Leopard And Fat Tail gecko substrate

[Hedorah99]

Was planning on getting some of these guys. Just wanted ot know what was the best substrate for them.

 

[Thoth]

Well two different substrates for each. Also how big are they if the young its just easier to keep on paper towels or repti-carpet.

Though I've kept my leopard geckos on play sand and currently on crushed walnut shell (for the past year now).

I've seen fat tails kept on repti-bark (i.e. fir bark) because they need the higher humidity, though I've never owned them.

 

[KennyGee]

Okay the safest way of keeping any reptile on substrate is to use something that it cannot eat for risk of fatal compaction. The best thing to use is repticarpet the plastic not the fiber ones because there nails can be caught in them and break ther toes. Or u can use non adhesive shelf liner is the best becuase its easy to clean.

 

[ta2edpop]

I had several breeding pairs at one time and was very successful play sand. We kept a rubbermade container with vermiculite and spag. moss for them to lay their eggs in. Keeps humidity great.

 

[Beardo]

Paper towels are the way to go in my opinion....no risk of impaction, easy to clean, cost-efficient, easy to monitor stool, more sanitary, etc...aesthetics are not as important as the healthy/safety of the animal in my opinion.

 

[Linda Landsman]

I agree, I've had my baby I got from Brandon on paper towels, and it is growing big and doing great! My first gecko was on calcium sand, and it died from impaction, so I am not taking any chances. Easy to clean too.

 

[Shelob]

Okay the safest way of keeping any reptile on substrate is to use something that it cannot eat for risk of fatal compaction. The best thing to use is repticarpet the plastic not the fiber ones because there nails can be caught in them and break ther toes. Or u can use non adhesive shelf liner is the best becuase its easy to clean.

Hey interesting opinion on the nails in the fiber, do you have a picture of the "plastic stuff"? Just trying to get an idea.

 

[Spideyman]

How bout tiles?

 

[Scorp guy]

for my leopards, i actually have it half eco-earth half playsand, it works out quite good actually. I use tiles for my uromastyx, DO NOT however use them for beardies, it will heat up far too fast for them, and for my mali, i have plenty of options in case she is too hot, and i dont think it's worth risking the leopard's life.

 

[Scorp guy]

beardies? i mean leopard geckos lol.

 

[Thoth]

I think by plastic one, they meant astro turf (please correct me if I'm wrong). The warning against regular (or outdoor) carpeting because of the risk of the nails getting caught in the loops of fibers. But repti-carpet (or any one os several brand names) is structured sort similiar to felt so there is little risk of the nails getting caught.

 

[ReptileMan27]

For the leo, NO LOOSE SUBSTRATES,if you want the most natural thing then go with slate rocks. Other safe things to use are paper towels,newspaper,tiles,or reptile carpet. For the AFT, they like more humid then leos, I use coco fiber but paper towels would also work.

 

[Shelob]

I think by plastic one, they meant astro turf (please correct me if I'm wrong). The warning against regular (or outdoor) carpeting because of the risk of the nails getting caught in the loops of fibers. But repti-carpet (or any one os several brand names) is structured sort similiar to felt so there is little risk of the nails getting caught.

I gotcha thanks for the reply