Substrate question.

[GeckoNub]

I started with sand for about 2 days then switched to paper towel. Got tired of the icky look and went to reptile carpet.

Ive noticed them sometimes get stuck on it, especially Yoshi and it seems to shrink in the wash

Im after something that looks nice aswell as being safe and not too messy.

Im thinking of eco earth but wondering if humidity is a problem. I dont want them to get sick from it being too damp.

I dont like the idea of tiles as my vivs are wooden and it would be a pain putting them in and then taking them out again if a heat mat dies.

Plus i know Daisy and Freya love to dig so im leaning towards something kinda earthy so they can dig to their hearts content.

Theres so much negativity over loose substrates but ive read people saying its not a problem if ur husbandry is up to scratch and so far my temps are good and apart from Peppa who is on a hunger strike atm all my others are eating and pooping fine.

Any ideas and thoughts are appreciated

 

[RampantReptiles]

Humidity is not a problem with eco earth as long as you use it dry. It can be used dry or moist.

I am against loose substrates because of the possibility of impaction and so why take a risk? I would recommend if you are using a loose substrate that you feed in a separate container or if you are using worms that the bowl is 100% escape proof. That way there is no possibility of the geckos consuming the substrate other then pure stupidity and then not much you can do about that...

 

[GeckoNub]

Well other than paper towel looking icky and the toes getting caught on the repti carpet i just find it kinda...wrong.

My geckos didnt ask to be pets and i feel kinda bad at times for keeping them. They will spend their whole lives in a box and i just want them to be as natural as they can.

Daisy gets so frustrated when shes trying to dig a piece of carpet, she tries to climb under it. And Bubba and Daisy seem so far from a "wild animal" as you can get.

Im just looking for a solution I want something that they can dig and feel "at home" in while being as safe as i can get.

 

[wakeskate420]

i have been using eco earth for a couple months now with no problem. i do however use a dish to feed so the dont eat any of it. it works great, dries very quickly, and looks very nice compared to the paper towels and carpet i use to have in there. i put it more around the rocks so that my leos can burrow in under the rock lean-to and make it how they like it best. i have pics under show off your cage around page 32 if youre curious.

 

[acpart]

I use eco earth for the fat tails and don't tend to do that for the leopard geckos because the mealworms (which always get out of the dish) and superworms will bury themselves in it. One solution to the love of digging is to have a laybox type container with eco earth or other stuff in it for them to dig in. I do this in most of my leo cages and when I had SW banded geckos I did it as well --they really like to burrow. If you use beige tile with a slight texture it looks quite nice.

Aliza

 

[Tony C]

You could use a soil/sand mixture, look up posts by slayer to see his soil based cages.

 

[GeckoNub]

Im liking the idea of a eco earth/sand or a soil/sand mix. Ive never used eco earth before and have seen comments about soaking it in water? Could someone shed some light on this for me please

Also im not sure about a good place for me to get soil. My gardens soil has a lot of clay and isnt very nice plus i cant guarentee no pestisides.

Is there any soil i can buy that is safe and would it do the same job? I know i wouldnt have the natural eco-system thing going without bugs but i dont mind replacing the substrate when its nasty

Thanks for the input and ideas :main_thumbsup:

 

[wakeskate420]

in regards to the eco earth: i bought mine in a 3 pack for around $5 (maybe cheaper) and you place brick in a pail/bucket or sink. Add 4 quarts (3-4 liters) of water. Allow brick to expand for 20-30 minutes. Wring out excess moisture. Dry by laying out moist substrate in the sun before moving to your animal's enclosure.

 

[GeckoNub]

Awesome thanks I was considering those 3 packs of bricks too Would they mix with sand ok? Would you mix it when the eco earth is still damp to make it more solid?

 

[wakeskate420]

im not too sure about mixing the sand because i just have eco earth in my tank, but once the eco earth dries its like very fine, ground up mulch. there are longer strands of fiber and then there are little grounds almost like big coffee grounds. you might want to try just the eco earth first and let it dry and then see what you think. you could always add the sand when its dry and then add water and see if you like it better.

p.s. i would separate a little to test out the eco-earth/sand/water mixes so you dont waste a whole batch

 

[GeckoNub]

Cool thanks for the help i will defo try that

 

[mindgamer8907]

Hey there. I know you've pretty much made a solid decision but what can one assertion hurt, eh? So if you're at all worried about ingestion of substrate but still want the geckos to have a place to dig it up you might reduce the amount and occurence of loose substrate by adding what most people call a lay box or a wet hide or a shed box etc. (the last one I don't think I've ever actually heard... but... yeah..) Basically get a container (say a glad wear, that's about 3 to 4 inches deep and cut a hole in the lid, then take off the lid and fill it with a few inches of loose substrate (ecoearth works great) and make sure the gecko can find it's way up to the top of the box and into the hole (also make sure the edges of the hole are dull so they can't cut themselves, this can be done by burning the edges round with a lighter). Then let them have at it. They often bring a little of the substrate out with them and/or throw some out when they dig but that's ok right?

Also, I'm going to spread the gospel of the Shelf-liner.

"And the Shelf liner spoke and he said:

'Lo, behold this my body which can be divided up into viv sized mats which seldom catch claws and often clean easily. Yea, and my price is but cheap for I am everywhere in many housewares sections of many stores. For yea, too, should my body have stains I may be easily discarded for my low price and utility in coming in a roll large enough for several vivs.' And it was good..."

The end?

PS. sorry for the silliness.

 

[leogecko88]

I have had my Yoshi on a mix of half sand and half top soil for almost three months now. She is doing very well on it and loves to dig. It's cheaper than coconut fiber too.

 

[roger]

Well other than paper towel looking icky and the toes getting caught on the repti carpet i just find it kinda...wrong.

My geckos didnt ask to be pets and i feel kinda bad at times for keeping them. They will spend their whole lives in a box and i just want them to be as natural as they can.

Daisy gets so frustrated when shes trying to dig a piece of carpet, she tries to climb under it. And Bubba and Daisy seem so far from a "wild animal" as you can get.

Im just looking for a solution I want something that they can dig and feel "at home" in while being as safe as i can get.

what about slate tile?