# play sand.



## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

evening all.
i have bought two nice big bags of play sand,and i intend to buy 
some sort of soil at the weekend.this all mixed together will be for the geckos inclosures,my question is this.
how on earth can i dry the sand,it's very wet  and that's not the
type of consistancy(sp) i would really like,they don't require a humid
invironment except in their moist box for shedding.
what do you think,any suggestions would be great,thank you.


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

forgot to mention,that if there are any people like non members
who know,or would like to add to this,please do.


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

I usually use my oven to dry things out. I turn the oven on to 100 degrees and once it reaches that temp I shut it off. I use this method to dry out the catnip that I cut from my garden. The catnip goes into the oven very green & damp and a day later comes dry & crinkly, just the way the cats like it! 

Maybe put the sand on cookie sheets or something similar and keep it in the oven?? It's what I would do but then again, I've been known to do some nutty stuff!

Of course, this method would not work for a large volume of sand. I can't recall how large the geckos' home is...


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

hmmmm i was thinking about the oven,well one the tanks they are in
is a 24in and the second one is 32 in. long
i want to fill the tanks about 1/4 full,and hopefully induce some natural
digging behaviour.so i bought two big bags:-D but it's wet,and that's not
what i want,although perhaps if i got the right sort of soil,if it's
dry then i wonder if it would help dry the sand out.:dunno:


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

hmm. maybe spread the sand out on cookie sheets and leave then for a day or two without the oven?

or put the sand in the tank with your heat lamp on it and have it dry that way.. then add the soil in the tank and mix it together?


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

Just thought of something else. When I've needed to presoak certain seeds for planting I dry them by laying them out on newspaper. Not sure this would work for sand as maybe the ink from the newsprint would leach out into the sand but it's an idea....it might work....


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

good thought, but along with the ink risk, the thin paper may become soggy and get in the sand unless your careful, but idk?

maybe cut open a large black trash bag and lay it out fully open as this would be water proof


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

The trash bag is a good idea. You'd really be able to spread it out in a thin layer so it would dry faster. Of course, this may not work if you have cats...they might think it was a giant litter box! :lol:


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

:thumbsup:


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## 1077 (Apr 16, 2008)

+one for plastic tarp.


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

trash bag idea is a fab one, thanks :thumbsup:


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## Neah84 (Jan 23, 2009)

Keep in mind trash bags are water proof.

There is the good chance that the garbage bag will just hold the moisture that seeps out and doesnt air dry. so your bottom layer of sand will still be damp.



secound thought.

If you had multiple garbage bags you could do stages with the sand. 

First bag - wet sand
Secound bag - top layer of first bag after its "dry"
3rd bag - Lower layer of first bag after top is removed - let it dry

repeat.



third thought. Use a hair dryer to help the process of drying it. Just make sure you dont get so close that you shoot sand everywhere. *only use on the wet wet sand*


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

hi thank you for your reply.
i have now actually got them on tiles,
once i moved them into their new home,the trouble would have been that the sand
would have kept spilling out and getting stuck in the glass sliders,
the tiles are easy to clean,and i don't worry about them eating any sand
at dinner time.


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## Neah84 (Jan 23, 2009)

Have any updated pictures? :-D


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

yeah sure. hang on a mo


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

here you go


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## Neah84 (Jan 23, 2009)

ooooo puuuuuurty!

Nice set up. how big is it? lol you might have said earlier but im too lazy to look lol. :-D

I could see soo many different design plans with a set up like that!. have a way for them to go from upper to lower sections.  lol very nicely decorated!


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

thanks 
had it perhaps been for a small water dragon,perhaps i would have
used the shelving for a split level,however it houses three leopard geckos,
two live together,the other is seperated.


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## Neah84 (Jan 23, 2009)

aww you left one by himself? the poor fella

hehe I might be doing something with frogs or lizards soon. sounds like a roommate is moving out so i will have more room :-D


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

the reason he's on his own is because his flat mate died 
i can't put him with the other two as there is a size difference.
i have a feeling that they are all females though.
i would like another to go with Morph perhaps a lovley looking mac snow.
we'll see what the future brings.
frogs sound interesting.. any particular species, if i could i would love to keep 
poison dart frogs.


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## Neah84 (Jan 23, 2009)

um no I dont know which ones I would want. I do know I would want probably tree frogs. Was thinking of getting a tall pillar like tank or hexagon and have it besomething cool with a waterfall but not just a waterfall I mean like water from the top goes down about half way and into a pool of water and then that pool has a waterfall that goes to the bottom where there would be fish. and have vines going from the bottom of the tank to the top, real plants,rain maker, caves. :-D 

Ive always wanted frogs but the closest I got was catching them in the back yard and making a tank for them out of a board game and cardboard and plastic. lol 

Back on track, do you have any close up pictures? 
Sorry you lost one :-(


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## BarbedDragon (Mar 25, 2009)

Snows are awesome, I'm partial to them and the Aptor morphs myself. I have one lonely female Hypo Tangerine Aptor that I will someday find a mate (reptile shows are few and far away around here) I'm considering saving and getting an enigma from LGU.

I've done Poison darts, I love them. I do recommend however getting adults from a reputable source. The babies are so fragile, and alot of people still get illegally shipped wild caught frogs, It'll save you lots of heartache to get adults (Mint terribilis are my fav so far). They are easy as pie.


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## Neah84 (Jan 23, 2009)

I am trying to figure out sizes for frogs but am not having luck so far. I am really interested in the milk frogs. they look SOOOOO cool! and the australian blue phase whites tree frogs too. and also the imitater dart frogs. ok ill stop taking over this thread. lol should be about sand


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## BarbedDragon (Mar 25, 2009)

Right right *insert something about sand here*

My personal favs are Aus. Dumpy Whites (Blue or normal phase). They are hardy vigorous eaters and VERY hard to go wrong with. However you have to remember they are kinda like the big bulls of the tree frogs, you don't want to put anything fragile as far as plants in there (I use pothos and mother-in-law tounge in mine) with them and they are very likley to try and eat fish. They are also pretty dirty (kinda like goldfish i guess) so you want something you can clean often unless you intigrate a filter sytem in your waterfall----even then, they make big poops. 

Typically tho, they aren't boring, they don't really try to hide, and its a ton of fun when feeding time comes around. Plus you can actually handle them. I read somewhere they did a study on them and they release a chemical when you handle them that lowers blood pressure. I've never had one that didn't dig being handled either. Mines sitting on his log basking away as I type 

*insert more things about sand and re-rails thread*


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

there should be enough sand here,so we don't have to worry lol
i don't mind at all that this has turned to frogs. 
"ribbit" as much as we like.


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## Neah84 (Jan 23, 2009)

i was thinking of using a canister filter to work as the waterfall. just something to keep the water turning over but not to strong of a waterfall. Not sure how to do it. I have never kept anything like a frog. fish and 5 snapping turtles in a 10 gallon tank when they were babies. *yes i know it was a small tank* let them go in the pond once they started swimming after the feeder fish and catching them on their own. but even then i never cleaned the tank. lol I was soo young and stupid back then. 

do you have any good sites for frogs or pictures of your frogs? As for plants I am not sure yet. I guess it all depends on what frog i get. hehe.

Gotta love hijacking a thread about sand to frogs. 

btw hows the tiles going for ya willow?


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

hi
the tiles are really good,very easy to clean !
and i don't have to smooth out any lump,because there arn't any.
that's the trouble with sand,i like it flat all the time.
the foot prints drove me crazy :shock:


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## travcoe (May 10, 2008)

Those enclosures are really cool, where did you get them?? I'm setting up a spare tank I have for Leo's right now, I'm just finishing a fake rock background for it and waiting for the stand and I'm good to go 
I was going to use play sand in mine as well, but I was too worried about impaction so I bought Vita-Sand. I was thinking about using tiles as well, but I don't know I just love sand too much.


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

travcoe said:


> Those enclosures are really cool, where did you get them?? I'm setting up a spare tank I have for Leo's right now, I'm just finishing a fake rock background for it and waiting for the stand and I'm good to go
> I was going to use play sand in mine as well, but I was too worried about impaction so I bought Vita-Sand. I was thinking about using tiles as well, but I don't know I just love sand too much.


 
thank you. 
my OH made them from a book case,and added the glass runners,and went to a glazier(sp)
for the glass.
the sand issue........i like sand,although it drove me crazy,i had to have it level all the time,
and no foot prints:shockdon't ask i'm a little crazy sometimes)......anyhoo...........the other
reason for not using sand was the fact that the sand would have got caught in the glass runners,
when i had them in a tank before,the sand was ok,i used play sand,and it was ok.
if you want a pic of the other tank they were in just let me know.
will you be able to show pictures of the finished tank ?


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## travcoe (May 10, 2008)

Haha everyone's got OCD to some level. Yes, I can see why sand wouldn't work well with that setup. I like it a lot though! 
Of course I'll put up pics of the tank when it's finished, I'm hoping the stand will be ready by Thursday and I'll have everything set up.
I'm excited


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

look forward to thursday then


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## swankycat (Mar 31, 2009)

Wait, isnt playsand dangerous? Well who am I to say but a lot of people are against it. What are you using it for exactly? If its for a baby, thats a big no no. =/


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## travcoe (May 10, 2008)

From what I've seen, it's sort of a split decision. Some people have kept Leos on play sand for years without any issues, and others have dead geckos after a week. I'm sure there are lots of factors to take into consideration, but I was too worried with play sand so I bought Vita-Sand by Zoo Med. It's so fine that it's almost powder-like to help with digestion if they eat any, and it's got calcium and vitamins in it.


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

swankycat..first of all Welcome :-D
you have some great information to share,do you own geckos ?
would love to see pictures of them and their set ups if you do.


my personal preferance(and that's just me)i wouldn't put a baby on any type of sand
their aim can be pretty pants,and they would injest a little more than i would like,
however there are people who have used it throughout their geckos lives and never
come across a problem.
you could always place their food in a dish(perhaps the ones desingned for a rodent)
then you reduce the risk even more.
you could even have a half and half set up with a devider,so you keep the food on
the non sand side,
there are i have seen some wonderful set ups on a reptile site i visit,and the people there
made things for their geckos to climb on covered with sand then sealed,they look
amazing.


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## Neah84 (Jan 23, 2009)

is it thursday yet for some pics?


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

it's Thursday now,


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## Neah84 (Jan 23, 2009)

:thankyou: for reminding me. Now I have some photos to look forward to seeing!

:blueyay::redyay::greenyay:


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## travcoe (May 10, 2008)

Hahaha are you guys talking to me?
I decided to go with 2 Armadillo Lizards instead, although I think they're actually Girdled lizards. The tank is all set up, but I'm using an old stand because my other one has been delayed because of a shortage of materials. 
Anyway, I had no time to take their pictures after I bought them and it's lights out now, but I promise I'll get pics as soon as I can.


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

congrats on the new arrivals,
not wanting to make you feel bad about not showing any pictures.............but.............
:BIGweepy:

just kidding.look forward to seeing them though.


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## coldplaying (May 28, 2009)

I am not going to say that sand is terribly dangerous because I've used playsand in the past, but I didn't necessarily like it. I found it a bit dusty. However, I didn't use it for my leos. For them I used/use reptile carpet just so I wouldn't have to keep a close eye on them in case they ate it. The sand I used for my beardies, but just to prevent any further nuisances I switched to the walnut shell bedding zilla puts out which I ended up liking better. I like the repti carpet for my leos, too. So I don't know. If you REALLY want to use sand though, people do use trash bags.


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

pictures of you Lizards and set ups would be wonderfull to see,if you could.


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## amushroomtree (Jun 1, 2009)

willow said:


> swankycat..first of all Welcome :-D
> you have some great information to share,do you own geckos ?
> would love to see pictures of them and their set ups if you do.
> 
> ...



im glad people agree with baby substrate choices. And I also totally agree with feeding in a dish, or even outisde the tank, thats what I do. 

WAIT NO LEO?


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

hi there
is that a crestie in your picture ?


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