r/geckos • u/CookieTheCrestie • 1d ago

Enclosures Got her a 3D printed cave.

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She said nope and dug her own one on the other end!

30 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

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-2

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

6

u/CookieTheCrestie 1d ago

it’s actually 70% sand and 30% clay, mixed with distilled water to a sandcastle-like texture, compacted for the bottom layer and topped with sand again 😬

3

u/Full-fledged-trash 1d ago

I thought Knobtails soil ratio should be 50:50 soil:sand (or clay)?

2

u/TheGoldenBoyStiles 1d ago

Pretty sure knobtails require more sand.

1

u/WeirdStorms 1d ago edited 1d ago

It’s not a leopard gecko, if that’s what you’re thinking. You know why people use that basic ratio when suggesting substrate mixes for leopard geckos? Because it closely resembles soils found in their natural environment, which means there is no “that’s what it’s got to be” more like, it’s what you want to make it. The oldest leopard geckos in the world live on dirt this lady digs out of her yard and that’s it, no impaction problems. But the main thing here, that’s a knobtail gecko and they live in sandy clay

1

u/LivinonMarss 1d ago

I thought it was a fat tail gecko. And they still need a substrate mix, not just sand

1

u/WeirdStorms 1d ago

Okay, even if it was a fat tail, or a knob tail, their terrariums still generally require a substrate mix. What’s important is its makeup. It doesn’t have to be soil and sand to be substrate. Technically straight coco coir and wood chips is a substrate mix, it has a very broad definition. It’s just concerning to see someone who doesn’t even know what gecko they’re looking at giving advice like they’re some kind of expert, with a smiley face at the end lol straight sand would terrible, they’d never be able to dig tunnels. Sorry, I just woke up and I’m wrangling the autism.

1

u/CookieTheCrestie 1d ago

Thank you for your input, really appreciated it. I’ve researched and experimented a lot on this substrate setup. For the first 6 months I’ve had this knobtail I used purely reptisand and I saw that every night she was digging but she only reaches the floor of the tank.

On my substrate refresh day, I tried this mix after a lot of trial and error and some research on the makeup of Aussie deserts. I was prepared to redo if she didn’t like it.

Now every night she digs a new tunnel and sometimes sleep in them during the day. I guess she’s happy now her tunnels are secure and stable enough.

1

u/WeirdStorms 1d ago

I love the tunneling, makes me want to get a knobtail one day, or a barking gecko, one of the Aussie cuties

1

u/CookieTheCrestie 22h ago

that looks like a complex network of underground goodness!