sand as substrate for leos

[mlededee]

i just want to relate my own experience with keeping leos on sand. i have always recommended that people not do it, but i now have my own first hand experience with it and want to share.

i have an adult male leo who is now a retired breeder and kept solely as a pet since i am not breeding leos anymore (until i have more time!). i decided to set him up in a display tank in my living room where we can interact more (he is quite friendly and seems to enjoy watching his surroundings) and where i can see him and appreciate him more often.

so, i chose to try him on very fine playground sand (because it does look nice), since he is an adult and eats only out of a dish. he eats mainly mealworms, some phoenix worms and an occasional cricket or two out of a dish (i remove the crickets' back legs so they can't get out of the dish). so, in theory there is no reason for him to ingest any sand unless for whatever reason he licks the actual sand substrate itself and gets some in his mouth.

i monitored him for about a month on the sand to make sure things seemed okay and that he showed no signs of impaction. over the course of the month his feces got larger and larger, until they were frankly, quite amazing in size for a leopard gecko. at first i thought he must just be eating more, perhaps because he liked his new set up or perhaps because it was getting warmer and he was gearing up for spring/summer.

then he shed and as is usual for him had some shed stuck on a few toes (this isn't normal for leos but he has always has problems with a few of his toes). while i was helping him get the shed off his toes he decided it was a good time to relieve himself (normal for him when he's had enough ).

i was AMAZED at what i saw. seeing his feces fresh i could tell exactly what was in it. it was FULL of sand and after the first piece came out (usually there are some urates followed by a solid piece of feces) i pressed lightly on his cloacal area and a bunch of loosely packed wet sand came out. not good!

suffice it to say that i have learned my own lesson about not using sand. i am very fortunate that he didn't consume enough to get impacted or was just lucky enough that his system was able to pass it through. just being in the sand is apparently enough--just from licking things as they do or whatever--it doesn't matter how it was getting in his system, just that it was.

so i say all this to say that no matter what, i really can't advise sand for any leo for any reason. they WILL ingest it, it's just a matter of how much and how their system handles it. just something for anyone who now keeps or is considering keeping their leo(s) on sand.

[Beardo]

Well said. Sand is a terrible choice of substrate for Leos in my opinion and experience.

[Blu Mongoose]

Thanks for sharing this. I see leos kept on sand so often I didn't realize it could be a problem.

[ReptileMan27]

Good post, sand is always heavily debated and always will be. When I first got into leos, I kept them on sand, didnt know any better. Once I found out the risks of it, that was it for sand,not worth the risk of my leos lifes. Alot of people that use sand and say its safe, always go on about how its natural, well it is BUT NOT LOOSE SAND. Leos live in rocky areas and the sand they come across is hard packed sand/clay. The most natural thing to use for leos is slate rock or a hard packed sand/clay mix. I house all my leos on paper towels or newspaper.