calcium sand?

[VARNYARD]

What do you guys think about calcium sand? I think it is nothing more than impaction in a bag. This stuff can kill your animal, it acts just like clumping kitty litter in you reptile's system.

Any feedback? Tell me what you guys think.

 

[COWHER]

Yeah i dont think its a good idea its going to stick to there feet too and could cause problems that way too

 

[nat]

When I was a reptile manager at a local pet store the number one health issue that customers asked me about was that their bearded dragon / leopard gecko had stopped eatting and pooping and was loosing weight rapidly. 99% of the time they were using calcium sand. I would get at least 2-3 people in the store with an impacted animal every week. The sad thing is that I would warn people not to use it and many of them choose to because of the aesthetics of it I wouldn't touch the stuff and am surprised it hasn't been recalled. The fact that it is called "calcium" sand has lead to a lot of people assuming they don't need to provide their animal with any other calcium suppliments, which results in the animal eatting the sand even more so and increasing the rate and risk of impaction. IF this product was meant for dogs/ cats and was doing the same thing, consumers would have demanded it abolished a long long time ago.

 

[DaveDragon]

I saw an X-ray of a Bearded Dragon with Calci-Sand impaction. It wasn't pretty.

Then again, reptiles can get impacted with many things. Our male Blue Tegu got impacted from eating too much. I was told he was less aggressive when he had a full belly. I fed him every day and I guess I filled him up.

 

[MMRR - jif]

I've seen Calci Sand kill more lizards than I care to remember. It should be removed from the market. The saddest loss happened to a friend of mine that keeps large lizards. He acquired 3 hatchling Ctenosaura melanosterna, a very rare species in captivity. Since he really was uninformed about new reptile products (keep in mind he keeps large adult Cyclura) he set the hatchlings up in a very nice viv but he used Calci Sand for substrate. Before the babies were 3 months old they all died, within 6 days of each other, all from sand impaction.
I've seen what these impactions look like after being surgically removed. I would never use it and would never recommend it.

 

[ApriliaRufo]

It's hard to believe that it's still around, and it's even harder to believe how long it's been around. When I was a kid, I had a leopard gecko, I used that purple calcium substrate, and he died. I had thought that the mealworms had eaten him inside out, but I preformed my own autopsy, with tears in my eyes, only to discover that he had a giant hunk of purple rough goop the size of a marble stuck in him and he was tiny. Very sad. I researched and got into herps, but have never been able to get another leopard gecko or any gecko since. I'm scarred.

 

[WhiskeyTango]

I whould never use calcium sand for any reptile...its like gum when in the intestine when they eat it..I whould feel horrible

 

[Serafim]

Count me as a vote against Calci Sand. I used it when I first got my dragosn with no bad effects. It was just very dusty and got everywhere I didn't want sand. I switched my larger dragons on to crushed walnut and that worked well. Not sure about any bad effects from the crushed walnut. Also used to with some desert species snakes and lizards. I have just heard to many sad stories about Calci sand and reptisand to risk recommending it...

 

[KoreanDeathKid]

my friend's gecko died cause of the calci sand, i loved the gecko as much as he did

 

[Mike]

I don't use or like it. A dirt\playsand mix works much better for any animal than calci sand.

 

[KoreanDeathKid]

it really depends on what kind of animal you have, for monitors just ordinary dirt will work the bestm and for leopard geckos, tile, paper towels, and reptile carpet will work the best
but i don't know where calci sand comes in as a best substrate for any animal that i know of

 

[Joey]

Wow these stories are horrible now I know not to use calcium substrate I'm surprised it is still even on the market.