planted vivarium?

that sounds very repetitive to me, but what's the best way to go about creating one? the kid is currently in a ten gallon, and i have decided that it is high time i step up my parenting game by purchasing a twenty long (at least). however, i'm one of those pet owners where everything needs to be aesthetically pleasing. the goal is to plant some nice succulents, but what is the most sanitary and best way to go about this? currently, i have a few in planters, but that's very boring. i want my gecko to roam a giant forest of plant matter. obviously, my concerns are of him digesting either the dirt/rock/sand that seems to be standard for having a planted geckabode. or worse, getting it in his eye (since his previous owners had him on sand, which has lead to him having a bad eye). any information would be greatly appreciated on which plants, what soil, and how to properly cover it up would be greatly appreciated.

It's really hard in my opinion to do a reasonable planted viv for leopard geckos because of the low humidity issue. Here's something to consider:
I keep one tank of leopard geckos on coco fiber mixed with a little sand and leaf litter (all the other leos are on ceramic tile). It's been working pretty well so far, though I keep it pretty dry. My fat tail geckos, who get misted daily, are on coco fiber in a planted tank. In my opinion, this may be a viable way to do a leo planted tank. It still involves putting plants in little pots, though you may be able to stick them right in soil. Bear in mind, I haven't tried this myself:

--use coco-fiber. Grade it so there's relatively little on the warm side so the heat will get through. I'd recommend putting a piece of tile on the bottom at the hot side so if they dig down through the coco fiber, they won't encounter the UTH directly
--get some small succulents in the little terra cotta pots. Bury the pots in the coco fiber on the cool side so the pots don't show. Most succulents like to be watered periodically after they've dried out. If you keep them in their pots, you can easily drench them and the water won't get everywhere in the tank. Obviously avoid succulents with thorns.

Good luck. HOpe it works.

Aliza

thanks, aliza. if i ever figure out what i want to do and actually attempt something, i'll let you know what happens. i did find a few people who did something similar to what you are suggesting, and it looks pretty dece. oh, if i wasn't so indecisive.