whats the best substrate to use

right now im using eco carpet. Im planning on getting a 20 gallon tank next week for my single baby leopard, I want to make as dessert as possible. right now he/she is in 10 gallon tank if its young is it to early to upgrade to 20 gallon tank?

If she's a juvenile a few months old at least, then no it's not too early to up the tank size. If she's a hatchling, under 1-2 months, then I'd say yes 20 gallon would be pretty big for a hatchling.

Best substrate would be either slate/ceramic tiles or paper towels. So if you are going with a theme and want good looking substrate, I'd suggest look for tiles that look the color/pattern you want. Tiles should fit a standard 20 gallon long tank nicely. They'll also look great and make it very easy to clean & keep clean, with zero impaction risk for your gecko.

Even if shes under 1-2 months, as long as you put enough hides in and clutter the floor up enough to where there aren't many wide open spaces you'll be fine.

+1 on what Mardy said about the tile/paper towels!

unsure of its age
my avatar is his/her picture i just took

Yeah as long as it's not a fresh out of the egg hatchling, then it should be fine. Reason why people don't recommend large tanks for hatchlings is because they can get lost, and sometimes they won't know where the warm spot is and where the food is. It's like leaving a baby in a huge large room by itself. But if you observe it carefully and direct it to where she needs to be, then sure go for it

Theres a sticky in the housing forum that tells the best way to make the proper leo set up plus looking at the sticky in the photo section, show off your set up wool give you some great ideas. Leos come from packed earth deserts and live in rocky craigs and crevices if you want natural use lots of rocks. Ceramic and porcelain are insulators (think coffee mug here) natural stone tile like slate marble granite would heat better it a high end peel and stick vinyl tile which is what I use with no problems. It heats great and easy to clean. A lot of home stores like lowes or home depot will cut stone tiles for you, just be sure you measure inside the tank as the silicon bead will take up about 1/4 inch off your size.

Guys, wanted to get your input and offer as a suggestion. You can go to youtube, or lizardlandscapes.com/net (can't remember which). That's where I got my idea and custom made all my reptile habitats. Styrofoam hand carved/cut/molded/glued/formed/be creative coated in thick coats of tile grout, acrylic painted to your liking, sealed with non-tox surfacing such as mod-podge. I've topped mine off with very little walnut shell pieces in the final coat of sealer to give texure and gripping. Made sure to remove the excess and loose material and good to go. To further the design, I've incorporated cubby holes that fit various sized containers (4.5" - 6" round deli cups) to be used for warm, cool and moisture hides. The containers can be easily checked on, inspected, and removed for cleaning or changing.

I think these are a good compromise between having no loose substrate and still achieving that desert display look. My wife only wants pets we can hold and show off. The paper towels and tiles I don't think would suit well.

Thoughts, opinions?

My bearded tank even has a large structure like this with loose substrate at the bottom for natural feel and look, but all food is maintained on the structure to prevent impaction. I'll try to post pictures of this one if I get a chance.

Anyways, very practical and inexpensive, relatively easy, fun project in moderation (exhuasting on a scale such as ours), and materials are all easy to find at local stores.

No!!! My question was my answer to the original question!!! What, answering questions with other questions isn't allowed here?

Just kidding.

If you guys support that idea, I thought it was an acceptable alternative to the ecocarpet, paper towels and tiles. I've heard in the past that carpets (I'm sure the ecocarpet should have corrected this) can have toes get stuck in it and pull them off. Meantime, even in my 10ga, quarantine tanks, I have simple handmade mats as previously described, and then have the water dish, food dish, hides all sitting on top of it. Looks a little less plain. Sorry if I highjacked the original thread. I'll give it back now.

Ok I read that wrong lvm, I'm sorry, I posted that after our chat and for some reason out registered wrong... My bad, I see that you were offering that as a substr ait suggestion not a question for your own use.