SydneyGaia
Hatchling Member
Hey all! I have an 11 month old beardie (Sydney) who is currently 18 inches long. Up to a few days ago, I used ceramic tile for my substrate. I got him a new enclosure (Zen Habitats - LOVE it, 4'2x2'x2' front access and solid, bamboo sides). I ended up switching out from tile to sani chips (please save the horror stories and screaming to switch.... I'm well aware) - which I plan to switch out of because I have noticed that, while smelling/tasting his new habitat, he keeps accidentally eating little pieces of it. I also cancelled my Amazon order of Desert Snow. However, I REALLY do not want to go back to tile for a few reasons.
3 problems with tile:
1. Sydney LOVES to dig. I can't tell you how many times I caught him trying to "dig" on the tile, thus filing his nails down.
2. His nails - I want him to have nails. It is so much easier taking him outside when he has nails and can hang off your shirt or sit on your shoulder (I have had beardies in the past).
3. Odor - the tile just bakes in the lights and they are horrible at covering up any odor (I have 2 basking spots and 3 lights in the new enclosure, so the smell is a concern).
4. Prey/Feeders hiding - this can be fixed with grout (making it quite heavy!) or by putting sand in the small openings where tiles connect, though.
I HATE reptile carpet and also do not want to use paper towels, news paper, or non-adhesive shelf line.
A particulate substrate would be wonderful for my little guy, but being so curious and tasting/accidentally eating substrate makes it a bit scary (I got this guy after my 11 y/o passed, to help get over her passing, and REALLY don't want to risk losing this guy - he's an absolutely gorgeous morph. hypo, sandfire with lavander back stripes and very loosely leatherback - He does not look leatherback, but he does have smaller spikes on his back. One parent was a Lback).
Are there any forms of tile that I could get that would not file his nails down? Having functional, pointy nails is important to me.
Thanks!
tl;dr: Are there any forms of tile that I could get that would not file my beardie's nails down? Having functional, pointy nails is important to me.
3 problems with tile:
1. Sydney LOVES to dig. I can't tell you how many times I caught him trying to "dig" on the tile, thus filing his nails down.
2. His nails - I want him to have nails. It is so much easier taking him outside when he has nails and can hang off your shirt or sit on your shoulder (I have had beardies in the past).
3. Odor - the tile just bakes in the lights and they are horrible at covering up any odor (I have 2 basking spots and 3 lights in the new enclosure, so the smell is a concern).
4. Prey/Feeders hiding - this can be fixed with grout (making it quite heavy!) or by putting sand in the small openings where tiles connect, though.
I HATE reptile carpet and also do not want to use paper towels, news paper, or non-adhesive shelf line.
A particulate substrate would be wonderful for my little guy, but being so curious and tasting/accidentally eating substrate makes it a bit scary (I got this guy after my 11 y/o passed, to help get over her passing, and REALLY don't want to risk losing this guy - he's an absolutely gorgeous morph. hypo, sandfire with lavander back stripes and very loosely leatherback - He does not look leatherback, but he does have smaller spikes on his back. One parent was a Lback).
Are there any forms of tile that I could get that would not file his nails down? Having functional, pointy nails is important to me.
Thanks!
tl;dr: Are there any forms of tile that I could get that would not file my beardie's nails down? Having functional, pointy nails is important to me.