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Sand substrate question

593 views 17 replies 8 participants last post by  Drayvan 
#1 ·
I remember reading a while back about a brand of sand substrate that was digestable...possibly calci sand but i really cant remember :blush: anyone know what it would be if it wasnt the calci sand? Im pretty sure i saw it in the PRK magazine but i cant find any of my back copies as i packed them away somewhere 'safe' whilst moving house :bash: :lol2:

Thanks in advance!
 
#5 ·
The calci sand is an option im weighing up for substrate for either a leopard or fat tailed gecko. From the replies il take it it WAS calci sand i was thinking of :2thumb:
 
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#8 ·
Interesting read, kindof makes me sway more to playsand but iv been told to definately steer clear of silica sand, which is what play sand is. The substrate is only going to be a calci sand/soil mix so wont be completely sand : victory:
 
#10 ·
Calci sand is so so so dangerous, watching your leo get impacted isn't nice :(
 
#11 ·
hi the thing for me is this why do we want to put a gecko on sand they don't live on sand in the wild they live in rocky parts with lose soil if you want a true setup i would rock out your viv and use a playsand soil mix to put around it , and also why would you put a sand in there viv you now there going to eat as this is why a calcium pot is placed in there viv
 
#14 ·
I thought they came from a rocky eniviroment with a clay/sand mix.
To be honest personally i dont trust anything that my leo could eat thats why i stuck with lino but its not at all a natural enviroment.

(Thanks for reminding me i wanted to look for some one colour lino as the current stuff was left over from my parents bathroom and its white, Not great for finding dusted crickets that have not been eaten!)
 
#12 ·
Don't use calci sand, playsand is fine, its developed for babies and such, so if some does get ingested it shouldn't compact quite as bad as other sands(not fool proof mind). That being said, so many people have had problems with the calci-sand so i really would give that one a miss.

playsand,soil mix will work fine, you don't really want to use calci-sand and soil as it may encourage him/her to eat it.

and as above, i wouldn't have it on 100% soil sand either, but gecko's are not my thing so i'll leave it at that :p
 
#13 ·
Thanks all, will most likely go for the play sand. The only brand of calci sand i was considering was the T-rex brand as it says its 'pure calcium carbonate' which is in every pot of cresty food i own and most of my calcium supplements, so cant be that bad. Will probably buy a bag and have a good look at it, see how dusty it is and how it reacts to water ect...even if its a waste of money and i dont use it, its a small price to pay for a healthy gecko : victory: iv got a month to sort a suitable substrate mix out, and as suggested above, it will also consist of large stones so in effect it will be rocky platforms with sandy soil filled crevices :2thumb: there will however be digging area so the substrate will still need to be digestable.

If i decide to steer completely away from sand, would the eco earth be suitable for them?
 
#16 ·
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