real rock

[geckonewbie213]

well i'm now moving all three of my female leos into a 55 gallon tank, so my father can easily take care of them while im away at college. since i will soon be a poor college student, i need to save all of the money that i can and i will be using rock from a giant rock pile in my back yard in the tank. i intend to make various caves and such along with a second level. so far i have washed all of the rock, and im currently baking it as a type. im wondering if anyone has had any problems with using rock from outside, and if there are any problems i might have or that i should look for?

 

[Repkyle]

I'v used real rock since day one with my now 6year old female Leo. Never had problems or heard of any. Only thing I did was soak them in boiling water from the kettle to make them sterile. I also do this every time I clean the enclosure. Hope this helps and if anyone knows of any problems real rocks can cause I'd like to know to
Good luck in college

 

[Franklinj480]

Just make sure everything is very solid and stable, you don't want your leo's to dislodge a rock pile on top of themselves. Be careful with how much weight you have, it could crack the glass bottom if its too much weight in one spot. Also keep in mind that if you have a loose substrate they can dig underneath the rocks - that won't end well.

One of my habitats is entirely constructed from my rock collection that I put together while taking geology courses, its one of my favorites! - keep it safe and you'll have no issues

 

[Repkyle]

I'm using loose substrate ATM (I'm considering changing) but I make sure the rocks make contact with the glass bottom before I fill with woodchips to avoid this problem.

One of my habitats is entirely constructed from my rock collection that I put together while taking geology courses, its one of my favorites! - keep it safe and you'll have no issues

As for your enclosure, do you have any pics? Would love to see what you've done, big fan of the natural look, especially rocks

 

[Dog Shrink]

wood chips and other loose substrait is a big no no as they can ingest it when they eat and I would hate to see your dad having to deal with an impaceted gecko and you having to deal with the bills of the recovery. Using vinyl self stick high end tiles or slate tiles would be a lot better alternative to loose substrait plus wood chips are not their natural substrait. Leos come from packed earth deserts and live in rocky craigs so you have your design idea half right... plus looking in the post pix of your set up thread could also help give you ideas. There's some pix in my user profile photo album of my natural set up that you can look at to give you some ideas as well if you like.

 

[geckonewbie213]

well i finally got the tank set up with the rock that i had collected and every thing is better than ever! my geckos seem to enjoy it more than the old tank set up. they have more places to hide and they seem happier. theyve also been so much more active since i set it up too. even after they explored everything. they spend all night climbing the rocks and just walking around, and sometimes theyre doing all of this in the middle of the day too when they wer enormally sleeping. overall im very happy with the way everything looks and the way everything has worked out. thank you everyone for the help, and ill post some pictures soon!