The vet said that Marley definately has a RI and his shell is a little soft. She told me to increase the heat in the tank keeping it at 90 degrees and give him a calcium supplement as well. She is giving us some eyedrops as well to put in his nostrils. They said he should be fine. I had to leave him there all day, can't wait to get the little one back home!! The vet also said that if we use sand as a substrate that he could eat it and get bound up but I see on the forum that a lot of you use a sand/soil mixture.....I went looking for organic soil and all we found so far is organic potting soil, which has plant food in it and I can't see that being right for him. What kind of sand is used? The one I picked up at the pet shop says that it has calcium and is ok if a little gets mixed in with his food? So many different opinions out there it is confusing to know what is accurate information. She told me best to use a mat or newspaper and make sure he has a hide (which we do, he spends most of his time in there too)
Any opinions on this stuff?

So glad you went to the vet! Did you like him?

The sand we use is children's play sand found at places like lumber stores. Normally folks use it somewhere between a 50-50% mix to a 70-30% mix with sand the smaller one. It's not the sand from the pet store, which is often thought to cause many lizard deaths from impaction.

I also think by having the animal well hydrated and eating a diet, impaction probability becomes less.

Yes, I am glad as well It was a woman, Dr Pelto. She was very nice and said I can call any time with questions. I picked up a bag at the pet store which will be returned later on today. What kind of "organic" soil should we use? not potting soil right? And I should put him in the soil, sand mixture, you think? and pick up play sand at the home depot or whatever? I get so worried about the little guy!

You can pick up COCO bricks such as Bedabeast or Coir to mix in with the sand instead of soil as well. It comes in a brick and you add water to it and it expands into a much larger amount. The calcisand from the petstore can be irritating to their eyes as it is really small and can stick to their eies.

Thanks Anja !
I think I will try that. Especially because he needs a little humidity in there as well right? That stuff stays a little damp? When it dries out though, do you just rewet, or put new stuff down? I think instead of searching and making myself nuts, I will order things from online. Save time and gas!

I use the bricks myself. When they dry out, if your watching carefully it will only be the top layer and you can just spray it. Otherwise, just add a bit more water. Also it dries out first, naturally, under the hot lights, so that's the key spot to watch.

ok so not to be a pest but to make sure I get it right, get the brick, soak it in water and then mix it altogether with some sand? or have an area of one and then the other.....how much water do I add and how long to let it soak? is there any worry of mold with this stuff?

Hmmm you know I never have measured how much water per brick. Then again at least with me the bricks are never identical.

Place the brick in a bucket. I actually use one of the large plastic mixing bowls from WalMart. I then put in the brick. Fill it almost to the top with hot water. Let it sit. It is then leaning almost over the bowl (which is why the bucket would be easier). I carefully move it back into the bowl and at the same time sorta check to see if it's wet enough. If not I simply add more water.

Then I dump it into the enclosure, add in some sand, and mix it up. When cool enough I add the torts.

I have not saw this stuff mold.

I think I will give it a try, Thankyou !!

I use about a gallon of warm water for each brick. Mix it with the sand. You can use damp long strand sphagnum moss (get it at home depot or lowes) to create a humid hide area for your Leopard.


This is one of my Hermann's setups but you can see the sphagnum moss in the green pot and around the end of the enclosure. It dries out every few days and you just remist it with water.




Here is the same general setup in a temporary setup for a Leopard I had.