Sand Impaction Poll

[Alusdra]

Most of the geckos I saw with the stinky, sandy poos from being kept on sand were all good weight and completely resolved with nothing more than being kept on paper towel.

Is there a way to do a naturalistic substrate? Sure. With proper research, appropriate cage sizing and a good cleaning regimen, I'm sure one can be found. It might even include sand as part of a mixture. But what people mean when they say "sand" is a uniform fine particle loose mineral substrate that is a poor husbandry choice with known problems.

 

[Yamori]

How much dynamite do you have to set off in your ears before your head clears?

There have been a ridiculous amount of these threads and the same answers come up each time. What is it going to take to put this topic to bed?

There will always be those that disagree with facts and experience. Personally i believe in experience over everything else.

I personally know People that are experts in the field , one in particular that has been breeding geckos for over 28 years, is a full time vet and has written several books that told me That he has always used a sand/peat moss mix and has NEVER had any issues whatsoever.

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[Ian S.]

:main_evilgrin:See Marcia's ethics debate and lets get in deep.:main_laugh:

 

[Ian S.]

drab double post....sry

 

[Alusdra]

That he has always used a sand/peat moss mix and has NEVER had any issues whatsoever.

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Ah, ah- that's not sand. That's a sand mix.

In fact, when the topic comes up, it would be great to have references like this to alternative loose substrates that work well. Link the books- they sound like they would be good to have in general.

 

[justindh1]

In more then a couple of the post i see that young leopard geckos have died because of sand impaction. Young leos will have a higher impaction chance so i keep all geckos under 5-6 inches on paper towels. I have several leos on sand and have had one get impacted. I put her on sand which was the first time she had ever been I relized she wasn't eating and wasn't poopin. I did everything myself and got her back to health. She pooped a big ol log that came out thanks to mineral oil. I fed her a slurry to help her get nutrients. Took her to the doc and he did a enima and said to keep everything up. She is fat a heck now! I think that if you have everything correct in your set up and keep young geckos off sand then you will have no problem but hey thats my opinion.

 

[OneFootedAce]

I've never kept mine on sand because i know the dangers, although I did know someone who did, and there gecko died shortly after.

 

[ClownCarOnFire]

Ugh...sand again.

My first gecko was one it for like a year and a half and I changed it as soon as I read about the risks.
She means more to me than the look of a tank.
It's pretty simple stuff here, folks.

Health should always come before looks.

 

[ariana]

personally i feel why take the chance?
if you love your gecko enough you wouldnt want to take a chance on losing it

 

[corvettefan]

First I had sand becuase my brother thought it "looked cool." Then we did paper towels for a while, but my brother wanted something that looked natural so we decided on aspen.

 

[bcreptiles]

at the moment the % gives a very surprising result, compared to all the reactions.

 

[Krow]

I wouldn't even take the chance of it, whether its bad or not, I do not want to find out by seeing my gecko belly up one day. :knife:

 

[ruthie_bee]

I'm a brand new keeper, and bought my Geckos from a breeder who uses calci-sand all the time, and recommended it to me. I am tempted to change over to tiles now after what I've read here, and seeing how hard it is to keep sand properly clean. I do have a couple of questions tho:

• does having live food make any difference? I mean, do crickets end up crawling under the tiles and hiding there?
• how have people attached tiles to their tanks, and can anyone put up any pictures for me to see?
• will a change from sand to tiles cause the geckos any undue stress?
• how hard is tile to keep properly clean? My bf has a snake which he keeps on newspaper, and this seems to work very well; I would prefer something that looked a little more aesthetic in the vivarium, but that is secondary to the comfort of the animals.

Thanks for your help guys!

 

[Olimpia]

I'm a brand new keeper, and bought my Geckos from a breeder who uses calci-sand all the time, and recommended it to me. I am tempted to change over to tiles now after what I've read here, and seeing how hard it is to keep sand properly clean. I do have a couple of questions tho:

• does having live food make any difference? I mean, do crickets end up crawling under the tiles and hiding there?
• how have people attached tiles to their tanks, and can anyone put up any pictures for me to see?
• will a change from sand to tiles cause the geckos any undue stress?
• how hard is tile to keep properly clean? My bf has a snake which he keeps on newspaper, and this seems to work very well; I would prefer something that looked a little more aesthetic in the vivarium, but that is secondary to the comfort of the animals.

Thanks for your help guys!

The trick would be to make sure there aren't any cracks that the crickets could get into. Most people use ecoearth or something like that to fill in the cracks by just packing it in there tightly. I don't think people usually stick them to the tank, since it's easier for them to be removed and cleaned. Na, your geckos will be fine, it'll just be an interesting change for them It's pretty easy to clean, just wash it with some hot water and probably a little soap.

I don't use tile for my guys but that's basically what you do.

 

[ez2animate]

I heard as long as there 6 inches or longer, and the sand is .5 mm, its safe. So, stop worrying, the impaction usually happens to ignorant people that cant take advice, and do it anyways. Its usually babies that get impacted as adults can pass the sand more times than not.

 

[corvettefan]

I've had a baby gecko on sand, but that was only for a couple of days and we switched to paper towels. After that we had aspen and then paper towels again, and now we have sani-chips. My brother keeps buying these giant @$$ bags of substrate that we use for a couple of months until we switch. A total waste.

 

[corvettefan]

The trick would be to make sure there aren't any cracks that the crickets could get into. Most people use ecoearth or something like that to fill in the cracks by just packing it in there tightly. I don't think people usually stick them to the tank, since it's easier for them to be removed and cleaned. Na, your geckos will be fine, it'll just be an interesting change for them It's pretty easy to clean, just wash it with some hot water and probably a little soap.

I don't use tile for my guys but that's basically what you do.

I would measure the bottom and cut out tiles to the size you need.

 

[Norrad]

Something to consider.. Leo's will induce a certain amount of sand to aid in digestion of insects especially mealworms being the have a tougher exoskeleton.

My hatchlings and small guys are on paper towel, once they get up to juvenile size they are on sand. I've not had any issues to date.

 

[geckofreak24]

um, they live in sand in the wild, so why not in captivity??

 

[Alliemac]

um, they live in sand in the wild, so why not in captivity??

Maybe read the 8 page thread before asking this question.