naturalistic set up???

[rickmoss95]

hello all, i have been keeping and breeding boids for a long time, but i am new to leopards(i had one about 15 years ago)...anyways i have heard alot of contradicting info on this subject. i want to set up a couple display cages for a few of my animals. what type of natural looking substrate could i use that is safe and will not cause impaction? i know that i should use bowls for feeding and calcium powder, but i also have seen leos "taste lick" their environment and dont want any of mine to injest anything not safe. any opinions on calci-sand or the round textured "edible" reptile sand would be greatly appreciated, thank you in advance! rick

 

[Coby78]

Well tile is the safest kind of natural looking substrate. Calci-sand and the "edible" sand is a no, because leopard geckos cannot fully digest the sand still (even though it claims to be digestible), and it almost encourages them to eat it.

There are also people who make a lifelike sandy surface (out of grout and styrofoam), and there are people who use large rocks with sand sprinkled in between the cracks. But if you're looking for something you can just pick up from the store and be able to easily clean it up when cleaning the tank, I would go with a tan colored tile.

And if you want to make it look really nice you can have a bunch of rock walls on the side. You won't even be able to notice that the substrate isn't completely natural.

 

[rickmoss95]

thanks alot! "digestable" is probably more of a sales gimmick anyways. i wont put my animals at risk, so i apreciate your advise! thanks again!