I loathe reptile carpet for a number of reasons. Eco earth, too, just because it’s not really a soil. I think earthmix arid looks neat

I like how she said it was ok to have the paper towel and carpet setup. It kinda made me feel better about my old setup for my gargoyle gecko and leopard gecko

I’m using carpet right now but I’m gonna change to the naturalistic and mix of bioactive one so my Geckos can dig. Just like you said carpet sticks to powder

I personally use a naturalistic set up with Eco Earth as a substrate for my leopard gecko. She's in 20 gallon right now but I'll be upgrading her to a 40 gallon bioactive enclosure very soon.

I have my Crested Gecko in an bioactive tank. Cool thing is i can grow strawberrys in there =D

i just got a baby gecko a week ago and she’s already pretty calm around me. She ate on the second day too! Btw i’m going to name her Neoma❤️❤️❤️

I'm getting my first leopard gecko tomorrow. I've been preparing since March or February, and you've been my main source of info. I've learnt so much from you, thank you!

I've had a bad experience with reptile carpet, my leopard gecko had some sort of reaction to it over time. His feet were red, since then i switched him over to loose substrate instead.

Con of paper towels: To get the paper towels out, you have to take out everything on top first.

I can’t wait until you make one of your leopard geckos tanks fully bioactive 😍

I inherited a Leo with a four feet long tank, reptile carpet and 2 hides. I added a lot of naturalistic hiding spaces and replaced the reptile carpet with eco earth after watching your videos. Unfortunately he stopped going into his warm hide and seemed really unsettled so I cut the reptile carpet into four one foot pieces so now he has one foot of carpet with a large hide on it and three feet of eco earth in the rest of the tank. He now sleeps in his warm hide during the day and explores at night, he seems to love digging which wasn't an option with his previous setup. I change the small patch of carpet twice a week and wash with reptile safe disinfectant. Maintenence is easy and he is happy and thriving.

Thank you for mentioning the VOCs! I try to keep anything plastic away from the warm side of the tank though ideally soon I wont have anything plastic in the tanks at all.

I’m finally getting my first crested gecko!! I’m sooooo exited!!

Gecko is famous! yes that's his name. my sweet little yella fella is honored to be in your video ❤️

This might be weird but I love your intro when you say “hey guys!” It’s so warm and welcoming and I just feel so happy because it sounds like you want us/me here!

Thank you for another amazing video! Videos like these really help me as a beginner reptile owner and allows to me to create a better environment for my leopard gecko. You keep it real and that's an amazing quality. Thanks again for the research and information!

When my gecko was a baby I use to keep her on reptile carpet (which was soooo annoying to clean) but now she’s moved into a naturalistic setup! She’s a lot more active now!

Thank you 💖 this video was REALLY helpful , as are all your other videos . You have helped me figure out sooooo much research as I’m getting my first leopard gecko in a few weeks 😊😊 btw , give gizmo a little rub under the chin from me 💜

My daughter and I love your channel. We have learned a lot from you and honestly we would have made so many mistakes if it weren't for you so thanks a ton!

This was so helpful, thank you!

I'm getting a my first gecko so I'm gonna use paper towels first to make sure that they don't get harmd

I’ve tried a few different things with my leopard gecko Hei Hei over the year and a half I’ve had him. I started him off on repticarpet since I didn’t have a lot of time for a great set up due to the fact he was found under a refrigerator in a dorm room and was given to me. I hated trying to clean it! I then went with a bio active set up with products mostly from the bio dude but the plants died and my gecko didn’t seem to love it very much. I then when to more calm set up with kitchen cabinet liner and a super cool foam background with places to climb and hide. He loved that but some super worms escaped and burrowed into the foam and made a yucky little habitat in there. Currently Hei Hei is in a paper towel sterile tank while I make his naturalist tank with excavator clay, bio dude substrate, mostly real hides, and some real plants. I’m super excited to see how it turns out! I’m hoping in the future to turn it back into a bio active tank, since I have one for my box turtle and it is awesome.

I had a leo for a long time and I used the reptile carpet, he was blind and I didn't want to worry about him eating substrate. I only had one mat so I used paper towels for the days it was being washed and I always made sure to wash and dry it thoroughly. I never had any problems and even if it wasn't ideal it worked really well on a budget

I used like a mat from a bird stand for my gecko and he loved it, it obzorbed heat in a good way, his claws and teeth didn’t get cought, it is really easy to clean, he couldn’t actually eat it but he did get a good hold when missing food. It gave a cool texture and he could kind of dig. Tho it probably did feel slightly weird or like fresh cut grass.

Nice video mate👌👏👏👏👏👏 Also, I definitely agree with you on the cost effectiveness for a bioactive vivarium. A con about my bioactive leopard gecko setup, is that you need to purchase alot of substrate if your going to be planting it properly, and the lights are quite expensive.

My leopard gecko was not only my first pet reptile ever, but his enclosure was also the first ever bioactive tank I ever built! I know lots of people probably think that bioactives are for more experienced keepers, but I love a challenge! Building bioactive was the most rewarding experience I've had with pet keeping and I hope to make more in the future. I don't know if I could ever do any other kind of tank after going bioactive, besides paper towel for quarantine and hospital situations of course.

Your videos are always soooo helpful!! Thanks so much!!

Your voice is so perfect for these videos makes them much more enjoyable too watch

I use papertowel for my geckos and It works well, I don't like the idea that they could eat any substrate.

I use non adhesive shelf liners! It's super easy to clean, is very cost affordable ($5 per a large roll), and looks nice! Also you don't have to replace the liner that often!

I enjoy your channel very much:) Good content, easily understood, love how you show animals so much :)

I’ve had my carpet for my gecko then I changed it to a naturalistic tank and when I put her in her new home she was much happier so thank you so much

As somebody whos getting a leopard gecko for my birthday, your channel and many others have been really helpful!! ❤️ also, any good name suggestions? Because I dont have many except for Two, Ritz and Rango,and I like both, but once again, thank you for your good work, and keep it up!! ❤️

I've actually been using that method where my geckos tank is half eco earth half tile and slate and I love it. And I feel that he does too. With a tile or slate side it's easier to feed him without him ingesting substrate. He also likes to dig. My only issue is that I he has no respect for the decor I put in there 😂 but that's ok. Also I have hides that have little nooks inside that crickets end up getting into and it makes it difficult for my gecko to eat them

This was a great video Love your chanel by the way xoxo

Even though I don't have Geckos, you're by far one of the few pet KZfaqrs I like 🙈 Very Informative 👏🏻

I am currently using paper towel. I don't use real plants because I am horrible at keeping house plants alive. My decor and hides are a combination of man-made and natural items. I use a lot of rock and wood. Most of my plants are actually silk, though there are some plastic. I like paper towel because I find it so easy to clean and I don't worry to much about them ingesting the substrate. I am pretty new to geckos and this is what work for now.

Another con to the loose substrate is that they kick it into their water dishes and calcium bowls lol. My Leo loves to do that. Plus if you’re using a heating mat you can’t do a very thick layer of substrate

I’m getting a Leopard gecko in January I went to my first ReptileExpo a few weeks ago I’m super excited!

Great video, im looking at getting my first gecko and this had been really informative 👍

you teach me more than my teachers teach me at school 🤣

Bioactive really seems fantastic but keeping alive plants just seems impossible, idk

This has helped me so much!!!

Yay you posted! About to watch this with my Leo😁

I do bioactive tanks for all my geckos. I just feel the carpet and paper towel aren’t really appealing to look at. Also I’ve noticed that my geckos like bioactive more. I just recently changed my leopard gecko over to bioactive and he has been exploring a lot more. Yeah in the beginning it’s very expensiveee, but as you said once it starts going you’re gonna be good. Thanks for talking about this topic. 💚🦎💚

Another new thing to take note of for me lol

I use paper towels for my leos, but I also give them all a dig box with loose substrate for enrichment! Paper towels are super easy to clean and I buy cute ones with lemons on it so it looks adorable. Aside from that, I find that they don’t absorb smells really well and I’m constantly replacing them. I spend around $7 a month on paper towels, but that’s nothing since I spend A LOT on bugs 😭

I have a carpet/plastic hides situation going on rn,but I am going to switch to a bioactive one soon!im so excited!

Aye notification gang

Thoughts on the Exo Terra sand mat? I’m starting to build my first leopard gecko terrarium and I have researched ALOT but I’m still stuck on what substrate would be the best because each one has its pros and cons

Great information. Thanks 😊 🦎

i am going to adopt a gecko soon! i am so exited thanks for all your help

I got a reptile carpet setup but Its so annoying to clean! I'm going to change to Eco Earth when my Leo is a bit older. (There only 4 months old)

I live in Sweden and our choice of substrate is very limited, all the stores I’ve seen sell different kinds of sand and wood chips, which are both bad substrates for geckos. I would like to use paper towels but my mum disagrees thinking the gecko should have a naturalistic substrate and my gecko is kind of a digger so I’m not sure he would enjoy it. My mum wants to use wood chips and I have informed her of the dangers of using it but she talked to a pet shop employee who convinced her that geckos enjoyed wood chips. I told her we could use eco Earth since it’s quite natural but she’s not convinced. I have looked online for eco earth but no company sells eco earth in Sweden and the shipping would be quite expensive if I bought it from another country. Please help me on what substrate could be suitable for our dilemma

My geckos have a combo of all of these. I've recently switched from carpet to paper towel. I personally get around replacing the paper towels all the time by creating a small, sort of "litter box" in the corner they poop in with eco earth. It also acts as a dig pit. They seem to really like it. I like using real hides when I can and since I have ABISMAL luck with plants, I use fake plants. Some real rocks or tile for nail filling. Eventually I'd love a natural setup but as long as they're happy that's all that matters to me.

Thanks so much. Fantastic! 🥰

I am hopefully getting a leopard gecko and I’m 11 wish me luck

Such a well done video!

For my Leo, I use a kitchen liner without any adhesive or overall scents. Easy to clean, but she loves her calcium trails...so it is a constant clean. I do wish to make a bioactive enclosure for her soon, but adulthood bills are keeping me from getting a large exo-terro to ensure she has more space than a 20 long. Always look forward to your videos.

I will get hardwoods from where I live. I give them a light rinse cleaning to remove loose soil and plants and stuff, but I'll try to keep some of the moss and stuff. Then I'll bake it at 300 degrees for about an our or so to remove moisture and kill bacteria and insects. It adds a beautiful natural loos all while making sure it is safe. I'm currently using hickory so it provides an appealing smell when I open the terrarium as well.

Is it me or do all of us just love this channel. Btw love your vids

Thankyou I was about to get one with reptile carpet glad I didn’t

Yet again, An amazing video! :3

Iam soo exited i going to get a leapord gecko and thanks to your help now i know how to take care of one

Great vid really good!!

I used forest floor bedding for my leopard gecko, and I am shocked how fast the humidity spiked up over night!! I am now using paper towels for my little dinosaur.

I had paper towel and eco-carpet before getting my bioactive setups. Paper towel was a pain and often tore, one of my Leos caught his teeth in the carpet, and you couldn’t leave extra crickets in the tanks because they had nowhere to hide away from the geckos. The bioactive is easy to maintain and I can leave a few crickets in the tank; they’re very happy to climb around or hide until the geckos eat them. The geckos have lots of places to dig and rub, so shedding is a breeze. I just mist the plants and moist hide each day and spot clean as needed. They look great, too!

I use paper towel because it is easy to clean. I have 7 leopard geckos so the less time cleaning the better. All the tanks have rocks and leaf litter over the paper. They also all have a moist hide with different substrates in them. A Facebook group I am part of will not let people promote or post photos of leopard geckos on lose substrate.

This video is very helpful! I want to change my gecko’s tank to a much more natural look :) I have started with getting eco earth instead of paper towel, pretty sure I already said that...

I just got a 2 month old gecko this was very helpful

I have a naturalistic set up and it has worked really well for me the eco-earth I use is it the expandable and it has lasted for two years and I still have one brick and a half left so I really like the idea of a naturalistic set up love your videos bye❤️😃

I am currently using a tile and a bit of paper towel but will soon be upgrading tanks to use tile and eco earth. I honestly LOVE my tile and am not a fan of paper towels for a few different reasons but it still works. Love these videos so much!

I recently switched to reptile tank liners from etsy. Small business, really easy to clean. Like vinyl flooring for your gecko, easy to disinfect and fit your tank / color theme.

this video is so well done!! 👏💕 also @7:50 blaze lol

I do a mix with sand mat, and eco earth. I find the pros with sand mat, is that it probably is the most natural-looking with the rocks on it, and The Rock stick on so they never fall off and are a eating hazard I put eco earth in hides so they can dig and sleep on something comfortable

Ty,im getting one soon so this is cool

I use the eco earth coconut fiber brick and I just add the waste to my garden and potted plants, they honestly have never thrived more ❤️🙌

I use peat moss and my geckos seem to enjoy it. I do not have access to the bioactive bugs that you mention but my geckos like to release some mealworms, superworms and let some crickets live which have bred in the tanks. I tried the live plants in my tank but my geckos have crushed them so I need to find something tougher than what I was using that does not get to huge. I like to change up my tanks and the geckos get quite excited to explore when I do this.

This video was super helpful! I just recently made a leopard gecko bookshelf and am planning on getting two more geckos. I have been going back and forth for weeks about how natural the terrariums should be and this video really helped. Also, where do you find your natural rocks that you use as hides?

I saved one from a person who mistreated it not feeding it cause they wanted it to die , building his new habitat now cutest little guy , im giving it the life he deserves

I'm inspired to change out my reptile carpet for eco earth. Should be an interesting transition!

I have personally used reptile carpet, eco earth, and shelf liner. I used reptile carpet when I initially got my gecko. I absolutely hated it. I washed the carpets weekly but regardless of how well I washed them an odor always lingered. Supplement powders also got everywhere after feedings and made the enclosure look messy until washings. I gave eco earth a whirl after doing research. I wanted to form my own opinion about it. Cleaning was definitely easier and less maintenance than the carpet. The cons I had about it were my gecko didn’t seem quite so happy with the loose substrate and I noticed an appetite decrease. Feeder insects would also occasionally get loose from feeding tongs and burrow. Overall I became worried about the health/happiness of my gecko and switched very soon. That brought me to shelf liner. I have been using it for about a month or so now and it’s definitely been my favorite. It’s so easy to wipe clean, my geckos appetite seems to have gone back up, and he also seems much happier. Throughout the cage I scattered leaf litter, he has natural rock and wood pieces to climb on and explore, so he still has plenty of texture enrichment!

I've had my gecko since 2021 and I have been using paper towel since. And I'm planning to change the substrate to something more naturalistic since lets be honest, using paper towel doesnt look that good. So i just wanna say this video has been helpful !!! Thanksss !!!

Im getting a leopard gecko very soon i cant wait

I started with a bioactive setup, but if my Leo didn’t catch her bugs they had so many hiding places so I couldn’t get them out- I didn’t mind so much with mealworms and a couple of Dubai’s but the crickets kept chirping and they ended up breeding which wasn’t ideal as I think the pinhead crickets did bite her. I’ve recently changed to a more simple set up with vinyl flooring as it’s so easy to Clean and no pesky 🦗

I use excavator clay. Nothing soaks into it, cleanup involves a small vacuum. It looks great, no impaction risk. I do have a low area I provide eco-earth so he can dig and I can moisten it when humidity is needed (I live in Las Vegas). I also have various textured hides he can climb on for enrichment. He must be happy, he is always grinning ear to ear!

Very interesting video to start for a beginner( like me)!😉 Each has his pros and cons. Think that i'll start up with the natural environment or the earth mix arid substrate. Because i want to work with real stones, real plants and wood.

I used to use reptile carpet but it was consistently nasty and as you said, my gecko’s nails kept catching it and teeth when eating off it. I use paper towels now, and it’s nice because I can take out the one sheet he poops on and the calcium doesn’t show up as much. I have a wooden half-circle hide under my lamp, but the others are plastic. I would like to one day have the space and everything to set up a more natural tank. I’ve always been interested in seeing my geck dig ;)

i have one of my leopard geckos with paper towel substrate, because she kept getting the eco earth in her eye. the other gecko has been eco earth since i got him and never ever had a problem with getting it in his eye, it was always just the other gecko.

I had bioactive but my geckos stopped eating. So I switched to paper towel and have slate and a dig box. With cork and plants. So they still have all the fun but with paper towels. And now they are back on food and seem super happy.

Thank you for this video i have been waiting for something like this to come. Really helped! Also, what is the ambient night temperature i should keep my leopard gecko enclosure at?

I'm planning to get me a Leo this summer. Until I get more money to set him up a bioactive tank I'll keep him on a simplistic paper towel. I have to say, I'm worried af that I'm not going to do something right...

I’ve literally watched so many reptile videos that I’m getting ads for dubia roaches😂

4:05 "ONWARD, MY STEED! WE RIDE INTO BATTLE!"

Hi again, when i bought my first gecko, i bought it with its own glass viv, mainly because i thought he would settle in with me a little better. The previous owner used sand, so i bought 2 bags, the day after i brought him home i read about the dangers of sand, so i bought a coco brick as the local pet shop recommended it, and i took the sand out of one half at first, and had the other half coco, and gradually reduced the sand, so after 2 weeks he only had coco, he seems to be fine with that and is healthy, eats well etc, the next gecko i bought they already used coco substrate, the 3rd one came in a monkfield tank with a huge hide a stick (not sure what use there was for that!) and a massive waterbowl, and the substrate used was aspen bedding, which is what i use for my cornsnake, but again, she got it reduced daily till she was on coco too. I had previously looked into substrate before i got the first gecko but when theres a picture of a leopard gecko on the front and you buy it from a reputable shop, and some care guides say use it, it's easy to assume you're giving your gecko the best! I am happy with the coco and the geckos seem to like it too. They can dig, their hide stays moist so no shedding problems, its soft for them to walk on and looks natural. My geckos have all gained weight, are healthy, active, so they all have various stones and natural rock, cork tunnels, logs to climb up, and fake plants which i buy from the aquarium section as i was told if its safe for fish it will be for reptiles, so i hope that is true, but they add a bit of colour, but theres only a couple in each. It looks like a natural environment and they thrive so i assume they are happy. They certainly seem very chilled! My son says i think too much into it and worry too much, i change their water at least twice a day as they just walk through it and get coco fibre in it! I feel like most animals/reptiles need stimulation or they can get depressed, a cat doesn't need fuss but they love getting it, so geckos in captivity need interesting homes, clean, safe and secure. Its the least we can give them. I feed all mine with tongs just so i know they are eating and how much. If a cricket escapes i catch it so it can't bury itself in the substrate, and it doesn't get into the hides and nibble on the geckos. One thing made me laugh and think maybe i go over the top was you saying change the whole substrate every 4 to 6 months i think you said, i do it every month, cleanse it the whole caboodle! Not easy with 2 6ft x 2ft x 2ft vivs! The snakes viv is easy as its aspen, so quick to change and cleanse but one male gecko has the other 6ft tank to himself, and he does his business at the end of the viv so that end of the viv always has newer substrate because i take a fair chunk of soil surrounding the poop every day. I love it all, seeing the geckos running around their tanks,climbing, and looking like they enjoy life makes me happy! I didn't realise you had made over 600 videos, ive only watched 4 so far, I've done nothing for the last 2 hours or so! Gonna watch the next one. Totally having the time of my life watching!

So I just went bioactive and my leopard gecko and pretty sure that my gecko likes it. She super interested in hunting now and she wasn't interested in digging before now the bioactive set up she's really into digging now. Cons with the bio active set up would be first month or two day you have do spot clean for a while until your clean up crew can get settled. Also some plants are better suited for a bioactive tank like Zebra Aloe (I've noticed)

I’m getting a baby ball python tomorrow!!! We have been saving for him for a LONG time.

Hello watching from Ohio big fan and love the vid

I have my Rambo on reptile carpet right now and she was on paper towels for a while when she got pinworms. I'm switching to slate tiles soon because I know the carpet probably didn't help the pinworm situation. loose substrates always make me super nervous because I fear impaction. she does have a hide with eco earth that she digs in and it also doubles as her humid hide.

I kept my leopard gecko on carpet for a while and I will NEVERdo that again. He would get his teeth stuck in it and I felt so bad for him ☹. Now I use eco earth and its way better! I will check out earthmix arid soon because it seems like the best choice from this vid!