Substrate
Substrate
What substrate to use subject and one which is argued a lot. There are many different choices all of which have advantages and disadvantages. Rather than say you should use this or you shouldn’t use that, I am going to go through all of the commonly used substrates stating their pros and their problems so you can make an informed decision about what you are going to use.
Please note, the substrates you can use for hatchling/juvenile leopard geckos is very different to what can be used for adults and I have done them separately. To view it simply scroll to the bottom of this page.
Substrate for adult leopard geckos
Substrate for adult leopard geckos
Although I say adults I generally mean anything over 6inches.
Kitchen roll – This is the only substrate that can be used 100% safely, this does not carry any risk of impaction. Its also cheap and readily available. Unfortunately it doesn’t look very natural
Newspaper – This substrate can probably be used 100% safely but I always worry about the dark dyes in the paper. Leopard geckos do a lot of licking (they lick pretty much everything to taste it) so I worry about them ingesting small amounts of dye. These worries are most probably ridiculus but as I don’t have any proof either way I tend to avoid it. Apart from the dye issue, its cheap, readily available and easy to replace. It doesn’t impose an impaction risk either
Repti carpet – This substrate looks a little more natural (it has an Astroturf like look about it) and again it can’t cause an impaction risk (unless some of the little green bits come off, I’m not sure if that would happen with long term use though). It is easy to clean and will last quite a while. The only problem with it is the feeling of it, it just doesn’t feel right to me. It has a slightly spiky feeling, this might not bother the leopard geckos but then again they might hate it.
Bark chips – Avoid these at all costs, they have large particles and it only takes one to be ingested before you potentially have a large problem.
Bird sand or play sand – A personal favorite of mine, it looks good, is cheap and easy to replace. The main problem with it though is the risk of impaction. When a leopard gecko goes for its food it essentially jumps and grabs it, this means substrate can be ingested. This is generally only a small amount. It would be worth noting that leopard geckos which aren’t properly supplemented with calcium may eat the substrate in order to get the calcium they require. Offering calcium in a dish and dusting their food regularly removes that risk. That said, there is no way sand can ever be completely risk free as impaction can always happen.
Calci-sand – Avoid this like the plague. The packaging makes out that eating it will be ok for the lizard, this is not the case. It is just as likely to cause impaction as anything else. Its also very dusty and expensive.
Substrate for hatchling/juvenile leopard geckos
Substrate for hatchling/juvenile leopard geckos
Hatchlings and juveniles should only ever be kept on kitchen roll. You can’t keep them on anything else because at this age they are very delicate and VERY prone to impaction. They will also be perfecting their hunting technique so the risk of substrate being taken in when hunting is much greater.