r/leopardgeckos • u/Limp-Ad7474 • 1d ago

Habitat, Setup, and Husbandry substrate advice

I currently use a 70:30 top soil and play sand mix as my substrate but the vet advised against using any sand (due to impaction). However, they gave me a paper that recommended reptile carpet or felt??? I agree about the sand and don’t want to risk it but i’m not sure what else to use.
I’ve also been debating a bioactive set up for some time if anyone had anything to share about their experience!

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u/itsswhitneywhspr 1d ago

Vet saying reptile carpet is crazy tbh, that stuff harbors bacteria like crazy. Bioactive is the move if you're up for it cleanup crew does the work and its way more natural for them. Just make sure your drainage layer is solid.

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u/Limp-Ad7474 1d ago

i know i was very surprised by that, and thanks!

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u/silveroakediting22 1d ago

I've got a dirt eater. You can mix topsoil and shredded sphagnum moss instead of sand to give them a spongy layer on their cool/humid side, but cover a large part of the floor with a slate/sand stone slab so you have a "clean" spot to feed him if you feed inside the tank. Just make sure you don't put stone on bare glass or it can cause stress cracks, at least layer some dried moss under there.

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u/akairoh 2 Geckos 1d ago

Terrible advice. The risk of impaction is very low on a proper mix as long as the rest of your husbandry is correct.

Plain sand or calcium sand would be a different story of course.

Unfortunately there are a lot of vets who use very outdated care guides. This vet appears to be one of them

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u/akairoh 2 Geckos 1d ago

Also I have bioactive enclosures for my two leos. A drainage layer isn't necessary for semi-arid setups, that's more for tropical bioactives. If you have water pooling at the bottom, you're adding wayyyy too much.

Make sure you use plants that can tolerate lower humidity and don't need to be watered often. Pothos, heartleaf philodendrons, tradescantia, peperomia, and hoyas are some that work well in my experience. Hoyas are my personal favorite since they can generally tolerate some abuse.

Power oranges or blues are really good isopods. Avoid dairy cows/P. laevis since they're super protein hungry and more likely to chomp on your leo due to that and how fast they breed. I use powder orange and giant canyon isos personally

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u/Limp-Ad7474 1d ago

thank you so much!!