Impaction....(warning graphic images)

[Sambee]

Oh that's horrible

I agree with many people on here about not knowing about impaction before joining RFUK and I admit, I was one of the newbies who did next to no research before getting my first leo. Luckily I joined soon after getting her and took out the sand and replaced it with reptile carpet and then recently changed all 6 lizards over to rough tiles. They look lovely, keep heat well and are so easy to clean! Not to mention keeping the beardies sharp nails nice and trim.

If I ever here anyone in a shop or one of my friends wanting a reptile, the first thing I say is don't you loose substrates!

[Natalie-UK]

omg, that is descusting! i put it down to bad advice from a breeder. i used to have one of my leo's on calci-sand, glad i changed it to pebbles, couldn't bare it if my leo had to have somthing like that inside her!

[freekygeeky]

the thing is with reps liek uroplats people want a natural looking viv, for humidity and for the look..
i agree they look WAY nicer than a plastic lino viv.. but to be honest, there is nothign natural about being in my reptile room, in my house, in cambridge.... lol

[reptiles_galore]

i think this should be stickyed and tiled: Impaction, when why where and how?

[FreakOonique]

thats so awful, problem is there are too many people out there who think they know what they are talking about and wrongly advise people

I know through my bettas (fighting fish) that there is so much information available, but it is mostly incorrect

I have recently just sorted out my barking geckos home and health after being given poor information from the shop i brought him from

Hes now happy, on top moist top soil so he can burrow, his appetite has now returned, and hes more active and colourful than hes ever been

All I would say to people buying any animal, research research and then do some more. Dont take the first answer you get, look into it until you know you are 100% sure that the info you have is indeed correct

[freekygeeky]

Originally Posted by zemon

i think this should be stickyed and tiled: Impaction, when why where and how?

i did try to .. if you click the ! in a triangle thingyyyyy lol
and say tp the mods, maybe they will.

[robbo101]

out goes the bark rite now. that was just horrible dont want mine to go through the same as that R.I.P little dude

[Muzz]

that is horrible poor thing this should be a sticky for people who even think about using bad substrate....shows the true damage they do

[Mal]

I had seen that thread previously on another site and found it very upsetting. It still turned my stomach looking at it here. That poor beautiful animal must have died in excruciating pain.
I know some people argue that animals in the wild dont have paper towel etc as substrate but Im sure many in the wild end up as meals for bigger animals before impaction takes its toll or they end up as carrion. Substrate impaction probably effects wild animals just as much as it does those in captivity. The only difference is the wild animals when they die dont have owners sitting heartbroken and asking themselves why didnt I switch to paper towel.
It would be fantastic if permission could be obtained from the people who made the original thread and took the photos to allow it to be stickied here. They are obviously people who care deeply about their animals and Im sure they would want to do everything possible to help prevent other animals dying the same way.

[Andrew Gilpin]

hello everyone, I'm the original poster of the linked to thread from the first post here. Just thought I'd chime in and share a few thoughts.
First off, thanks for posting this up, I'm glad the loss of our animal, and photos are able to give others insight and show what not to keep your reptiles on for substrate.
I have no problems allowing the post to be put up here, or stickied if someone wants to, just let me know.
I do however want to point out a few things.
In my opinion, Uroplatus, and several other sensitive species that require high humidity, also require some type of real substrate. Most in this thread have commented about never using a loose substrate ever again, and I don't think this is necessarily a good choice either ( for certain species). I could probably safely say, that my female henkeli pictured in the original thread, probably wouldn't have lasted more than a month or two without having a substrate that would maintain good humidity. I think the main thing people should understand is that they should choose a more appropriately sized bark ( too big to eat), if they must use bark. I however prefer to use a straight, clean soil, sometimes mixed with sand, and peat moss. A mouth full of dirt is generally harmless so long as they have available water to wash it out.
Finally, I'll comment on eco earth ( coco fiber products). I've only had one confirmed death from using eco earth, and that was with a 3-4 month old female U. phantasticus. She did a nose dive for a cricket and missed, getting a mouth full of substrate as we watched. She did not actually die due to impaction, but from the fact that it was plastered in her mouth, and she couldn't adequately expell it from her mouth. Over the next couple of days, even with help from us trying to remove it ( possibly causing more harm than good), she passed because she was no longer interested in feeding, but more pre-occupied with constantly gaping and trying to remove the substrate.
Once again, I'm glad that our loss and information can be of some help to others, it's certainly not something I'd like to see other animals go through.