What Substrate?

[T2theG]

I am just wondering if anyone thinks it is a bad idea to have my leo on a substrate of excavator clay? I know most of you will say "of course it's a bad idea", but I really want him to have the most natural set-up possible.

I set-up the tank two weeks before I got him and made sure the temps, humidity and other necessities were at the right levels. The excavator clay dried rock hard and any pieces that crumble off I make sure to clean up. Other than that the stuff is sturdy, I made sure to lay it on thick and used some cork flats for support when I built the hides so that there is no chance of collapsing on my leo.

I have a gecko dish with rep-cal calcium with no d3, so he can't overdose on d3, but will he still feel the need to eat the substrate? I've checked his droppings and not sign of any clay in it. I think my tank looks great, but I'm thinking of changing to slate tile instead because I'm very nervous and do not want to harm my leo.

Thanks in advance for any advice! :main_thumbsup:

Here are some pics.

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[Cesar_Da_KIng]

leos dont live on sand or clay even naturally they live on rocks cracks in rocks.

 

[T2theG]

I'll be switching to slate tile immediately then, I can't risk it with the clay. Thanks!

 

[Crewdog00]

Slate tile rocks!

 

[mudskipper]

Yeah, tiles are super easy to clean.

 

[Crewdog00]

I have my UTH set to 90 degrees and the slate tile ranges from 80-88 degrees. The hottest part of the warm hide is 88. I just turned my UTH up to 93 to see if I can get the warm hide surface temps to range between 90-93.

Wondering of anyone else had this issue?

FYI: 20L tank with 8 watt zoo med UTH.

10 to 20 Gallon - 8 Watt - (8"L x 6"W)
Model: RH4