Play sand inbetween tiles of tank.

[bman123]

You guys who have tiled tanks please chime in here. Today my Leo pooped and it had some play sand in it. Not alot of sand but there was some in there. I used the sand to fill in the cracks and I kept the sand below the surface. He would of had to put his face down against the tile then stick his tounge out to get the sand.

I don't know why he did this? He has calcium in a dish in his tank at all times, plus I offer food everyday. It just makes no sense. I'm keeping a close eye on him now. I felt his belly and he is nowhere near impacted, he ate 2 large crickets today also.

Just wondering if any of you who have used play sand has had a Leo ingest some of it. He is a adult 4 yr old about 9 1/2 inches long I'd guess around 60 grams in weight.

I got the play sand because I heard the calci sand was no good. I dust his food and keep a calcium dish in his tank so why would he lick the sand up and eat it? He doesn't hunt I hand feed him everytime.
He's not impacted I just don't know if anyone here who has a tile tank and play sand in the cracks has noticed any sand in their leos poop.

It wasn't alot of sand, there was way more poop then sand.

 

[bman123]

I took every bit of sand out of the tank. I put him in his 16qt tub and I went to work. I took out all the tiles and dumped out all the sand. I am just trying to play it safe right now and see what happens. I put 1 piece of newspaper down so the tile won't make that grinding noise. So there is no more sand in his tank but I had gaps everywhere. I have a gap in the back and at the left end of the tank. The gap goes end to end. I did this so it's on the outside and not a gap inbetween the center tiles where he Walks at.

I'm gonna see how his next few poops are. I have seen It takes about a week for sand to completely digest in a leos belly. He passed a little bit today and i want to see what his next poop looks like. I'm probably going off the deep end with this and being over protective of the little guy but the last thing I want is a impaction.

He is being very active right now climbing around and walking. His stomach is not hard at all so I know he's not impacted I just wanna see how much sand he actually passes thru his poop. Maybe some of you who have playsand inbetween tiles have experienced some sand in your leos poop. If so please chime in and let me know what happened. Like was it just a little all the time or just sometimes or never.

I just get it why he would lick the play sand. He has always been housed on newspaper then I put him on the tile. Maybe it was just new and he tried it out i don't know. I will let you guys know what's going on with him and if he passes sand next time he goes.

He goes about every 2 days so it will be soon and I will know if there is still sand in there. I'm gonna leave it like this until I hear from you guys and I see for myself how much sand he passes.

I know you guys always say no sand, go ahead and grill me if you want. I saw no reason for him to eat the sand thats the reason why I did the tile and only used sand to fill in the gaps. Well I got gaps now but no sand to be ingested. I'm standing here waiting come on guys let the BBQ begin,

 

[TFerguson]

I'm gonna go with the "going off the deep end" theory... Small amounts of silica sand pass harmlessly through Leopard Geckos and are not digested. That is unless your warm side temperatures approach 3000 degrees F.

As to 'why' he'd do it...perhaps he longs for the sweet release of death? Unsure.

T Ferguson

 

[PetVet]

I have heard of some breeders that actually put a pinch of sand in with their calcium dish because it (supposedly) helps the leos break down the tough chitinous skeletons found in meal worms and other insects, much like birds will do to aid in digestion. Now if this is true, I can not say, but having read this before and assuming it is true...one could guess you leo felt it needed something to help it's digestion and searched for something finding only the sand that was in between the tiles. Just a thought though. Here is a link to some of the information I said above. http://vmsherp.com/LCKeepingLeopards.htm Just scroll down to where they are talking about the calcium dish. Hope this helps or someone else can help you!

 

[bman123]

I just feel really bad right now. I don't want anything to happen to the poor guy. I've had him for a week now. His tank has only been tiled for 3 days. He pooped yesterday and I didn't see any sand. Today I saw the sand in his poo tho. It wasn't alot of sand it was a little bit but I still feel bad.

Maybe he was doing it to help with digestion I don't know. The guy I got him from kept him on newspaper and only fed him mealworms so his tail isn't that fat. I've been ceasing him crickets and mealworms. He ate 3 large crickets Sunday and today he ate 2 large crickets.

I just hope he will be ok. I see and hear of horror stories of geckos being housed just on sand and see some of them die from eating it. It didn't look like there was alot of sand missing from inbetween the tiles when I removed the sand earlier so I hope he only ate a little bit.

Do you think he can pass the sand? It is very fine play sand, and I don't think he ate alot of it. This was the biggest poo he's had since I had him and the amount of sand was small. I took it all out tho anyway so indont have to worry about this again. I just put down the newspaper so the tile can rest on it. I have a small gap now around the back of the tank and on the left side but I'd rather see a gap then sand in his poo.

I guess all I can do is wait and see if he continues to have sand in his poo or not. He poos about every two days so I will have to see what happens. Darn I feel like crap right now because of this. I hope he will be ok. He doesn't feel clogged up in his belly at all and he is still being active.

 

[bman123]

Does it require alot of sand for a Leo to get a impaction? Also can you normally tell If they are plugged up or not? I'm kinda scared to feed him now. I don't want to clog him up more. Do you think I should keep feeding like normal or should I just take a break for a couple days of feeding?

I was hoping to put some weight on the lil guy but now this happened. He has been doing really good adjusting to his new home. He comes out his hide and let's me know when he wants out, he poos in the same spot. He plays with his decorations and he sleeps alot. This sucks, I'm probably over worrying tho. How long do you think it will take before I can consider him ok?

I just don't see why he ate the sand. He had to of put his face down on the tile and licked up the sand. He has a calcium dish 24/7 this just doesn't make any sense to me at all.

 

[PetVet]

My guess would be that he should be fine. If the sand has been removed than no further damage could come, assuming there was any damage to begin with. Generally, if he pooped it out than that is a good thing. If he stops defecating all together then there is need for alarm and the thought of impaction can come into play. I would just keep him off of sand and make sure he has plenty of water and food for a bit. Monitor his stool and make sure everything is passing through. Try not to feel too bad about it, no need to beat yourself up. My very first leo was on calci-sand for the first year I had her. She ended up getting some sand in her eye and got an eye infection from it. She got some meds for it and healed just fine but I learned the hard way, long before I found this helpful forum

 

[PetVet]

Reptiles make life interesting don't they lol. From the research I have read, they become very bloated in the abdomen and it becomes more firm when they are impacted. You could take him off his food for a few days but I would think feeding him would help pass whatever is inside currently...not an expert on this but I am just thinking out loud now.

 

[bman123]

I feel a little better after reading that article from vmsherp. They always give the animals calcium,sand and eggshells in a dish. That makes me relax a little. I don't think he ate much but still the fact of seeing sand in his poo makes me scared for him.

 

[bman123]

Well he ate 2 large crickets today and he is eating every 2-3 days. He is poling every 2-3 days also. That vmsherp page was reassuring thankyou very much for posting that. The gaps were only 1/4 inch and there wasn't much sand missing. If I wouldn't of looked at his poo I would if never noticed he ate the sand.

I made it a habit to look at new reptiles poo so I can see if something seems wrong. He laid a big one today too. All the sand was on the outside not the inside of his poo.

 

[bman123]

This sucks, I just got him last weds and he is getting use to the setup and new home. He is real laid back tho and not skittish at all. He stares at me and climbs on the glass when he wants out. Which I think is cool, he likes coming out and he let's me know. This makes it easier on me knowing I'm not stressing him out whenever I take him out.
The only time I take him out is when he does that so we sort
of have a understanding here. He knows what to do when he wants out and I know when he is ready to be handled.

I think he will be fine tho. I have a bad anxiety disorder so I tend to trip out about stuff, I had to take my meds so I feel alot better now. After reading that link younposted and doing some searching around it seems as if he will be fine. I just gotta take it a day at a time.And see how it goes. I will post and let you know the next time he goes poo
if there is any sand in it.
Once again thankyou for posting that link.

 

[robin]

i think he will be just fine

you got rid of the excess sand in between the cracks and the little amounts of sand he might have ingested is not enough to impact him. sounds like you are doing things well

 

[bman123]

I took all the sand out of his tank. I took the tile out and dumped the sand out in the backyard then I wiped down his tak with a damp rag to get all the dust or sand that was stuck to the side. He pooped sun and there was nothing but today I saw it. I don't know how long it takes a leo to digest and poo but I think he probably ate the sand Sunday or yesterday. I think he will be fine now I was just super worried when I saw the sand in his poo. He has been so good too, he has quite the personality

 

[Eric1969]

I had my gecko on sand for almost a year, that is what he came on and has always lived on from what the previous owner told me. About a month ago, he stopped eating, so I ended up taking him to the vet, who did an xray and said he had a few areas in his stomach that were dark which was most likely impaction of something. His take temp was always only around 75-80, which I know was not warm enough but he was like that for about two years now... the previous owner did not even have him on a UTH, i put it under when I got him.. Finds out it was not big enough for my 20 gallon. I eventually took him to a pet store who specialized in reptiles, my son was not taking anymore interest in him... needless to say, I kept going up to visit him, and I think guilt took over me and after almost two weeks, I am bringing him back home tomorrow. They have two others there that have not sold and have been there a year. I purchaed a larger UTH and am gong to set it all up tonight and make sure its ok for when I bring him home tomorrow. Long story short, I think the lack of belly heat being on sand eventually lead to the digestion problem. I have 2 ceramic tiles on top of the sand now, I am going to leave a small sand area, he seems to only want to poop on the sand, I dont want to wig him out more.... I hope he is happy to come home... I know how you feel about feeling guilty on what is right and wrong..... Me and my son wil have to make it work this time, and hopefully he will settle back in..oh and he has been eating crickets at the pet store, so I hope he keeps it up at home.... I really think the low temp was my big problem.... keep that in mind ps also make sure to dust the crickets, as I also have a calcium dish in his tank but I dont think he ever licks it up and they may lick the sand instead...