# Fish tank gravel for geckos



## spuddastu (Nov 9, 2008)

Would I hurt to use fish tank gravel for Leo's, I'm not against using kitchen roll cause that is what I use but it looks poo lol. I know people are against some stuff because of impacting and I don't want to cause my little friends harm, but I want it to look abit appealing and pos some fake cactus. What do you nice people think would be safe.


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## sazzle (Jun 3, 2008)

I can't imagine it would be overly good for them and again a risk of them eating it and some pieces can be quite sharp. Fake plants are ok x


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## Munkys Mummy (Feb 23, 2007)

personally I wouldnt use gravel and I'm sure others will agree that it could cause impaction if swallowed, stick with your kitchen roll, keep your leo safe :2thumb:


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## Salazare Slytherin (Oct 21, 2009)

Hmmmm, not that I am agains't using substrates etc because I use them myself and am all for it 

But my biggest concern with gravel suprisingly is not injestion (blah blah blah), but I would be worried about those delicate toes and bits rolling all over them which would infact be reasonibly heavy and probibly hurt a geckos foot if that happned, I don't know in honesty but that is not something I would want to try, it would only take a slight bit of weight for one peice to roll the wrong way? and I think there is more risk of a tail getting traped in some of the crevices too?

For that reason I would opt for a more practical substrate approach.


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## Moony14 (Aug 20, 2011)

Just remember only you can make a judgement on substrate. You need to try the types you like, or you could just follow the herd and only use paper towels or Lino. You can get some really nice sandstone ones from b&q but like I say you can try gravel/sand etc. Dont just read 'no sand' and take it as gospel


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## bluesimon (Jun 5, 2011)

Why not try Lino, plenty of different designs 
I agree with the impaction issue where gravel or sand is concerned


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## yacker (Jun 17, 2005)

Get a nice piece of Lino . You can get all different colours so it blends in nice. Nice for heat to get through an very easy to keep clean.Ask about off cuts at your local shop if you see something you like.


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## spottymint (Oct 3, 2010)

HI

I can see salazare slytherin's point, can be a little sharp.

Had to wash my fish tank gravel the other day, exfoliates your hands well, horrible under the fingernails though.

People never say not to put it in fish tanks, yet as a kid I remember my goldfish got it stuck in my his mouth & my mum had to use tweezers to get it out.


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## Salazare Slytherin (Oct 21, 2009)

spottymint said:


> HI
> 
> I can see salazare slytherin's point, can be a little sharp.
> 
> ...


 
Eeeek! we used to keep goldfish! LOL.
years and years and years ago! 
to be honest I have no idea if we were doing it right I don't know a great deal about them.:blush: (no internet back then either so don't flame me):lol2:


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## BoscMonster (Jan 20, 2011)

Salazare Slytherin said:


> Hmmmm, not that I am agains't using substrates etc because I use them myself and am all for it
> 
> But my biggest concern with gravel suprisingly is not injestion (blah blah blah), but I would be worried about those delicate toes and bits rolling all over them which would infact be reasonibly heavy and probibly hurt a geckos foot if that happned, I don't know in honesty but that is not something I would want to try, it would only take a slight bit of weight for one peice to roll the wrong way? and I think there is more risk of a tail getting traped in some of the crevices too?
> 
> For that reason I would opt for a more practical substrate approach.


Good points ouch trapped toes.

Would it be worth while to use polyfiller or grout then put the gravel onto that, make your own pebble'y tiles.
Solves the loose gravel issue and doesn't use glue.


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## Salazare Slytherin (Oct 21, 2009)

BoscMonster said:


> Good points ouch trapped toes.
> 
> Would it be worth while to use polyfiller or grout then put the gravel onto that, make your own pebble'y tiles.
> Solves the loose gravel issue and doesn't use glue.


Well there is more than one way to skin a cat, the line of husbandry is totally subjective to how you way out the factors, assess the risks, do what you will to minimise them, it can go too far completely removing risk or not far enough (not removing the obvious threat) really.

But Personally I don't see the appeal in this case, but that does not mean it is not possible.

It does irritate some of us when people jump straight onto the flame or disprove waggon from other more effective, tried tested and common methods to the not so common ones.

If someone does something different it doesn't mean they are nessacerily wrong either, based on expirience of the species, personal preference and risk assesment.

Basicly what I am saying is common sense goes a long way.


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## Dan Trafford (Mar 10, 2011)

I think sticking the gravel down will give too much of an uneven surface for the leo to walk on (imagine walking on cobbles with no shoes on) Lino or ceramic or slate tiles with the edges sanded down is a good way to go.


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## spuddastu (Nov 9, 2008)

Don't get me wrong I'm not going to change my way if it was going to harm them, just wonderd if there was a better natural look, I'm thinking viynle


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## Salazare Slytherin (Oct 21, 2009)

spuddastu said:


> Don't get me wrong I'm not going to change my way if it was going to harm them, just wonderd if there was a better natural look, I'm thinking viynle


 
There is  which ways out the factor for me that I don't think I would want to try it, tooi much involved for me to worry about.

For me,,, even sand is more appealing and probibly safer than gravel.


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## BoscMonster (Jan 20, 2011)

Dan Trafford said:


> I think sticking the gravel down will give too much of an uneven surface for the leo to walk on (imagine walking on cobbles with no shoes on) Lino or ceramic or slate tiles with the edges sanded down is a good way to go.



It has 4 legs and we only have 2 but slate tiles would look good create a few different contours.

I don't try to say "no do this" if someone comes up with a idea but unsure how to make it work i'll try some ideas.
Rather than follow the herd, experiment with something. (Within reason)


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## BoscMonster (Jan 20, 2011)

Just had a visual for my Leo viv need some thick(ish) slabs and thin ones. B&Q i go........
After work in another 9 1/4 hours :whip:

Experimentation, think before using white sand because it looks cool and contemporary.........why because dusted food is now invisible.
No wonder my Leos are a little p:censor:d at me for making life difficult.


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## Smigsy (Jul 30, 2009)

I use a piece of tile in mine with sand round the edges which works well for me in the past I used small smooth fish tank gravel for about a fortnight but got rid because crickets/meal worms just bugger off down into it and as all my vivs were in my room i found it's noisy in the early hours when mrs Leo decided to dig around. 

I had fairly large smooth pieces so I didn't think It would be a huge cutting or impaction risk but I'm sure they could of eaten it if they tried. 

only benefit I found was it held the heat well but then so does tile 

Hope this helps


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## spottymint (Oct 3, 2010)

salazare slytherin your ok, kept may fish over the years, he was the only one who got the graval stuck.

It's not the natural gravel, but that white stuff that is coloured, had other issues with that & no longer use it.

I'm looking at substrates for beardie's, like sand, but issues ? :hmm:

Thinking lino, with a small amount of sand (sweep it out & replace easily) with a basking rock too keep nails trim.

Depends on Dragons age too.


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## stungy (May 28, 2011)

You can get lino with a pebble print on it or even in £ land they do a rubber shower curtain with the same pebble print,its quite thick,and you can't see through it nice and easy to clean


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## Braz (Feb 10, 2011)

spuddastu said:


> Don't get me wrong I'm not going to change my way if it was going to harm them, just wonderd if there was a better natural look, I'm thinking viynle


How about some nice slate. Holds heat really well and I think it looks great?


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## Gregg M (Jul 19, 2006)

I would not use it on its own. Reason being it will not hold heat and humidity well, and the geckos will not be able to form proper burrows in it. I can be used in conjunction with a natural substrate in small amounts just to add some texture to the landscape.

It is highly unlikely a leo would ingest gravel so the danger of impaction is slim to none.



Dan Trafford said:


> I think sticking the gravel down will give too much of an uneven surface for the leo to walk on (imagine walking on cobbles with no shoes on) Lino or ceramic or slate tiles with the edges sanded down is a good way to go.


LOL. This makes me laught. Did you forget that these are geckos that specialize in living in areas that are full od rocks, gravel, and sandy sols? They evolved to live on terrains over thousands of years. Do you think a few generations in captivity would change them?


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## Salazare Slytherin (Oct 21, 2009)

Gregg M said:


> I would not use it on its own. Reason being it will not hold heat and humidity well, and the geckos will not be able to form proper burrows in it. I can be used in conjunction with a natural substrate in small amounts just to add some texture to the landscape.
> 
> It is highly unlikely a leo would ingest gravel so the danger of impaction is slim to none.
> 
> ...


 
Some more good points raised here 
any vids on your setup and bio active substrate yet Greg? I have a spare 4ft viv sitting  , just upgraded alot of my enclosures to the new T5 systems too so the T8 flourecents I now have I am intending to use for the geckos too.
A bioactive substrate sounds like something pretty fun


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