Tile? Or attempt fake rock? Share your viv pics!

Hey guys! I am getting ready to begin my next project with Arty's viv. I currently have her on sand (she was sold to me on walnut shells, then I switched to sand, then I found this website!) and am wanting to do a new flooring but not sure what. I like the natural look of the sand, but I want to minimize risk of impaction as well as bacteria build-up. However, I don't want to eliminate the sand completely because she loves to dig! I think it gives her something to do. So I want to keep like 1/4 of my 75 gallon a 50/50 playsand/soil mix with a hidey on it so she can dig if she wants to (I'm thinking of putting this "dig" area on the warm side so there can be a basking spot on top of the hidey and keep her food out of the sand and in the cool side?). That way, if she ever wants to surprise me again and lay eggs, she can.

As for the rest of the tank, I want to either lay tile or create a fake rock floor. The thing is, I am not very crafty! Not sure if I could do the fake rock but I love the way it looks and I could even "build-in" the digging spot instead of building a separate "box" for the digging spot. Anyone have any experience with this? And how is it to clean??

Tile would be easier but not as natural looking, and then I'd have to come up with a way to make the digging area. I am planning on having another (larger, cork bark?) hidey in the center on the tile for cooler hiding, as well as a perching log. So I just want your opinions! What have you tried and what do you love/like/not like? I'd love to see pics of your vivs too to get an idea!

Here are some bad pics (taken with a phone at night) of her viv now:

I just barely mounted the Reptisun 10.0 tube T8 fixture inside of her tank the other day. Does it look OK?

I would go with slate tiles and or pavers myself. They look nice and natural and are easy to clean. You can also see about getting landscaping stones and stacking/arranging them into a floor. Fake rocks are great but I find them not so easy to clean and probably not a good flooring.

Sand and sand/soil even when used with a bin or something is messy. A digging dragon will fling it around for sure. Also - to work best as a lay box or digging area it will need to be kept wet which will encourage bacterial growth. To avoid getting it getting nasty you could try a bioactive setup.

I have tried a sand pit/sand area and had to sweep and sift it daily. It was a pain. I use bioactive now (there is a great Facebook group of you are interested in learning if it's right for you).

This is my setup:

Wow that is really nice! How do you keep that big viv warm?! And what kind of tile are you using? Did you break it yourself to make it look more natural? Anything underneath the tile? I love the plants and the bioactive. Are the plants real? Thanks for sharing!

KimNartemisia":174g2gra said:

Wow that is really nice! How do you keep that big viv warm?! And what kind of tile are you using? Did you break it yourself to make it look more natural? Anything underneath the tile? I love the plants and the bioactive. Are the plants real? Thanks for sharing!

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It's got 3 basking lights - they do the job
The tile on the right is a slate one from Home Depot the rest are various bits of stone I've been collecting through the years or landscaping stones. The slate told can be broken though for a more natural shape too. There is 8+" of soil under it all, the big tile on the right has a cave that he never uses. The grass on the left is real (and there are clover sprouts that can't be seen yet) and the ones on the right as fake but I plan to replace them once the nursery a get things in stock for spring my husband is going to grow me some greens to put in too.

Very cool. So do you take the whole thing apart every once in awhile to clean it entirely?

KimNartemisia":pi9ikl8n said:

Very cool. So do you take the whole thing apart every once in awhile to clean it entirely?

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The intent is not too need to very often - it works more like the cycle in a fish tank, it's more popular with tropical species (and amphibians) but I don't have any problems with humidity. I still spot clean poops but there are insects (springtails, rolly-Polly bugs, earthworms, small roaches and such) that work as a cleaner crew to eat unwanted things like mold, fungus and shed skin etc. At some point it might need a freshening or new soil mixed in - part of why I want to add more plants is to keep it self sustaining.