How big does a leopard gecko have to be before you can use calcium sand as a substrate?

Question

with out the risk of impaction? right now I have reptile carpet in my geckos tank and I HATE it!!!!! itl looks awful, and I REALLY want to get the sand, but i dont want him to get impacted!!! how big does he have to be for the risk of impaction to go down?

Answer 1

You should NEVER use calcium sand. There is a good chance it will cause an impaction at any age or size and your gecko can die. Impactions are very serious, im sure u know. You can use sand from home depot if you like, i used it for awhile! As long as it isn't silica-based. There is always a risk of impaction however, but it is lower with regular sand. If you chose to use sand, feed insects in a shallow dish so the leo doesn't accidently swallow sand doing its prey dive. Thank you so much for asking instead of just buying it, it can be so dangerous. Another attractive alternative to sand is tile, it more closely resembles their natural habitat. You can also get creative with hides and rocks.

Answer 2

i use calci sand from day one and i have never had any problems. Leopard geckos come from afganistan and pakastian and iran which is sandy.....i dont know why all these people say they dont come from a sandy environment and they do

Answer 3

When i was younger, i had a leopard gecko on calci-sand his entire life, he died when he jumped off my arm into my fishbowl. I currently have a baby leo on calci-sand and he's doing great. People say "watch out for sand" because only a few leos die every year from impaction and they are too afraid to go back to sand.

Answer 4

You should never use calcium sand, you really shouldn't use sand anyways.  If you must use sand choose one that doesn't have calcium in it.  Your leopard gecko will search within and eat the sand if it has calcium in it and it'll cause an impaction which a lot of the times is deadly to leopard geckos.  Use a fine grain sand thats calcium free and provide a dish with calcium powder in it so the lizard can regulate it's calcium intake on it's own, he knows how much he needs.  But,  you shouldn't give your lizard a sand based substrate or anything but cage carpet until it's full grown.  It will lessen the chances of impaction.

Sand as a substrate:

This is where the debate over substrates gets heated. Sand is considered unsafe by some, due to the risk of ingestion and impaction (either due to accidental ingestion or intentional ingestion to meet calcium needs) -- this is a bigger risk for juveniles so sand should never be used with juvenile geckos. Other potential difficulties with sand include dust (which can lead to respiratory problems), and bacterial or mold growth in wet sand. Still, some keepers prefer sand as a substrate.

Healthy adult, properly supplemented, geckos are less likely to ingest sand. If you choose sand, only use it with healthy adult geckos (never juvenile geckos or sick geckos). Choose a fine grained sand. Provide a dish of calcium supplement to help meet calcium needs. Feeding prey items in a dish can also reduce the chance of ingestion. If sand starts appearing in bowel movements you should stop using sand immediately. Also monitor for signs of obstruction which indicate the need for an urgent visit to a vet: decreased appetite, decrease in bowel movements, lethargy, and dark spots on abdomen.

Answer 5

Only use sand if you are willing to risk your leo's life.  I work for a vet and I've seen fatal impactions.  It is not rare.  Keeping them on sand in a tank is NOT natural and is NOT the same as them living in the wild (which is very rocky by the way).  They are not forced to eat every meal off of sand in the wild, nor are they forced to live in sand they have pooped in.  Sand harbors bacteria and parasites.  If you want no risk of impaction, use non-adhesive shelf liner.  It's cheap, lots of colors, easy to clean.  I use it in all my lizard tanks.  Calci-sand is the worst product on the market!  Some people have kept their lizards on sand without incident, but if it were YOUR gecko to die of impaction, you would't be too happy.

Answer 6

NEVER use any kind of sand with your reptile. I'm sorry that the carpet looks like it does. You may want to use Terracota rustic tiles (Home Depot has a nice selection. Washed with a 1:3 clorox solution and aired out) because they give that nice desert-y compacted clay look from where leopard geckos actually come from.

Geckoes do not live in sand in the wild, and they are messy eaters. Whener your lizard lunges for a cricket he risks swallowing a mouthful of sand. Whenever your lizard licks his substrate he [will] swallow sand. The risk is pretty bad with any loose substrate and its best to prevent than to be sorry, so don't use it.

Answer 7

i think atleast 4 1/2 inches. depends on what sand you use

Answer 8

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