best substrate for leo?

[reesanne]

hi all! looking to get any opinions on what the best substrate is for my leos 40gallon long tank? my only concern is that my leo will eat the substrate and pass away from impaction. any advice helps! thanks!

 

[acpart]

There are going to be a lot of opinions. My substrate of preference is ceramic floor tile which I get from the home improvement store. Some people worry that the surface is too hard for the geckos' feet, but my 20 or so leopard geckos have been fine. It's always possible to get a plastic container and put some coco fiber in it so they have a humid hide (moisten the coco fiber) and can dig if they want as well.

Aliza

 

[Deano715]

Ive recently went with coconut husk pressed squares. Use them for flooring then put the loose coco fiber on top in the cool and warm hides and moss in the humid hide. Lots of options for sure.

 

[Mr. Leopard gecko]

hi all! looking to get any opinions on what the best substrate is for my leos 40gallon long tank? my only concern is that my leo will eat the substrate and pass away from impaction. any advice helps! thanks!

I like to use a zilla reptile carpet for my leopard gecko because it is cheap, reusable, and I can feed him without worrying he will eat the substrate (I use tongs to feed him every day). One flaw I think is that if your gecko has eggs than it won't have any place to put them. (I am not an expert)

 

[Skar]

I don’t have that large of a enclosure for my Leo.

I prefer paper towels, very simple to change out and very little chance of ingestion. I use small rocks to keep the edges flat (not gravel) .
I also use peat moss for the humid hide.

 

[SincerelySasquatch]

I do bioactive and use a mix of a majority organic potting soil and some sand. There's probably some coco coir in there still too.

 

[GryphKat]

I'm in the process of switching to a bioactive tank for my baby. I've been reading a ton, adding on to what I read in advance. There's contradictory information about impaction, and how, why, and when it happens. The argument that if impaction from ingesting sand or dirt were so common in the wild there'd be evidence. Since there isn't I'm willing to have my tank be a mixture of coir fiber, sand, dirt, gravel, and rocks.

There's a large enough pool of fresh water for the leopard gecko to walk throughout soak in, and rocks and dried wood for climbing. Since I have two little plants as well a part of the tank has a higher amount of humidity and there are hides of different kinds throughout.

 

[acpart]

We'd love to see a picture.

Aliza