N
nicolenadia
Guest
Hi All,
In the past 6 months, I had a breeding pair of banana blizzards die while being housed on the RED sand. At the time they were not in my care due to a house flood, so they went from paper towels in tubs, to a 10 gallon and red sand. It was an accident and I have learned from the mistake. It may have been from the dust the sand created, or for all I know, the female came with parasites. But Im thinking more on the lines of impaction. They both had the same M.O. they stopped eating and became lethargic, and before I knew it, they were dead. when the male died, it was a surprise because I had been syringe feeding him and he seemed to be doing better; gaining weight and more active. Then i woke up and he was dead. There were spots of blood on his paper towel, and blood coming from his mouth. I flipped him over and it almost looked like his stomach exploded internally. Impaction or life sucking parasite is about all I can think of, and I attribute this to sand. If anyone has any ideas on this, please let me know. I've only been keeping leos for 2 years now and I do not consider myself to be anywhere near an expert, but I learn all I can, and I have hatched a clutch and all 12 of my leos are doing great.
Anyways, if you know what your doing, than Im sure you do not use pet store sand anyways, or sand in general. But if you are new to this, stay away from ALL the colorful sand.
I have a very elaborate dessert 30 long tank with live cactus, succulents, rocks, caves and dwelling(egg laying) tupperware boxes buried through out. I mixed Home Depot play sand, which was baked, with vermiculite, organic potting soil and a river bed rock mix. It is all mixed up really good, and my plants are doing fairly well, though my plant lighting could be improved. I have one male and 3 females in the tank. They get along great and do not fight. They have enough room to spread out. There are more than enough dwelling for each of them. They have been doing fine for more than a year. When I feed them, they eat their worms from a bowl, so they do not ingest sand. They will eat pinkies right from the tongs.
So, I do have 4 leos on sand, but I keep a very close eye on them and dust is not an issue. I really think it is the colored sand that's a real problem.
Anyone had any similar experiences?
In the past 6 months, I had a breeding pair of banana blizzards die while being housed on the RED sand. At the time they were not in my care due to a house flood, so they went from paper towels in tubs, to a 10 gallon and red sand. It was an accident and I have learned from the mistake. It may have been from the dust the sand created, or for all I know, the female came with parasites. But Im thinking more on the lines of impaction. They both had the same M.O. they stopped eating and became lethargic, and before I knew it, they were dead. when the male died, it was a surprise because I had been syringe feeding him and he seemed to be doing better; gaining weight and more active. Then i woke up and he was dead. There were spots of blood on his paper towel, and blood coming from his mouth. I flipped him over and it almost looked like his stomach exploded internally. Impaction or life sucking parasite is about all I can think of, and I attribute this to sand. If anyone has any ideas on this, please let me know. I've only been keeping leos for 2 years now and I do not consider myself to be anywhere near an expert, but I learn all I can, and I have hatched a clutch and all 12 of my leos are doing great.
Anyways, if you know what your doing, than Im sure you do not use pet store sand anyways, or sand in general. But if you are new to this, stay away from ALL the colorful sand.
I have a very elaborate dessert 30 long tank with live cactus, succulents, rocks, caves and dwelling(egg laying) tupperware boxes buried through out. I mixed Home Depot play sand, which was baked, with vermiculite, organic potting soil and a river bed rock mix. It is all mixed up really good, and my plants are doing fairly well, though my plant lighting could be improved. I have one male and 3 females in the tank. They get along great and do not fight. They have enough room to spread out. There are more than enough dwelling for each of them. They have been doing fine for more than a year. When I feed them, they eat their worms from a bowl, so they do not ingest sand. They will eat pinkies right from the tongs.
So, I do have 4 leos on sand, but I keep a very close eye on them and dust is not an issue. I really think it is the colored sand that's a real problem.
Anyone had any similar experiences?
