VitaSand

[Merrit321]

I took a trip to Petsmart today to pick up a few bricks of Ecoearth for my tort. My mom had brought me, and with any trip to a pet store, you have to look around at other things. My mom saw some glow in the dark sand and said I should get it for my geckos. I said that sand was bad for reptiles because they ingest it and it tears apart their organs. One of the Petsmart employees was doing something with the reptile supplements and said sand wasn't bad for all reptiles, but the biggest problem was mites. I then clarified and said my geckos were juvenile and then she agreed with me. My geckos aren't exactly juvenile, but I probably will never put them on some sort of loose substrate, regardless of age.

So, my question is, for adult reptiles, is sand okay?

 

[Floof]

Depends on who you ask.. IMHO, no, sand is still bad even for adult reptiles. Just because they get bigger doesn't make them immune to impaction, especially with the "Vitasand" and "Calcisand" type products. They're much, MUCH more likely to cause impaction, as the grains of sand are rough-edged (as opposed to play sand sold at home depot, which usually has smooth edges) and therefore can lock together much more easily in the gut. The companies often claim that these sands are "digestible," but they absolutely are NOT.

As well, there have been reports of some reptiles purposely eating the "Calcisand" products to satisfy their calcium need, much like our torts will chow on cuttlebone and calcium powder for the same, which seriously compounds the problem for obvious reasons.

Then there's the potential physical ailments and bacterial concerns that come just from being on sand, that have nothing to do with digestive issues.. i.e., if bits of sand gets in your pet's eye, it will irritate the eye and potentially cause an infection. There have been cases of animals getting abscesses on sand--from the abrasion, the bacterial build-up, or a combination thereof, I'm not sure, but the point is, it has happened. Then the bacterial build-up. Unless you do a full substrate change every time your animal defecates, there's no getting all of it when you spot clean, especially in a substrate like sand that doesn't necessarily absorb the liquids. And if you don't get all that up, what's left seeps to the bottom and begins to create a bacterial cesspool.

Not that you need any convincing, it sounds like... But, as you can see, there is a LOT more to not using sand than just the potential intestinal problems. People still use it, of course, and the matter is debated often, but you'll notice there's never much of an argument "for" using sand, at least not enough to counteract the many, many cons to using sand.

On another note, the thing about mites the employee told you is bull... Mites is a potential problem with every rough/porous surface or substrate that can harbor a few. Mites can be present on almost anything, be it loose substrate (including everything from wood chips to coco coir to sand...), caging fixtures (hides, climbing logs, rough-surfaced food/water dishes), to even slate tile and other non-particle substrates. Though I agree it's a potential problem for sand (though certainly NOT the "only" problem!), it's also a potential problem for anything else you might put in or near your reptile cage that has potentially been exposed to mites.

Just my $.02 on the subject...

 

[Tom]

I agree with Floof here. I wouldn't use it for any of my reptiles of any age.