Porridge oats as a substrate for leopard geckos and oher reptiles?

Question

could u use poridge oats for leopard geckos and other reptiles safely without risks of impaction, disease, etc etc etc???

can it pass thru them ok?

please dont talk about other substrates,i justwant to know if i could use porridge oats as a suitable substrate to allow a fairly natural look and some natural behaviour like digging or whatever.

this is mainly for leopard geckos but alsofor any other reptiles inlcuding snakes lizards tortoises etc etc

Answer 1

if you keep herps, reps you should take care of them, and that sometime means spending some money on the correct stuff, i would not put my snakes at risk to save a bit of money so NO.

Answer 2

i wouldnt all human foods have additives and all manner of c**p added which may upset ur geckos system if injested

Answer 3

I don't think it is advisable. Porridge oats are human food and if they swollow it, it could lead to digestion upsets.

Answer 4

In a word - NO. It is incredibly dusty, will feed bacteria and will swell in your leos stomach causing impaction, dehydration - a sore stomach.

You seem pretty determined to find a safe loose substrate for your leos, but i'm sorry - there isn't one!

Leos don't dig in the wild unless they have eggs to lay. Look at their little feet, they are not designed for digging so get over it! They would hide under rock or hide created by digging species of animals.

And they don't live on sand or a loose partical soil. They live on hard baked earth...

You know what my leo loves to do? Hide. He runs across the room, find the darkest spot and guards it. That is what leos like to do.

I have no idea where you thought they liked to dig.

Answer 5

no you cant use that

Answer 6

oats are very absorbant and will hold bacteria plus will stick together when injested. geckos aren't built for digesting porridge. also your geckos might look like they are in a constant shed from the oat dust :P

my friend used bran with her gecko (thinking the bugs could be constantly gut loaded) but it was very hard to maintain and although her gecko was on it for 3months wasn't impacted he did in the end get some stuck to his eye when she wasn't home and when she got back it was stuck to is eyeball which took a while to get off. She is mad and I wouldn't recommend it.

it might not be as bad for a large snake or tortoise but again the problems of cleaning and hygeine probably make it insufficient.

Answer 7

Well just ask yourself in the wild would they look down and see themselves walking on porridge oats or on sand.

I am NOT joking/lying when I say that the only substrate that does'nt cause compaction or disease is calci-sand. I have spoke to someone how specializes in this.

It doesnt sound like a good idea for any reptiles.

Answer 8

I would not recommend using Porridge Oats as a subtrate for reptiles, but especially not for Leopard geckos.  Leopard geckos should never be put on any kind of substrate (most geckos should not be put on substrate, for impaction reasons).  Aged newspaper, paper towels, or plain white paper should be used on the floor of their tanks.

Bacteria will be a real concern (as well as other issues) attempting to use P.A. as a substrate.  As animals exit their water; they will wet the 'bedding.'  Porridge Oats would be a good medium for baterial/mold growth.

I'm posting a link below which you might want to peek at, on the general care of Leopard Geckos.  Play sand is mentioned, and on this issue, I strongly DISAGREE.  Sand and Leos in never a good idea!  Other than that one issue, the information is pretty good in general.

I hope this has been helpful.