bottom to tank

[agordon89]

Right now I have my baby in a 40 breeder with crushed walnut shells. (I know the views of most on the substrate, that is not the topic of th.is thread please no lectures). However I am soon getting a 75 gal wit a light fixture that has a t5 and 5 sockets for 75 watt bulbs. And although chomper loves the walnut, (he loves to dig and always sleeps buried). I know that I won't be able to affored or have time to replace it regularly as I do now. I want a bottom that won't melt in the heat and is easy to clean. Also how can I fufill his love for diging and sleeping buried without a particle bottom to his tank. Thank you for any info.

 

[KristenT]

There's always the option of a dig box. I've seen a tank set up with a 2x4 across it blocking off the end of the tank, filled with a digging material. I've also heard that rabbit feed pellets work great in dig boxes... no smell, little dust, etc. My tank's not quite big enough for this, so I use just a towel that Taz will dig around in and burry himself. Hope this helps on the digging side.

As for a non-particle substrate that's easy to clean... try shelf liner. The kind with out the stickey back. It's non-absorbant, and super easy to just wipe clean! And cheap to buy... that was the deciding factor for me. It's easier to keep clean then repti carpet, and the one I got works great in the set up, looking like sand. Taz's basking spot is the top of a cave I built from slate rock peices, so the hottest heat isn't directly on the liner, and I've never had problems with it melting or anything like that. If you go that route, just make sure it's non-adhesive. The stickey backing can melt and make fumes.

You can also try sealed tile... places like Lowes and Home Depot can cut them to fit your cage, and you can either grout them in and seal it, or line the bottom with news papaer under the tiles.

Repti-carpet is another option, but to me, it's hard to clean. You can't really spot clean it... you have to take the whole thing out, soak it, rinse it, rinse it again, hang it to dry, etc. And it may not come in a size big enough for the tank you're getting.

Other then that, the best idea I can think of is newspaper, and that's functional, but not pretty.

Hope this all helps, or at least gives you some ideas.

Kristen

 

[agordon89]

Thanks that helps a lot

 

[kjinxx2]

I bought tile for mine and had home depot cut it, grand total? $7.50.. I didn't grout it and the tile didn't need to be sealed (ceramic). I just lay the tiles in the bottom

 

[KristenT]

That's what I've got in mine... ceramic tile that's already sealed. I've only got one piece though... the rest is shelf liner. The tile square is used as a base for the cave I built him out of slate pieces. I got those from a landscaping place, and basically had him take bigger pieces and slam them on the ground until enough pieces broke off that were the size and shape I was looking for. lol.