URGENT! Sand or Other Substrate

[TheWhiteTree]

The nice man at the pet shop suggested calcium sand for my leo. I DON"T KNOW IF THIS IS RIGHT! I have just read up on it and everyone says its harmful for your gecko. I need to know if the sand is ok or I should move my gecko into his travel cage immediately! I am hoping for a quick response to anyone out there that's up this late at night. I care very much for Finn and i don't want anything to happen to him. Please help!

 

[acpart]

Your instincts are good; it's not right. Put him in his travel cage, dump the sand, put down some paper towel and he will be good to go tonight. Then you can think about continuing with the paper towel or repti carpet or (my favorite) --ceramic tile.

Aliza

 

[DrCarrotTail]

I'll second what Aliza said! Calcium sand is even worse than regular sand as it can turn into a kind of cement in their intestines and cause an impaction that can kill them if they eat enough of it. Most leos like to munch on calcium so there's a good chance they will consume it. Switch to paper towels or if you want something more naturalistic, you can get a substrate like tile or repticarpet that he can't eat.

 

[TheWhiteTree]

Thanks guys! Currently I have a repticarpet down for now but I plan on moving to tile.