Safest form of Substrate?

[Gecko]

I always like some sort of dirt assuming no large hard chunks of anything. When I had Leos I used a dirt/sand/clay mix similiar to that you find in a lot of CA canyons, etc.

 

[Malibu Barbie]

I use paper towel with the hatchlings but go "bare" as soon as they get a proper humid box.

All my adults also have completely bare boxes.

Used sand up until about 8 month ago, but didn´t feel it and was nervous about the consequences, so I made the change and i haven´t regrated it a second.

 

[garweft]

I use a bare bottom once geckos are big enough for humid hides. Sure paper towels would make cleaning easier, but in my experience they get dirty underneath as well. So instead of using a towel to cover the bottom and another to clean 'leftovers' save a tree and go bare!

I tried the bare floor before, but my Sterlites are too slick. Anytime a Leo would lunge for a cricket their legs would slide out from under them and they would miss the cricket. I felt bad and went back to papertowels.

On a side note my Cresteds are on a bare floor in the 12" tall Sterlites. They have a few sheets of eggcrate and some fake plants and are doing great.

 

[okapi]

Ive thought about the one experiment mentioned in RT's book where a guy set up a naturalistic tank and let the geckos produce a multi-generation display, but I could never risk my geckos like that. When I got my first one the pet store recomended sand and I used it for like 2 weeks, but luckily for me my gecko got sick. She was loaded with nematodes. At first I thought it was an impaction and freaked out, vowing never to use sand again. Then after the fecals came back positive and I got her treated for that, I was too afraid of her dying so I never went back to sand. The pet store said that all of their animals are "vet assured" to be 100% free of all illnesses... I guess they dont consider worms to be an illness. But yeah, enough rambling... I voted solid substrate.

Sorry I didnt follow directions and posted :main_lipsrsealed: