Hi everybody! I am so excited! I finally got one! I have been wanting one for such a long time! I couldn't afford 80 bucks, but I went to petco today and they had baby leo for 15.99!!!! I couldn't say no! I had a 10 gallon so I got a cave hide and a wet hide and a waterand food dish...calci sand the lamps! it is sooo cute!

I was told that the carpet is abrasive to the belly, so they reccomended sand~let me know if this is wrong! HE?SHE? already ate 2 mealworms for me and drank! it is only like 3 inches at most and sooooooooo cute! I am getting pics tomorrow so you can tell me the morph and cool stuff like that =) I also need a name and any tips for a new owner! I can't believe it! FINALLY!

Also, is floral moss ok to put in the moist hide? I wanted to check first...it islike the reptile moss just cheaper from walmart? If not I will get some tomorrow, just wanted to check. Thanks and I can't wait to show off pics!

I think they recommend sand for any living creature they sell. I would keep your Leo on paper towel for a while until he's a little older.

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Mike
"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." - Mother Teresa

Congrats on your new baby!! Looking forward to pics!

No sand, it's really an impaction risk for baby Leopard Geckos especially. I agree with the recommendation of using paper towels. Moistened paper towel in the moist hide is good, too. I might not do moss with a baby.

An under-tank heater might be better than lamps. A thermometer is a must -- invest in a digital with probe from the beginning. Other thermometers are a waste of money. A thermostat for the Under Tank Heater might be good.

You need a dish of plain calcium powder in the tank -- just an empty milk cap is enough to hold it.

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Amy

Hello,

They were wrong.

Calci-sand is some of the worst stuff sold on the market. Calci-sand is made up of calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate is the main ingredient in antacids because of its ability to neutralize stomach acids. The more calci-sand your leo ingests, the harder it will become for the little guy to digest anything else. (Including the calci-sand itself!) That stuff is worse than normal sand.

I have used repti-carpet with my leo colonies for years now. I have yet to have any issue with belly irratation. Most of my adults right now are on repti-carpet. (I have 11 Leopard Geckos.)

ALL baby Leopard Geckos should be kept off of ALL particulate substrates. They have a higher risk of impaction than an animal that is larger. I agree with the papertowel suggestion.

I have never heard of it though I am sure someone on the site has. I would also suggest just using moist papertowel in the moist hide for now. As the leo grows, you can easily switch over to long grain sphagnom moss. it works extremely well and is really cheap at Home Depot. (In the garden center.)

I would suggest you read the caresheet we have available: Leopard Gecko Caresheet

Get the baby off of sand as soon as possible.

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sure I will remove the sand NOW! I knew I should ahve NEVER listened to a stupid sale person! CRAP! I was going to the the carpet~ would the carpet be ok to get for the baby? I am going to do paper towels for now, but I would like to get the reptile carpet for it... thanks guys for the help...I did read the caresheets and found out about the sand, but some on the internet even reccomended sand and others said to avoid it...I am fixing it now...thanks! I am getting pics too!!!

Hello,

I normally house all of my babies on papertowels. By the time they have tripled in size, I will then toss them on carpet.

The use of sand will leopard geckos is always a controversial subject. There are many people that have used sand and never had an impaction problem. There are just as many that used sand though and when their leo died at 8 years old assumed it was from "old age" and never knew sand was an issue. If every person that had a leo die unexpectedly did a necropsy, I think the statistics for sand related impactions would be MUCH higher!

The best way to look at it is like this. Lets say that out of every 1000 Leopard Geckos, 10 will have an issue if housed on sand and may die from an impaction if not caught early enough. How would you know if your leo isn't one of those 10? If people want to play with statistics and intentionally place their Leopard Geckos on foreign substrates, then thats their decision. I want my Leopard Geckos to live through their life expectancy, so sand just isn't an option.

(Leopard Geckos are not found in open sand areas in the wild by the way. Thats why I call it foreign. They reside in mountaneous regions and sparse grasslands. Not the open desert like people think.)

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thanks so much Rich =) I didn't really know that...I did read alot just tonight because I didn't expect to get a leo so soon, but I couldn't pass this up>so he we are I have pics of my new baby!

This is him before I changed to paper towels





This is it with the paper towels and some night shots:first time using it so it turned out good!









I will get more pics tomorrow and hopefully I will find out if it is a boy or girl and I will be looking for names! This little thing is so nice too! I had "him" on the bed when I did the sand change and my mom was sitting there to watch him..he climbed right on her hand! I which that was me, but I was trying to get the sand OUT...so hopefully tomorrow WE will BOND =)~

oh and I do have a Under Tank Heater..I forgot to say. It is on half the rock cave on the heated side...hope this will be ok to use with the towels...I also am using a moonglo bulb 25 watt for nigh time with the Under Tank Heater...and a 75 watt sun glo bulb during the day..so far as I can tell the temps under the light are 85-90 and the cool side 77 (middleish area) I will assume the temps are 70 at night, becasue I used this bulb before...maybe alittle higher..I will check on that tonight to be sure.

ok, so the moonglo is up to 76-77 right under the light... is that going to be too high with the Under Tank Heater on under it? the leo is on the Under Tank Heater now though

The place to measure temps is on the substrate surface, I believe.

You little one's tank looks very nice! I might suggest a more "enclosing" kind of hid on the warm side, too -- even just a toilet paper roll cut in half lengthwise. My lesos really seem to like snug-fitting hides.

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Amy