Setting Up Naturalistic Leopard Gecko Enclosures! | Exo Terra Stone Desert Substrate 

Thank you!! Makes the enclosure much lighter too 😅

Thank you very much!

Thank you! It’s great!

Thank you for watching 😊

Thank you!

Thank you!!

Spray foam is so fun to me 😂 Thank you!!

Thank you 😊

Thank you!!

I don’t want humidity in the whole tank, but I want a humid area. Before I add the geckos I’m adding more to create a humid area for them. Just didn’t want to do it yet as the geckos aren’t going in them for another 1-2 weeks :) I also wouldn’t suggest eco earth, it’s not a true soil and is very dusty, stringy and soft. It’s better to go for a more soil like substrate!

Thank you!

you can use a rock like tile!

@@Grace-eu4nd yeah. I thought about doing that with a naturalistic back ground. I just need to go get some and get it cut. Lol

i guess Im asking the wrong place but does someone know of a tool to log back into an instagram account? I somehow forgot my account password. I would love any tricks you can give me

@Davion Dean Instablaster :)

Dollar tree has really nice back splash tiles that look like bricks and stuff. You just have to weed out the actual nice ones. They're sticky but you can just place it down and they're obviously cheap. Easy to clean too

Thank you :)

Yeah it’s completely held up for me!

Thank you, I really appreciate it and I’m glad you enjoyed the video 😊

@@EmmaLynneSampson Np. Thanks for inspiring me to get a leopard gecko. Looking forward to your next video!!

The substrate can be changed as easily as any other substrate can be. Just scoop out the areas that need cleaned!

I can’t say for certain as I haven’t tried it, but I feel like it would work fine on a wooden enclosure!

A 50W PAR30 or PAR38 halogen flood bulb connected to a dimmer or dimming thermostat would be ideal. Tube UVB is also beneficial. Also, 40 gallons or bigger is recommended.

I was going to use them to grow but never got around to it..

The loose substrate can be scooped out the same as any other substrate would be, If you need to do anything with the solid pieces though you’d have to sort of break them off and then replace them!

Leopard geckos don’t really come from places where there’s a lot of foliage. Most of their hiding opportunities are going to come from rocks, caves, wood, etc. Having open space for them to explore is also just as important as having hiding spots as well! I do plan on adding a bit more to the enclosures before adding my lizards though. Not to say you can’t add more plants if you want to, but it’s just not really how they live in the wild and I was going for a naturalistic look!

I’m planning on adding more plants once my province is no longer in lockdown so I can go and get some haha

@@EmmaLynneSampson I really love that you did a naturalistic setup for your leo. And it looks amazing

Thank you!

I usually buy mine from a local pet store here in Ottawa called critter jungle, or I order it from ReptilesRuS

It’s usually recommended to sterilize them by baking them in the oven, but this honestly usually isn’t necessary.

Thank you! The majority of the substrate isn’t stuck down, it’s mostly all loose. Very easy to just scoop out the areas that need cleaned. I also do plan on making them bioactive, I just don’t have the supplies right now as my province is still in lockdown.

@@EmmaLynneSampson thanks for the reply! I'm really excited to see how it works bioactive. I'm in the middle of doing a bunch of upgrades right now too so I'm looking for inspiration. And I'm in Ottawa too, there are places that are delivering like critter jungle for bio supplies just in case you didn't know! 💜

Thanks!! Yeah unfortunately they don’t have many arid plants or anything so I’m waiting until I can go shopping at some plant stores again 😂

@@EmmaLynneSampson how will you make this bio active if there’s no drainage layer?

You might not need it but I would definitely recommend it as it will seal the foam foam and make cleaning much easier

Which country are you in? I’ll try and find a store that sells it!

@@EmmaLynneSampson I live in the US.

I'm also trying to find the EarthMixArid in the US 🤔 but I can't find it anywhere 😟

i’m pretty sure it depends on the animal you have in there, if it’s a leopard gecko you might want to spray with water a little less 🤷

@@alicia-or4sp it doesn’t have an animal in it yet only set up a couple days ago just wanted to make sure the enclosure was ok. I am either going to keep a gecko or mantis

Medium low, which are 24”x18”x12”

I have not yet setup and heating and lighting. I mentioned that in the video I don’t have it yet. I’ll be showing in a future video what I do

@@EmmaLynneSampson oh sorry i guess i hadn’t caught that you had said that

Can they? Sure, but I don’t know that it would really be beneficial to them as they need whole prey food items

i was wondering that too especially sense when it gets wet it becomes hard and clay like, sound like a big impaction risk.

So this substrate is quite different from sand, and there’s really no risk of it hardening inside the animal. In order for the clay to harden, it must be wet, and then exposed to air and allowed to dry. If ingested, it’s not going to be exposed to air so it’s not going to harden. It’s actually very fine, and very crumbly and 100% natural. If ingested, it should pass through just fine assuming your care is correct. The reason why calcium sand can harden inside a gecko and cause a blockage is because it clumps together when wet - this substrate is the opposite. It falls apart when wet and must be exposed to air to harden. There is a lot of misinformation out there about loose substrate and impaction. Impaction is not usually caused by substrate alone, but instead is caused by incorrect care such as improper heating. These animals are more intelligent than we give them credit for, if they happen to get substrate in their mouths, almost always they will spit it out. I’ve observed it in many of my animals. And then any substrate that does get ingested, will pass through without a problem as long as it was a safe substrate, and your heating correct. If your temperatures aren’t high enough the animals digestive function may be compromised, leading to higher risk of impaction

When wet it actually falls apart. It needs to be exposed to air in order to dry which is why you don’t need to worry about it hardening in your animal. If you read the reply above there’s a bit more information on that! :)

I don’t think so. I’d either buy ledges or make them out of foam.

I usually use about 1/3 vinegar and 2/3 water

@@EmmaLynneSampson thx

I’m not sure what Emma uses, although overhead heating is best. A halogen flood bulb connected to a dimmer/dimming thermostat is the most natural and beneficial option, Arcadia’s deep heat projector is the second best option. They produce infrared A and B like the sun, heat that penetrates deep into the skin tissue and heats them far more effectively than heat mats. Whereas heat mats only produce IRC, which only heats the surface of their skin.

Impaction is caused by improper husbandry, not loose substrate. As long as their husbandry is correct (temps/heating, etc.) they’ll be able to pass it no problem.

@@nightinggale6470 sweet! Thanks for letting me know

Right! Might I add they love to dig and the minimum requirement for a leopard gecko is 40 gallons breeder to have the hot side and cold side gradient and that won’t happen in this enclosure as it’s a square.

I’ll be adding a humid area before I put my geckos in!! I’ll show it in a future video :)

Yeah I’m not going to be using a heat pad! I plan on using Arcadia deep heat projectors. I plan on using the slate stones as their basking spots since the slate will retain heat, giving them both belly heat and overhead heat!

@@EmmaLynneSampson oh awesome I actually started watching videos on dhp’s right after your video, I think that’s definitely your best bet! I’m definitely gonna get one too I hope they become the standard for leopard gecko care soon!

It’s a similar idea, but the product itself is quite different

Excavator clay is just a mixture of multiple natural clays, and a little bit of fine stone grit which when made wet can form backgrounds, caves and hides. Exoterra stone desert is a mix of clay, decomposed granite, a variety of decomposed minerals, sand, and a little soil. It can effectively do everything excavator clay can when wet (forming solid backgrounds and burrows), but the fact that it is similar to the ingredients used to achieve a semi packed down top layer of substrate in a arid bioactive setup means that it could possibly also be used sparingly to be mixed in with normal bioactive substrates to achieve the hard rocky packed down soil most desert animals live on and make their burrows in

It might be ok. You want a substrate that’ll hold their burrows. A soil/playsand/clay mix is good.

@@nightinggale6470 ok thanks

Thank you! And while it does look like sand, it’s incredibly different. Sand is made of tiny stones, this substrate is a natural clay soil, so it’s very soft. There’s very little risk of impaction when using a safe, natural substrate as long as your care is correct and you have correct temperatures. Impaction is rarely every causes by loose substrate alone, but instead is a result of improper care. These animals are a lot more intelligent than we give them credit for. They know the difference between food and dirt, and will spit out any substrate. A small amount that does get ingested isn’t going to cause issues. As long as the animal has proper temperatures, they should be able to pass any substrate no issue.

ok good, just wanted to make sure.

24x18x12

This basically does the opposite. When wet - it becomes a soft mush. It needs to dry out in order to harden. So if ingested, it becomes very soft, fine particles which easily pass through the gecko. I actually made a follow up to this video discussing that in more detail - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ncAIpcdpprY.html

@@EmmaLynneSampson okay thank you for explaining!

Please refer to this video as I discuss impaction - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ncAIpcdpprY.html

I can discuss it in more detail if you wish but impaction isn’t inheritor caused by any particular substrate, it’s actually more of a symptom of deeper husbandry issues related to heating and hydration.

While it does look like sand, it’s incredibly different. Sand is made of tiny stones, this substrate is a natural clay soil, so it’s very soft. There’s very little risk of impaction when using a safe, natural substrate as long as your care is correct and you have correct temperatures. Impaction is rarely every causes by loose substrate alone, but instead is a result of improper care. These animals are a lot more intelligent than we give them credit for. They know the difference between food and dirt, and will spit out any substrate. A small amount that does get ingested isn’t going to cause issues. As long as the animal has proper temperatures, they should be able to pass any substrate no issue.

I can go into detail if you wish, but as a zoology doctorate student specializing In reptile care I can confidently say that impaction is not necessarily a issue summit substrate as much as it is a symptom of deeper common husbandry issues related to how we heat and hydrate our animals

You’re very wrong and have extremely outdated information. Loose substrate is much better for a leopard gecko. Please don’t spread old bad information.

I’m hoping to add some live succulents in the future! Unfortunately my province is still in lockdown so I’m not able to get some right now but I’d love to in the future! And there aren’t any areas in the enclosure that I can’t access!

24x18x12

@@EmmaLynneSampson I checked the price..omg so expensive😂 The new home looks so lovely.

@@EmmaLynneSampson can I please get your opinion on those Atasuki tanks. The ones you have to build. Do have anyone whose had used this tank.

J. T. They aren’t bad, but if you are going to go with a non glass tank I recommend, just going with a prebuilt brand as it’s way easier to adjust your heating and lighting where as with done diy setups you have to know how to do the wiring for all of the life support and electronics.

While it does look like sand, it’s incredibly different. Sand is made of tiny stones, this substrate is a natural clay soil, so it’s very soft. There’s very little risk of impaction when using a safe, natural substrate as long as your care is correct and you have correct temperatures. Impaction is rarely every causes by loose substrate alone, but instead is a result of improper care. These animals are a lot more intelligent than we give them credit for. They know the difference between food and dirt, and will spit out any substrate. A small amount that does get ingested isn’t going to cause issues. As long as the animal has proper temperatures, they should be able to pass any substrate no issue.

@@EmmaLynneSampson ok! I'm not against loose substrate, it's just that specific substrate looks like sand, but thanks for letting me know

Gwen Tilelli sand actually isn’t that much of a issue in of itself for that matter either as crazy as it sounds. Impaction is actually more of a symptom of more deeply rooted care issues than it is a issue of substrate. Using things like a heat mat that only output infrared C (which is good for air and surface temps, but aren’t very bioavailable for our reptiles) is going to hinder some aspects of digestion and limit activity which can cause impaction, so I recommend using a halo Get it daylight incandescent heat lamp as they provide large amounts of infrared A,B,C, and uva (visible light) this is more useful for ou R reptiles to thermoregulate themselves with which means more active reptiles that are more able to digest and pass possible blockage risks. Also be sure your leopard geckos are eating prey items that have plenty of bodily fluids as a large part of their fluid intake is eating prey items. It’s also important to make sure humidity fluctuates between 25%-50% with the highest point being right after the sun goes down. This will also help to maintain optimal hydration. And lastly avoid substrates like calcium sand, and artificially manufactured sand grains. Calcium sand causes blockages and impaction because it forms hard calcium deposits in the intestine, and artificial grain sand is jagged which means it packs extremely tightly when wet. Natural grain sand and most natural substrates actually become fairly loose but goopy when wet which is easy for healthy animals to pass. These animals have to be adapted to passing fine grain substrate as they lye in areas with a substrate made of a hard top layer of soil, clay, sand, decomposed granite, decomposed mineral deposits, stones, pebbles, and sand.

Sand doesn’t cause impaction with proper husbandry

@@kristinabowers820 it's still not recommended for most species of reptile. It's definitely not a safe substrate for leopard geckos and bearded dragons even if they have the right husbandry, but If you have an animal that requires sand like a Kenyon sand boa, that's fine. For leopard geckos, it's a no even if you have correct heating

I can go further into detail if you wish, but as a doctorate zoology student specializing in reptile care, impaction isn’t necessarily a issue of substrate. It is actually more of a issue pertaining to how we heat and hydrate our animals.

It’s definitely not too small

It’s not to small I have a bigger tank but that’s still above average size

It’s wayyy over the minimum size ain’t no way you say that’s too small your probably keep your leopard in a closet your transformed to a gecko environment

You seem like a lot of fun

They don’t live in the desert. And there’s nothing wrong with using foam, it can be used for enrichment purposes (making 3-d backgrounds and ledges, etc.).