Does calci-sand harm a gecko?

[GeckoDude94]

It is supposobly ok if they eat a little bit of the calci-sand but i say screw the chance of them getting an impaction. GET THE SAND OUT OF THERE!

 

[LizMarie]

What about using vinyl flooring like linoleum?

Thanks so much for the help

Well I've seen ceramic tiles that are "natural" looking. They look like rock and have a rough texture that's what you want to go for nothing slippery, etc. I'm not sure about the vinyl flooring because many of them have that adhesive on the back so you can glue it to the floor and with the heat it can let out fumes that could be harmful to your gecko and many even you.

 

[Krow]

I wouldn't even take the chance of her licking it up & her system getting clogged & her die. :main_no::cry2:
I use linoleum glued down to the bottom, it also absorbs the heat & gives off good belly heat.:sunny:

 

[LazyAndi]

Ah.
Well I think I've decided to split it! lol.
I'm going to do the back half of the tank in ceramic tiles, and the front half I'll keep calcium sand.
My reasoning is that she sleeps, lazes around, and eats more towards the back of the tank so I'll put that as tile. Then the front by her water bowl and a couple rocks is pretty much just where she poops, and stares at me in the morning ._. , so I'd like to keep that as calcium sand as it's pretty easy to clean up :]

 

[Fyrious]

I'm with LazyAndi, my tank is set up so that 1/3 is a coconut husk/eco bark mix with a moist hiding hole of reptile moss. the other 2/3 is a mix of calci sand with red reptile sand. there is a calcium/feeding dish in the cage, and i've never had any issues. 2 outta 3 of my friends also use sand in their cages and have not had a problem.

my cage is in the living room of our house, i want it to be presentable, and paper towel, while safe and cheap, is a HUGE eye sore.


In the end, it's personal preference, and age dependent. If your leo is under 5 inches, i'd stay away from any sand, once their older/adults, then go for it, sand is no problem.

 

[ARiES]

some sand might harm them but i bought sand that desolves once it hits water or any liquid which stops impaction!!

 

[Khrysty]

some sand might harm them but i bought sand that desolves once it hits water or any liquid which stops impaction!!

Really? What's the brand name?

 

[ARiES]

Calci-sand

calcium sand doesnt hurt leos..they have different kinds

 

[Khrysty]

calcium sand doesnt hurt leos..they have different kinds

...calcium sand does not dissolve in water :main_no:

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Calcium sand is NOT appropriate for Leopard Geckos. Leos have a very short GI system, and will not allow Calcium carbonate to dissolve enough to absorb in their intestines. Instead, it gets sticky and clumps together which causes serious impaction.

Not only that, Calcium carbonate sand is made from the same stuff Tums and Rolcaids are made of. This will actually prevent the geckos gastric juices from breaking down their food completely, which even further adds to the risk of impaction.

 

[R.E.F]

I use sand for all of my geckos.
But calci sand i think is a bad idea.

 

[Olimpia]

I've heard a lot of people and a lot of reputable breeders recommend very fine play sand, but run screeching from calcisand. There's just something about calcisand that just doesn't digest easily.

I just think that where loose substrate is concerned, the more natural the better. I mean, geckos are subjected to sand all the time in the wild, despite what people may think about the deserts they live on. They can handle sand if they are old enough and if the sand itself is fine.

 

[BuryinDespair]

The nifty thing i've been coming across lately is some reptiles (in this case leopard geckos) ingest sand to help with digestion of rougher prey (armored insects) like birds do. I don't keep mine on sand, but it's an interesting line of thought.

 

[happy gecko]

Yeah, I read some where that if geckos are kept on paper towel they should be provided a bowl of grit (sand, egg shells) because in the wild they would naturally ingest small quantities to help break down insect shells & supplement diet with calcium. This came from The Herpetology of Leopard Geckos & VMS Herp (breeders).

I know sand is very unpopular, but I still like it because it provides a naturalistic desert feeling to the cage. But with that in mind I have to say there are certain caveats to keep in mind when using sand.
1. feed insects in dish or in separate feeding cage without loose substrate
2. always have calcium powder available to gecko in cage
3. make sure gecko is adequately hydrated & plenty of exercise so to stimulate GI track & allow sand to slosh through
4. reduce sand surface area (& likeliness of consumption) by incorporating flat natural slate in the cage to cover parts of sand bed & to lanscape
5. if gecko is sick remove from cage because geckos will eat large amounts of sand when they have intestinal parasite problems (irritates there insides)

thats just my thinking though

 

[JohnJohn]

This whole issue drives me crazy. I have kept many Leos on Calcisand of different brands for years and never had a problem. Their healthy.

As far as impaction goes, I've never had a problem, but wouldn't regular sand be more a problem for impaction than calcium sand?

I've never seen my geckos intentionally eat the sand.

I've never quite known really what to think about this whole issue but I'm just sticking with what has always worked for me.

 

[reptinut]

i don't believe in calci sand, but if you must, follow happy
geckos advice

 

[M&I Gecko]

Leopard geckos can get bacterial conjunctivitis if kept on sand.

 

[Krystal]

we have a leo and we got sand then we found out that they can eat it. so we decided to get ceramic tile to puton the bottom cage. instead of the sand before we put her in the cage we poured out the cali sand and put the ceramic tile in. then put her in.

 

[Nigel4less]

I've heard a lot of people and a lot of reputable breeders recommend very fine play sand, but run screeching from calcisand. There's just something about calcisand that just doesn't digest easily.

I just think that where loose substrate is concerned, the more natural the better. I mean, geckos are subjected to sand all the time in the wild, despite what people may think about the deserts they live on. They can handle sand if they are old enough and if the sand itself is fine.

Actually Leopard Geckos live in montane regions with a hard clay as the general terrain.

 

[ark]

Actually Leopard Geckos live in montane regions with a hard clay as the general terrain.

Thank you Nigel4less.
I was a bit surprised that noone mentiont this before the ending of page 4.
Deserts does not automatically mean fine grains of sand. And leos do not live on it in nature.

(A desert is a landscape or region that receives almost no precipitation. Deserts are defined as areas with an average annual precipitation of less than 250 millimetres (10 in) per year, or as areas where more water is lost by evapotranspiration than falls as precipitation)