Why is calcium sand bad?

[Tinctorius]

The vast majority of people on the Internet seem to be saying that sand and especially calcium sand is very bad for geckos but provided no further explanation.
I've had my leopard gecko with a sand substrate for the time that I've had him and he seems fine, but having read more I'm concerned about the calcium sand that he has right now. Should I remove it?
Again sorry for my complete noobishness. I'm a very new gecko keeper.

 

[KTyne]

Calcium sand is bad because the Gecko may purposefully eat the sand to get the Calcium that is in it which will most likely result in the Gecko becoming impacted. Impaction is where the bowel/intestine is blocked either partially or fully which can result in the death of the Gecko unless it is dealt with immediately. Surgery is usually the solution to a full-impaction.

The only time someone would say keeping a Gecko on sand is ok is if you are an EXTREMELY experienced keeper, that you've owned your Gecko for a good amount of time that you know what is normal for them in terms of behaviour, pooping, eating, etc. Also, the Gecko should be completely healthy when kept on sand so that if they DO happen to ingest any that they will be able to pass it easily.

 

[OnlineGeckos]

Everything Kayla said, plus if you must have a gecko on sand (which I don't recommend), make sure the gecko is an adult. Younger geckos have very small digestive tract, they're more prone to get impacted by sand.

It's generally just better and more worry-free if you don't use sand. This way if your gecko stops eating, you won't have to worry about the gecko being impacted. Or if your gecko stops being active, you won't have to stress out about possibility of impaction. Or if your gecko did not defecate on schedule, you won't have to worry sick about impaction. Sand just creates unnecessary stress for both you and the gecko, in my opinion.

 

[Tinctorius]

Well I've had him on sand since I've had him and he hasn't eaten any so far. He always was relatively inactive, but am I right in believing that Impaction usually kills quickly rather than over a period of months?

 

[OnlineGeckos]

That's incorrect, sand can build up slowly inside their digestive tract over-time. There's no way you can tell if your gecko has ingested calci sand. They're active when you are sleeping, and nobody can observe their gecko 24/7.

There are just too many cases of bad outcome when using calcium sand, it's really not worth the risk. But you are the owner of the pet, your gecko has no choice but to live on what you provide, so you have to make that choice for him.

 

[sausage]

Impaction will happen over a reasonably long period of time. Easiest signs to see of impaction are swollen abdomen but with weigh loss resulting in a stick skinny tail. You would see your gecko straining to defecate but not producing anything and they will have a loss of appetite and become lethargic.

When a leo becomes impacted by sand the problem Is not just the sand its self, the majority of the time it will be a result of inadequate husbandry. The wrong amount of vitamins and minerals being given is normally what sparks the initial eating of sand, however its not always as clear cut as that because geckos will accidently eat small amounts of sand while hunting which would not cause any adverse effects if the gecko had the correct environmental temperatures required for a healthy digestive system. Healthy geckos in the proper environment should pass small quantities of sand in its normal bowl movements with not much difficulty.

keeping them on paper or tiles dose give you peace of mind but their are pros and cons to this too, as with any thing.
I personally keep all of mine on sand and have done so for many years and never had a problem. thats not to say that there will never be a problem because who knows.

 

[Tinctorius]

In that case I think I'll remove the calcium sand and try him on a different substrate. What would be better? I've seen leopard geckos with paper towel/newspaper substrate.

 

[OnlineGeckos]

slate/ceramic tiles would probably be best, they look good, easy to clean, and zero impaction risk. You could also do paper towels if you like, it's cheap and easy, also easy to keep clean.

 

[KTyne]

For now put him on paper towel. If you'd like you could try what is suggested above and put him on slate tile, they are a lot prettier and absorb and hold heat a lot better!

 

[MeganJones]

Hello, Sorry to jump in on this thread but I am curious. Where could you get the tile, is it just a regular floor tile or what? I know this might be a stupid question but I thought sand was the only option but I think I am having problems with mine being on sand so I am looking for other options. Also, are there any reliable home remedies for an impaction?

 

[sausage]

you can get tiles from any home depo stores or tile shops.

why do you think that your gecko is having probles? just to make sure that the sand is the problem.

 

[Dinosaur!]

I just stumbled across this thread on another forum about why calcium sand is bad. it is a frilled dragon forum, but there are impacted leopard gecko x-rays towards the bottom. just be warned, some of the pictures are EXTREMELY graphic. so if you have a weak stomach, don't look. but if you want a dose of reality, and some pretty good reasons why calci-sand is bad, click away! Dangers of Calcium Sands

 

[leftyjack2014]

I would recommend that if you are unsure on this matter than trial by error is the way go about this question.