-in-bioactive-vivariums-leopard-geckos-part-1/
https://geckotime.com/holistic-design-in-bioactive-vivariums-leopard-geckos-part-2/
Aliza
Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
What size enclosures have you? It's best to house all leos individually. PetCo may be having their frequent $-per-gallon sales right now. For a 20 long: 30 x 12 x 12 that's $20.
If you plan on going bioactive, an ideal size for each leo is a 40 gallon breeder about 36 x 18 x 17 inches tall. Those give you plenty space for a deep substrate.
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They are in a 30gal currently, its a 30 short so it's dimentions are 36" x 18" x 13.5" tall. Unfortunately we don't get the Petco sale here in Canada. Even used tanks can get pricey. The leos needed rehoming and have lived together for awhile they get along in the single tank. If I noticed fighting or any sort of hostility I would seperate them.
Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
What I've heard is ~70% organic topsoil to ~30% play sand.
Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
- What are these leos' genders?
- How many hides have you for them?
- Sometimes by the time hostility is evident, it's too late.
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How about leaving that for a discussion in another thread. This subforum is for substrate discussion. If the OP has other problems, they can start a thread in the appropriate subform. No need to bring up what's basically O/T, just because you think the info needs to be discussed.
Digs
Member
It’s usually recommended that topsoil without fertilizers be used. There’s Scott’s premium topsoil and ZooMed Reptisoil. For my leopard gecko’s bioactive I use miracle gro performance organics soil mixed with quickrete children’s play sand (50/50 mix I think). Miracle gro performance organics contains bone meal, soybean meal, feather meal, and sulfate of potash. I don’t know about using soils that have added fertilizers for enclosures that are naturalistic instead of bioactive though.
Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
Thanks so much for your feedback, Digs!
I believe that the "no-fertilizer" recommendation extends to both naturalistic or bioactive substrates.
Digs
Member
True, one reason being that keepers don’t want to take the risk of the fertilizers being dangerous to the reptile and the other reason is that added fertilizers could be too much for the plants in a bioactive enclosure. Miracle gro performance organics has fertilizers that are considered safe for reptiles and a member of a leopard gecko group I’m in used it for her dart frogs without any problems plus my weeping fig tree has new growth and is doing well.