[Spikebrit]

hey all, i have some Stenodactylus petri, before i got them i spoke to loads of people and was recomended calci sand and told to stay away from play sand tho i keep bumping into people that say i shouldnt use calci sand but change to play sand. Every one keep talking about impactation as well.

Can someone please inlighten me as im getting so confused latly lol, they seem to be doing fine on the calci sand at the moment.

thanks
Spike

 

[Ryan1990]

Unfortuently I have no first hand experience with any type of sand but I have always heard that calci-sand is the worse kind of sand you can use. The reason for this is that calcium naturally clumps into balls when wet, so obviously the calcium in the sand causes the sand to clump inside your lizard when ingested. Another problem is, with having calcium in this encourages your lizards to eat the sand, obviously increasing the risk of impaction.
From what I have heard playsand is the best choice as it clumps less than most commercial "reptile" sands and of course is a heck of a lot cheaper.
Other things like cleanliness are pretty much the same for any kind of sand.
Its really up to you in the end, some things work for some people and don't for others, so keep a close eye on how often they're pooing and the amount of sand in the poo.
Hope that helped a bit

 

[Kellybee]

From what I understand, Geckos will actively seek out sources of calcium, whether you give them supplements or not. I have seen so many different versions of the same hooror story a hundred times, and for this reason I will NEVER use calci-sand. Please note this is a picture of an autopsy and its not pleasant.

http://www.avimedia.co.uk/other/necropsy1.jpg

Personally I use play sand with my collareds, and they poo it out once in a while. They eat like crazy, and they poo like crazy, maybe once a month I'll notice a sand-poo. I havent ever had a problem yet, so for this reason I'll stick to the play sand, as it appears its easier to pass through the system if ingested than the bark or the calci sand on the link above.

I have not kept a gecko in about 2 years, but when I did he always was kept on horse bedding, its kind of a green pellet, that is made of hay and wheat, it is 100% digestible, and nobody else seems to have heard if it, but it doesnt swell when wet and is made of natural, digestible material that turns soft when wet. I still use it for my timor now, and never had a problem with it, so if I ever bought another gecko I'd always stick with that.

Though the question was play sand or calci sand. I'd have to say play sand all the way.

 

[Spikebrit]

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm that picture is tempting me to go and buy some play sand, take it i would be able to get it from any reptile shop???

Spike

 

[Spikebrit]

just gone and re-read the packaging and it say's its easily digestable to reduce impactation and is a better alternative to normal sand or play sand.

Now im more confused arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Spike

 

[SilverSteno]

Sand geckos live naturally on sand, normal playsand is perfectly fine to use with them and that is what I use. I wouldn't use Calci-sand myself, it isn't as digestable as they make it sound and I personally think it is horible stuff both in terms of texture and appearence.

Sand geckos will eat calcium from a dish when they need it as well.

Any children's playsand will be fine for them - I think Argos sell it cheapest. Sieve it first to remove any large particles though and keep the bottom layer slightly damp to allow them to burrow :wink:

 

[Becky Wheeler]

Yep Thats what they say on the packet, but this is such a lie! I have all my beardies on Argos playsand, I used Calci-sand on my leo and soon after she suffered impact and died.

The calci-sand is so misleading to first time reptile keepers and to be honest the stuff should'nt be sold, another reason for hating calcisand is that it's so dusty! And so expensive to buy.

I get 15kg argos playsand for £2.49 a bag! And i have no complaints whats so ever and i think a lot of people would agree the same regarding play sand.

Or.....you could skip sand altogether and use kitchen roll, newspaper, tiles etc to avoid any risk you feel could occur.

 

[SilverSteno]

Or.....you could skip sand altogether and use kitchen roll, newspaper, tiles etc to avoid any risk you feel could occur.

Wouldn't reccommend that for this type of gecko - they love to burrow and when mine were not on sand (when I first got them and when I moved) they got very stressed or were (I'd describe it as appearing) "bored" especially my little male. He got very stressed because he had nothing to dig into and was constantly stratching at the paper towel trying to dig himself a burrow. They like their sand to be fairly deep as well.

 

[Becky Wheeler]

Oh right ok, Sorry was thinking more Leo

 

[Spikebrit]

thanks soo much looks like i'll be making a trip to argos or the reptile store again to buy more sand.

Surly they shouldnt be allowed to sell the calci sand stuff if its that bad.

thanks for the help
Spike

 

[damian]

thanks soo much looks like i'll be making a trip to argos or the reptile store again to buy more sand.

Surly they shouldnt be allowed to sell the calci sand stuff if its that bad.

thanks for the help
Spike

They need to make a profit,thats the main reason they sell the likes of calci-sand,tortoise pellets etc.....even though it will have an adverse effect the the poor rep it is given to.

 

[Spikebrit]

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, just been examining my gecko's tank and i think the little white balls i found which i mis-took for dug up eggs may be lil balls of calci sand that has passed through the gecko.

hmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Spike

 

[leopardgeckos4me]

It depends on the ype of lizards leopard gecko shouldnt be on sand at all because of there small digestive systems wen theyre young
But for other lizard id say sand (playsand)because if the lizard has an urge to get calcium it may lick it then get impacted so id say normal sand... IMO

 

[jj22]

Hi
I have 3 Stenos and they're kept on Argos playsand with no problems.

 

[beestingbutterfly]

the only true way to determine which type of sand is best for a reptile is to look at it under a microscope and see which one has the smoothest surface edges!!

In my household sand is never going to be an option... many people use calci sand, play sand, chinchilla sand etc with no problems whatsoever, but i am in a position to se the effects of impactations caused by reptile substrates and feel that given the amount of time per year i spend anesthetising these poor little animals to remove such things i am totally within my rights to say its evil stuff!!

and yeah i know "they live on it in the wild" and they like to burrow... but y not use some peat (untreated obviously) as a substrate for burrowing reps?? that won't block your babies up!!

 

[beestingbutterfly]

thanks soo much looks like i'll be making a trip to argos or the reptile store again to buy more sand.

Surly they shouldnt be allowed to sell the calci sand stuff if its that bad.

thanks for the help
Spike

There are no laws stopping the manufacturers from downright lying about their products.. the only packaging that can NOT lie about its contents are medicines and thats the bottom line to it!!!!

sad but true.

 

[beestingbutterfly]

Leo impactation.

Beardie anestetised for exploratory laparotomy (impactation) surprise surprise!

Tort impacted/ post op.

Rotting corn chip removed from frilled dragons intestine.

Chameleon was eggbound, so we spayed her and checked her intestines (luckily) to find she was impacted with SAND!! - why bother housing a tree dwelling animal on sand???


need i say more?

 

[Boyden1985]

Calci-sand caused impaction in my beardie Anubis and he has died PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DONT USE THE AWFUL STUFF. It also takes effect with iurimastics very quickly ( I hope i spelt that right).

 

[King Of Dreams]

There are no laws stopping the manufacturers from downright lying about their products.. the only packaging that can NOT lie about its contents are medicines and thats the bottom line to it!!!!

sad but true.

actually, no. ever heard of the trades descriptions act? a prdoduct has to be and do everything it says it can on the packet. no matter what it is. as long as this crap has passed through SOME reptiles and they can prove this, then they can say that it is digestable and safe.

 

[beestingbutterfly]

fraid not... do u think that the company which makes corn chip is unaware that what they are saying on the pack is a pile of shite??

they no damn well yet they STILL write that it is digestible.

there are way too many "loopholes" in the system and unless you see the effects of impactations you are none the wiser to the false advertisment!