Viper Gecko Q's

[jakemyster44]

I have been reaserching thse guys lately, and am looking to get a 3-4 of them. I plan on keeping them in a 30g long aquarium, with a huge built in rock wall. It wil incorporate lots of little nooks and cranies for them to climb and hide in. I plan to have the rock structure taking up at least 75% of the floor space, and going 3/4 of the way up the back wall.

I know that viper geckos are from Pakistan. I discovered that they are found throughout Hingol National Park, and when I googled that I saw that the substrate appears to be sand. Here is the link:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://offroadpakistan.com/upload/2007/07/hingol_national_park/DSCN4800.JPG&imgrefurl=http://offroadpakistan.com/travels/hingol_national_park.html&usg=__D8ARqr5j3sqJ44oBZKhY4u_0MYU=&h=238&w=475&sz=20&hl=en&start=8&tbnid=l922nLlPHNqF1M:&tbnh=65&tbnw=129&prev=/images%3Fq%3DHingol%2BNational%2BPark%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

Now, I know that sand can cause impaction in lizards like leopard geckos etc. but seeing that viper geckos live on sand (correct me if I'm wrong) I dont see any objections to having a bit of sand in their captive enclosure.
So, is sand okay? As much of a novice question that may be, I have found conflicting ifo on the use of sand (making me lean more towards a solid substrate).
Also, Would suitably sized dubia roaches work as a food source for these guys? Thank you!

 

[gecko geek]

it sounds good except i dont know much about the substrate. i had one and he ate pin head crickets and little mealworms.
hope this helps

 

[DarthGekko]

JMG Reptile sells them and lists a brief explanation of how they keep them on the link below.

http://www.jmgreptile.com/vipergeckos.html

 

[Greyscale_Geckos]

Sand is fine, however, you don't want to use a high-compact sand. I've heard on another forum that pool filter sand works the best.

Viper gecko setups can be very basic to very complex. To recreate their natural habitat you would need layers of different substrates and such like. If you're aiming for naturalistic but not complicated, some sand will be perfectly fine.

If you are concerned about impaction in even the slightest, consider slate or tile. It retains a "natural" look while being solid.

 

[geckofreak24]

all vipers i have seen have been on sand, i've had mine on sand for a year now, and they are doing great, the tank sounds really cool, and really huge for such a small geckos. post pictures when it is donr i would love to see it. i live in southern MI, and i bought my pair of vipers from alex hues reptiles, and they are doing great. i admire how much time you spent researching them, good luck