Substrate for a white spotted gecko?

[CinnamonWitch]

So I just purchased a white spotted gecko. The previous owners have had her in wood chips, but I plan on changing this to paper towel for safety reasons. Would it be okay for me to use a 4 watt heating pad for her with paper towel? I don't want to burn her!

Also, I have access to clay (the kind you fire in a kiln to make pots and sculptures) at my school. Would it be okay for me to make a substrate out of that? Or would it be bad for my gecko? I don't really have the means or the money to buy slate tile at the moment, but I'm sure she'll be fine with paper towel for a while if you guys deem my idea of making her a substrate out of clay to be too dangerous.

 

[T-ReXx]

What exact species are you talking about? If you mean Tarantola anularis then a scrub type setup is best. I'd recommend keeping the gecko on paper towel until you are sure it is eating and pooping ok. After that a sand/peat moss mix would be best. I'm not sure about the clay, do you mean using it dry as a solid piece or in flat sections? If you dry it into slate-like tiles then it should be fine. Wet I wouldn't use it, it would pose a sticking harzard and probably be pretty bad if ingested. Flat pieces of slate can work as well.