Myself personally i think it looks nice and as long as it's changed regular and kept clean, as my other 2 was great and i used to let them run loose around the bedroom:main_laugh:yeah, another play sand debate.
15 years......1 possible issue and it wasn't an impaction. Just saying.
Besides, I like watching my geckos dig instead of shred paper towels or push paper towels around.
Slate and Tile are not pricey, unless you consider 10 dollars per cage too much.