Smile for the camera

[dunderpate]

Some pics of my Leo, and his name happens to be Leo. Real original. Anyway, hes a six-year-old male loooking for some action---just kidding. Hes never seen a female, and sadly he never will. I dont want to be a grandfather yet. I've heard leopard geckos can live upto 25 years, it would be cool if hes around that long. Even though everytime i take him out of the aquarium its like its the first time hes ever seen me. I dont think they have a good memory. i dunno?

 

[Morph]

Awesome looking leo get ready to hear about the sand though...and as for him thinking your someone new all the time how often do you handle him? i handle all mine all the time so now there quite used to me

 

[Halley]

very nice!

 

[tokayok123]

Let me first start buy saying beautiful gecko, i dont think his memory is bad, it may be caused by not enough handling. But to the bad stuff SAND! lol

Sand is not good for leopard geckos, the risk of impaction is just one problem, and calcium powder will NOT open a blocked intestine. If the sand can't go through - the calcium can't either. Bacteria, mold, and parasites in loose substrates are another issue. It is best to never keep your lizards on a loose substrate.

Leopard geckos originate from rocky regions of hard packed earth. Not sandy deserts. Nature did not design them to ingest foreign particles with their prey items. Leos hunt by lunging and grabbing the insect. This results in them getting a mouth full of sand, if that's what's on the floor of their tank.

You can use a very short nap reptile carpet (be sure it's not long enough to snag delicate toes), plain brown wrapping paper (available by the roll), aged newpaper (at least a week to allow the ink to dry and fumes to evaporate), or paper towels.

 

[dunderpate]

Hey Morph. So arent Leopard Geckos indigenous to arid desert climates like Afgahnistan? Leo has been around sand since he became an adult. Like I said he's 6. I know about impaction, but he doesnt eat sand for food, usually he'll sample a bit after eating worms and i think a little bit helps with digestion. Anyone else care to comment?

 

[LeoMartin]

Very cute pics.

 

[RepBex]

very cute gecko

 

[Morph]

No it doesnt help with digestion. yes they come from areas like afgahnistan and pakistan etc. but contrary to what most beleive the dont actually live in areas with a lot of fine sand. So its better to be safe than sorry. i've heard about way to many stories with Leos having impaction problems, its not something you wanna go through

 

[dunderpate]

Morph says

but contrary to what most beleive the dont actually live in areas with a lot of fine sand.

I use play sand for my Leo, the same bulk bag you can by from Home Depot, which is not fine at all. If impaction was an issue, wouldnt i notice his health deteriating by now? Six years going strong. When he was a baby i put him on artificial turf for about a year until he was an adult. What you dont want to use and what will cause impaction in a gecko is the fine crushed walnut shells, those will tear his insides up. Also about the memory thing. I take him out at least two times a week, but what i meant by memory is after having him this long you would think everytime i stick my hand in the aquarium that he would be used to seeing that, when actually he darts off quickly and hides, then he slowly comes out again. Thanks for your comments about Leo. I plan to get a chameleon next, actually i was at the local reptile dealer today browsing. I ll post questions about those when im ready to buy.

 

[dunderpate]

tokayok123 says

Leos hunt by lunging and grabbing the insect. This results in them getting a mouth full of sand, if that's what's on the floor of their tank.

I wanted to comment on that too. I feed my gecko out of a plastic dish, he lunges into the plastic not the sand. Its a soft plastic that i cut out from a slurpee cup lid with the edges covered in scotch tape as not to cut him.I'm very careful about that. The bottom line is and what ive seen in countless pet stores is very basic habitats. Lack lustre if you will. Leo is my pet, I care about my pet and expect him to live a happy long life. I prefer not to stick a old tupperware container and newspaper in as substrate. What kind of life is that? Pretty stale i would say. Anyway, i ll stop blabbering now.

 

[Morph]

yeah i understand that he's been on it for most of his life. im not saying they will all get impaction. (even a broken clock is right two times out of the day) I would just rather be safe than sorry thats all. Im not sure what type of sand is in the picture but it looks pretty fine to me. Its your leo and you do what you wish with him all im putting in is my 2 cents and most of the owners/breeders on here would agree.

 

[Morph]

there are plenty of other things to use aside from newspaper and paper towels that are very safe for the leo...like tile, that seems to be huge now and looks great

 

[Morph]

tokayok123 says

I wanted to comment on that too. I feed my gecko out of a plastic dish, he lunges into the plastic not the sand. Its a soft plastic that i cut out from a slurpee cup lid with the edges covered in scotch tape as not to cut him.I'm very careful about that. The bottom line is and what ive seen in countless pet stores is very basic habitats. Lack lustre if you will. Leo is my pet, I care about my pet and expect him to live a happy long life. I prefer not to stick a old tupperware container and newspaper in as substrate. What kind of life is that? Pretty stale i would say. Anyway, i ll stop blabbering now.

yes you might feed him outside the cage and thats great! but when he's inside it he will still taste everything, just like all Leos do.

 

[Morph]

http://www.geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=25097

This is the last thing im going to post on this subject.

 

[dunderpate]

Point taken Morph. And again its not fine sand at all regardless of what you see in the picture. Its play sand, its got gravel and sand crushed and mixed together. I ve read countless articles about sand and geckos. fine powdery sand, yah, thats not recommended. Impaction is an issue for some, especially when your a breeder. I have only one gecko, and he's been given the clean bill of health so says the vet. Also, i dont take him out of his home to feed him, i put the plastic container inside. His stool is normal, weight, and size is normal, his colour and shedding is normal. I dont know what else to say about this either. The only pain about sand is when it comes time to clean the aquarium which i do once a month. I replace it with new sand,and clean the aquarium using vinegar and hot water.

 

[tokayok123]

I agree with morph that this is your leo and you can put him on whatever subtrate you like but it has been my experience that retilcarpet is cheaper than changing out the sand once a month and the geckos like it cause its alot softer.

 

[dunderpate]

See thats just it, the idea of using sand is split down the middle without absolute resolve. As long as hes healthy, then all is well. I use it cause i want to, and because esthetically it looks better. Ive never been to afghanistan, nor have i seen a gecko in the wild. I would assume whatever it came across in the wild it would stick its tongue out to taste and risk impaction from foreign objects. However, you guys appear to have been around lizards longer then I have, and possibly know more about them, so i appreciate the replies. Thanks. ps. Retilcarpet tokayok123??, hmmm, sounds interesting. I do like to change Leo's environment around every once and a while.