Impaction....(warning graphic images)

[freekygeeky]

tis awful! makes you think though, youi think its going to be straight away, ''my gekos fine and he has been on chips for at least 2 months.. etc etc etc...'' just goes to show it can take months ... of i guess pain...

[poizon]

the thing that doesnt help is just about every book you buy (i know this for leos and prob for others too) recomends t-rex calici sand ect, well if you buy a load of books saying you should keep them on that, then what will newbies think? you trust the 'experts' dont you.

i know it wasnt untill i started comming on forums that i leard all about impactation. and EVERY reptile shop, even the good ones keep the animals on sand and sell sand too, i got my first leo from a reptile shop that is well known on this forum and well loved, yes it is a good shop i love it, but they still sold me a hatchling leo with sand and never warned about impataction ect. i am lucky, she didnt get it and as soon as i found out, out came the sand. i now only use kitchen roll, which i think looks quite good anyways.

every single starter kit you buy comes with sand too.

[alnessman]

after seeing that i will be putting in slate tiles

[Alice]

poor little gecko. that's so sad. Another reason why it really me off when people say "i'd use paper/tiles but I use sand/wood chippings because I think it looks better and my animals are fine on it" I've read and heard that phrase a few times.

[freekygeeky]

Originally Posted by poizon

the thing that doesnt help is just about every book you buy (i know this for leos and prob for others too) recomends t-rex calici sand ect, well if you buy a load of books saying you should keep them on that, then what will newbies think? you trust the 'experts' dont you.

i know it wasnt untill i started comming on forums that i leard all about impactation. and EVERY reptile shop, even the good ones keep the animals on sand and sell sand too, i got my first leo from a reptile shop that is well known on this forum and well loved, yes it is a good shop i love it, but they still sold me a hatchling leo with sand and never warned about impataction ect. i am lucky, she didnt get it and as soon as i found out, out came the sand. i now only use kitchen roll, which i think looks quite good anyways.

every single starter kit you buy comes with sand too.

im exactly the same, i kept my adult leo (r.i.p) she died this year of kidney failure at the age of 10!! when i got her, i kept her on bark, i read LAODS of books as a child to help me, and well i did what it said... since becoming more aware of breeders and places like this, i have realsied maybe not all shops/books are correct...

[poizon]

Originally Posted by freekygeeky

im exactly the same, i kept my adult leo (r.i.p) she died this year of kidney failure at the age of 10!! when i got her, i kept her on bark, i read LAODS of books as a child to help me, and well i did what it said... since becoming more aware of breeders and places like this, i have realsied maybe not all shops/books are correct...

to be honst i am thinking that these books are getting a bit of money from t rex ect, as soon as i found out that hatchlings and jouvies shouldnt be on sand, away went the sand, but i was still told adults would be fine, so i kept my adults on playsand for a short while, had several dishes of calcium ect scatter around and never fend on the sand, however i always kepts a good eye, and good job i did, as i one day saw one of my leos sitting there lapping up the sand, so the calcium in dishes is bull too, well that very min i took er out, told her off and took out all the sand, havent used it since for them.

[Kimmy173]

She didn't have anything else inside her. The chippings took up the whole space. that's just terrible. RIP lil one.

as for the impaction issue, it's not going to change. Books and shops and breeders have their own choices, as you say, coming on here and other reptile forums and being warned by others is practically the only source of information but the only thing we're doing is making the inquierer make an informed decision so they know the risks. There are plenty of people who keep on loose substrate for reasons mentioned. The only thing you can do is take solace in the fact that your own animals are safe and that what you preach to others is sometimes taken on board. It's a terrible thing when something like this happens due to human error and I empathise completely with anyone this has happened to.

[chameleonpaul]

I saw this AGES ago, it is just AWFUL !!
And what a STUNNING animal !!

[sparky1510]

i think it seems quite strange that this happens cos wat do the live on in the wild is a problem for them in the wild aswell not that im saying its wrong dont take me the wrong way i keep my corn snake on aspen but always take him out to feed him after wat i have read cant be to carefull

[fenwoman]

Originally Posted by blue-saphire

the impaction weighed more than 1/4 of it's total body weight, WHEN GRAVID. poor thing

and you will still hear people say "I've used woodchips/orchard bark/calci sand for ages and mine have been fine on it".
They can't seem to see that their animals have been fine because of sheer good luck which will run out one day.
My Moriarty was on calci sand when I got him. Needless to say it was removed pronto.
I just can't understand those people who will put their animals at risk even knowing all the evidence out there, while crossing their fingers that it'll never happen to them. Trouble is, when it happens, it doesn't happen to them. It happens to the animal they are supposed to be caring for and often profess to love.