Oyster Shell Substrate?

[Leaftail]

I use crushed oyster shells for calcium supplementation in my lettuce gardens.

http://downtoearthfertilizer.com/pro.../oyster-shell/

"A high quality soil conditioner which consists of 96% calcium carbonate and many micronutrients, Oyster Shell provides a long-lasting, steady release of nutrients to help regulate pH levels, improve fertilizer uptake, promote healthy cellular structure and enhance soil tilth.

I have noticed the reptile calcium sands are also calcium carbonate.

This is not a "flour" grade it's more of beach sand grade maybe a tad bigger.

I was wondering if I could keep my adult leopard geckos on this stuff?

If it's screened and rinsed well?

 

[indyana]

Most keepers do not recommend using straight sand as a substrate, especially reptile calcium sands that may tempt geckos to eat them in large quantities. I would caution against it.

The majority of modern keepers use no substrate and instead line the cage with paper/paper towels or use flooring like slate or tile. For more naturalistic keepers, they work with a combination of soil, sand, and clay and not straight sand. Leopard geckos, while they live in deserts, are more likely to be found in hard-pack soil areas with sparse vegetation and not sand dunes.

 

[Leaftail]

I decided against it. What do you think about coco coir? I use it in my lay boxes and have never had a problem with ingestion. They lick it for curiosity and then spit it out if it gets in their mouth. Set up a terrarium with it last night and they were much more active than with the paper towel. Digging, exploring, just general movement I don't usually see on paper towel. Their body language told me they were content rather than stressed, (territorial gecko struts) and it helps keep humidity up during the winter when ambient humidity is at it's lowest.

 

[indyana]

I've seen people use it before. I haven't liked it as a substrate (used it with a skink for a while), as it gets very dusty if not kept damp. It's not good for the species from drier habitats to have all areas with higher humidity. You might want to combine with some areas (like rock formations, tile, whatever) that can be kept dry.

Also bears mentioning that using a substrate like that means that you'll have to be careful to clean and change it out regularly. Waste will not be as obvious, but it will build up over time.

 

[Tongue Flicker]

Actually any substrate that has calcium particulates in it, will tend to be licked by geckos on a regular basis and that is exactly the thing you wanna avoid. I'm currently using a (non-recommended & non-bioactive) substrate for almost a year now made of laterite and a little ecoearth and a handful of topsoil and my leos hate to even try to lick it (you can see it on their reactions when they try lol). Using said substrate on all my other pets non-reptiles included. I usually tong-feed too and never had issues. Keep in mind that even the most powdered shells will still have sharp chips that is barely visible to our eye