# Safe DIY or Cheap Substitutes for Excavator Clay



## SamanthaMarikian (Jan 23, 2020)

I dont need a whole ten pound bag of excavator clay and i wanted to know if a non toxic (at least to humans) air dry clay mixed with loose substrate like coco fiber or sand would be an safe substitute? I also live in SoCal and we have a naturally sandy dusty compact natural soil so i was wondering if i could just take some of that, sanitize it (baking, microwave, etc) and mold it to a shape suitable for a cave or little nook if i cant find any other alternative. I just wanted to decorate my leopard geckos enclosure with more stuff for her to climb since she’s active so i know she’d put it to good use(idk how people say ten gallons are ok for them). She has a 20 gallon set up pretty naturalistic with natural looking tile stepping stones for a base floor and loose substrate filling in the cracks with some DIY hides and twigs she can climb and crawl through for enrichment while i make her chase her food. I wanted to make some more stuff for her to climb and hide in. Since she’s had almost the same setup for about a year i wanted to change it up a bit since she’s probably getting bored. I’ll try to upload a pic later to get some input and ideas that I haven’t thought of. If there’s no other safe alternative I’ll get the ten pound bag since its the smallest i could find.


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## Poonjab (Jan 23, 2020)

You should be good to go with the natural soil. Just make sure you get it from an area that has not been sprayed with any chemicals, fertilizers, etc.. I mean.. if you think about it logically, other reptiles crawl around on it and have zero issues. Just make sure it’s pure of any toxins or critters that would harm your gecko. Form it, bake it, and I’d argue that you’re good to go.


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