Best leopard gecko substrate

[Western hognose]

I recently found out in my research that leopard geckos can't have sand for many reasons. I have a twenty gallon long tank in my bedroom that stands out a lot, so it is the first thing that anyone sees. I thought that using paper towel was a little unattractive.
I have some "repti cage carpet" on hand that looks a little nicer than paper towel. Is there any other safe substrate that I can use. I know the geckos needs should come before my aesthetic opinions.
and one other thing, instead of using a heat mat, could I just use a daylight blue bulb to provide heat?
these questions may sound a little dumb, but I'm still fairly new as I've only ever kept a western hognose snake.

Thanks!

[dillymann]

I recently found out in my research that leopard geckos can't have sand for many reasons. I have a twenty gallon long tank in my bedroom that stands out a lot, so it is the first thing that anyone sees. I thought that using paper towel was a little unattractive.
I have some "repti cage carpet" on hand that looks a little nicer than paper towel. Is there any other safe substrate that I can use. I know the geckos needs should come before my aesthetic opinions.
and one other thing, instead of using a heat mat, could I just use a daylight blue bulb to provide heat?
these questions may sound a little dumb, but I'm still fairly new as I've only ever kept a western hognose snake.

Thanks!

I have had my leo on sand for about 4 years with no problems, and infrared heat bulbs would probably provide more heat than the daylight blue.


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[BPavery]

I have used reptile carpet, sand, and paper towels for my Leopard Gecko and the best has always been paper towels and is what I still use today. The reptile carpet caught my LG's claws and teeth and it was very hard to clean and dry. Sand made my LG sick and he lost his appetite for days, so I switched to paper towels and he went back to being healthy. I use the brown "Earth friendly" paper towels that look like sand. It's easy to change, cheap, comfy for your Leopard Gecko, and won't cause impaction. I highly recommend it!


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[BPavery]

For heating, stick with a heat pad. Leopard Gecko's absorb heat through their bellies because they are nocturnal. At night in the wild, they come out of hiding and find a hot rock to lay on and warm up. A heat pad is very similar to this and is natural for your Leopard Gecko.


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[alan12013]

Sand is fine. Until you can prove to me a leopard gecko has died from eating sand I will throw up the BS flag every time. Papertowels work good. I wouldn't use reptile carpet for mine just because it gets so dirty and hard to clean.

[BPavery]

Sand is fine. Until you can prove to me a leopard gecko has died from eating sand I will throw up the BS flag every time. Papertowels work good. I wouldn't use reptile carpet for mine just because it gets so dirty and hard to clean.

Fine grain sand is okay, but I think Leopard Geckos are healthier on paper towels in captivity. And yes, reptile carpet gets very dirty and traps in bacteria.


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[nachash]

For my leopard gecko I use paper towel on the bottom, and over that I have square tiles. The paper towel is there to facilitate cleaning. It traps all the vitamin dust or cricket legs. I think they're ceramic but I got them at Lowe's in the flooring section. They work really well for transferring heat. They are also super easy to clean, and I think it's like $1 a tile.

[BPavery]

For my leopard gecko I use paper towel on the bottom, and over that I have square tiles. The paper towel is there to facilitate cleaning. It traps all the vitamin dust or cricket legs. I think they're ceramic but I got them at Lowe's in the flooring section. They work really well for transferring heat. They are also super easy to clean, and I think it's like $1 a tile.

I may try this. That would look pretty cool and they would be easy to clean!


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