Gecoks-Fat-Tailed - Running Out of Paper Towels :)

Your Reptile and Amphibian Resource and Information Site

Back to Gecoks-Fat-Tailed Forum Forums Home Members Area

Gecoks-Fat-Tailed Forum

Jhudson2002 Dislimbed Smurfzilla TarantulaGuy AllHailRain Jhudson2002 AllHailRain Smurfzilla Jhudson2002 Smurfzilla Jhudson2002 Pieperson Pieperson AllHailRain

Member

Message

#1762735

Jhudson2002
View Profile

Running Out of Paper Towels :)

My AFT is roughly 7 inches or so. I have her on reptile carpet, but I am aboslutely tired of picking up her crap every day to every other day. I bought some reptile sand today. I think it would be so much easier to scoop up her feces rather than to pick it up with a paper towel. Please let me know if sand is safe for her. Thanks Bunches!!!

06/16/08 02:07pm

#1762908

Dislimbed
View Profile

Message To: Jhudson2002 In reference to Message Id: 1762735

Running Out of Paper Towels :)

Don’t use JUST sand, mix some dirt into it(25%sand to 75% dirt).
Sand doesnt hold humidity,and adding dirt will allow him/her to burrow.
Don’t worry about impaction if you are getting a surface temp of about 100 degrees(from a basking light). That will help it pass if it accidentally eats any substrate when hunting.

06/16/08 04:42pm

#1763098

Smurfzilla
View Profile

Message To: Dislimbed In reference to Message Id: 1762908

Running Out of Paper Towels :)

sand is terrible for afts. the low humidity can create some nasty breathing problems and ive seen the sand bits cause some nasty sores if it gets stuck around their mouths.. theyre just not meant to handle it. the dirt mix is a good idea.. but if you want a ready made solution i recommend just using the compressed coconut fiber bricks. they expand in water and make a great substrate or all natural unfertilized potting soil can also be used.

06/16/08 07:25pm

#1763366

TarantulaGuy
View Profile

Message To: Smurfzilla In reference to Message Id: 1763098

Running Out of Paper Towels :)

Coconut fiber does work a lot better, I prefer to mix it with some drier substrate over portions of the tank, create humid and dry spots, but that’s just me.

06/16/08 10:20pm

#1763549

AllHailRain
View Profile

Message To: Jhudson2002 In reference to Message Id: 1762735

Running Out of Paper Towels :)

Coco fiber is cheaper and on the same level of easy-to-scoop-poop as sand.
Plus the whole sand is horrible for afts factor..
Or unfertilized potting soil is even cheaper, easier and just as good.
:)

06/17/08 12:56am

#1763788

Jhudson2002
View Profile

Message To: AllHailRain In reference to Message Id: 1763549

Running Out of Paper Towels :)

The sand that I bought is 100% edible and digestable. I think its called repitite or something like that. For humidity, I do have a rather large humid hide box made out of a tupper wear container, and inside I put moss that I mist twice daily.

06/17/08 11:50am

#1763816

AllHailRain
View Profile

Message To: Jhudson2002 In reference to Message Id: 1763788

Running Out of Paper Towels :)

Well, it’s 100% edible and digestible for animals that have deserts for natural habitats, such as knob tail geckos. i’m sure it’s good sand, but these geckos aren’t made for that environment.

afts live in western africa in places like nigeria in marsh-esque areas where they live on moist dirt, so they don’t have any protection in their skin, tummy, digestive tract or anything against sand (like desert reptiles do)...so it can still cause skin sores and impact them easily.

06/17/08 12:23pm

#1764297

Smurfzilla
View Profile

Message To: AllHailRain In reference to Message Id: 1763816

Running Out of Paper Towels :)

its not that calcium crap is it? its not digestible in any way shape or form and has impaction warnings on it.
afts arent made for sand. i have never seen a healthy aft on sand, with or without a humid hide. theyre not made to handle it. go with the coconut fiber bricks. theyre cheaper than sand, look nice, and cover a lot more area than a bag of calcium crap.

06/17/08 07:33pm

#1764527

Jhudson2002
View Profile

Message To: Smurfzilla In reference to Message Id: 1764297

Running Out of Paper Towels :)

So...Could I mix the unfertilized potting soil and the sand together and put some of the coconut fiber on top. I do have some flukers reptile moss. Is that about the same as what the coconut fiber would provide if I put that on top. I just don’t know. I want my AFT to be healthy and happy...

06/18/08 12:24am

#1764678

Smurfzilla
View Profile

Message To: Jhudson2002 In reference to Message Id: 1764527

Running Out of Paper Towels :)

moss is a great addition to a tank. im actually working on picking up plants to pot in my tank instead of plastic ones (natural plants do wonders to help up the humidity).
the easiest thing to do in your case would be just return/exchange the sand if you can and get some coconut fiber bricks. trust me.. in one brick there is more then enough for a tank. get enough out of two bricks to cover two 20 gallon long tanks, a ten gallon, and an 18inch cube exoterra tank base. mix it with some potting soil if youre going to plant in the tank. aft tanks should be fun to set up. just keep the humidity up. and any of it that you dont use can be put in a bag until you need it.
ive tried the potting soil/sand mix and wasnt too fond of it (personal preference).. it is good if youre planting though so ill probably end up using it again though.
here are pics of two of my tanks as examples. rattie and mattie love climbing so i added the mopani wood to their tank. chubbs likes to dig out holes and hide a lot so she got the half buried log. my afts seem to love exploring their tanks whenever i rearrange them so dont be afraid to be creative! and i just picked up some cork bark so all the tanks are probably going to get redone. lol

06/18/08 08:17am