Oh no.. another substrate question!

[ameh78]

I despise papertowels. I have been using them for a year and...honestly i want to scream. They curl up on the corners and doesnt look natural - i also despise reptile carpet. it just looks like astroturf and that makes my wannabe interior decorator side cringe..Tile.. I dont know why - but i dont care for the look of tile. it just looks so...flat.....

I love my crested geckos because I can use their substrate to bury their decor items down into the substrate and make it look natural and happy and it makes me smile inside and out! My leopard gecko tank makes me cringe and want to hide it because.. it looks cheap. My leopard gecko tank is in my dining room (weird i know hehe) - i really want my cage to make people go oooooo and ahhhhhhh. (im a nerd like that i guess)

So here we go...

For my crested geckos I use ReptiBark - it looks great, smells great and well looks extremely natural. It looks like a habitate - like it should.

EcoEarth makes my heart sing.. Its nice and brown, yummy. Hides poop better and looks natural. Here is my big ol question - I used EcoEarth for my frogs because - it didnt cause impaction - are leopard geckos really *that* different that it would cause impaction in them? The humidty debate - I dont mist my geckos tank - I mist their moist hide - but do that outside the tank, so no moisture would get into the substrate inside the tank. If compacted down, wouldnt ecoearth be just as good? I spoke to a breader at a reptile expo a few weeks ago and he swore by EcoEarth - said he had always used it, loved it and would recommend it to anyone.

Maybe im being selfish in wanting my tank to WOW people - i have friends over often and they, like me, think the papertowels looks tasteless. Of course my friends dont touch my geckos because they think they are 'icky!"

Yell at me if you must =p maybe i need it hehe

 

[slayer]

Why dont you just use a nice soil mix and construct a more naturalistic setup?



p.s. The substrate you use does not cause the impaction.

 

[ameh78]

Oooh... what is this soil mix you speak of? Pardon for my stupidity on this - what type of soil?

 

[Tony C]

Eco earth is fine, just keep it fairly dry, and you can mix it 50/50 with natural sand (Oh no! ) if you want to help keep it compact.

 

[Ratman667]

Eco earth is fine, just keep it fairly dry, and you can mix it 50/50 with natural sand (Oh no! ) if you want to help keep it compact.

I have been thinking of doing this in my 20L. I plan on making a background out of foam, silicon, and different colored natural sands.

For the ground I plan on using eco-earth, sand, natural slate and natural sandstone. They actual area of "loose" substrate will be fairly small, but I think it will look good when I'm finished.

Just some food for thought.

 

[ameh78]

Eco earth is fine, just keep it fairly dry, and you can mix it 50/50 with natural sand (Oh no! ) if you want to help keep it compact.

oooh i love that idea. I got some eco earth tonight, waiting for it in the water now.i think ill put the eco earth down, then take some natural sand and smoosh it in this weekend!

 

[slayer]

Oooh... what is this soil mix you speak of? Pardon for my stupidity on this - what type of soil?

.................. I use dirt from near a local river/creek and mix it up with sand 5"-8" deep kept fairly moist at depth. Top soil and/or eco earth (as Tony C metioned) mixed with sand works as well and is also pleasing to the eye. If you check my post down below ("Old geckos, new setup" http://www.geckoforums.net/showthread.php?p=497844#post497844) You can see how nice a setup like this (with a natural substrate) could look.

 

[MiamiLeos]

i think that as long as you keep feeders in a bowl so there is less of a chance of ur leo eating the eco earth by mistake you should be fine. they dont generally eat the eco earth like they do the samd because eco earth doesnt have that alluring calcium taste to it. or, if you like, you could get a sheet of polystyrene/styrofoam and cut it to the size of the tank floor. then sculpt and shape it to look like a natural rock/sand/desert structure. put a few layers of grout over it, paint it your desired color, seal it and VOALA! a masterpiece! you can make hides and such the same way too. its really easy to clean and i be people will be really impressed when they come over and you tell them you made your leos habitat

 

[MiamiLeos]

p.s.

i learned how to make cool hides and cage furniture from lizard-landscapes.com its a great site!

 

[ameh78]

i caved in and got carpet.. i can only tell myself.. its grass - no really... it is *bangs it into head*

sookeh loves his flower hehe

ahh yah - front the top

 

[Lickin]

I love it. Grass and all. Plus this thread also helped me with some of my decision.