Can I use this as substrate in my beardies cage

[Fuzzman]

I saw this outdoor grass carpet at our local home depot and they have it in a light brown color as well as the green and I like it and I think it will look neat in my beardies cage but I rather be safe and asked what your guys thoughts about using it. I don't want to buy anything that will harm my beardie. But I was curious if anyone else has used this or something similar. Thanx for your help:-D

 

[Terry15]

I would not use it, I even gave up the reptile carpet. I switched to the non adhesive shelf liner. So easy to clean & bugs can't get under it. You can find it at Home Depot, Walmart, Bed bath & beyond. I got a roll in a nice sand color.

 

[Fuzzman]

Oh ok,I just wasn't sure. I have a smooth bare wood flood in my tank with enough grip so he doesn't slide and thought this would work as it'll look neat and easy to clean by hosing it off.

 

[charmander16]

My only thought is that I've used outdoor carpet/fake turf like this before and it tends to unravel a bit and for pieces of it to come off. Probably not an issue, but it would be something to keep an eye on.

If you have a wood floor my recommendation would be to put this on like 1/2 or 1/3 of the tank and leave the other part bare. You could glue it down to a thin piece of wood, like 1/4 inch, and have it as a removable solid piece, which would make it less likely bugs would get under it, etc.

I'd probably use contact cement or Shoe Goo to glue it down, and if you did either of those you'd want to let it fully cure for several days before putting it into the tank. Maybe there are other better carpet glues, I'm not sure. If you glue it down (to a separate piece of wood, not your tank floor) it would also make it less likely to unravel.

 

[Terry15]

I had bought 2 of the reptile carpets so I could wash & dry one, while the other was in the tank. I love the non adhesive shelf liner the best. You can wipe it down right in the tank. It's also washable. I would not use glue to permanently attach anything.

 

[Reptilelady]

I had the reptile carpet and it didn't last very long. Your better with what terry mentioned or paper towels, newspaper or ceramic tiles. Btw, cleaning that reptile carpet is a pain! I just got rid of mine and put ceramic tile in and works perfect! Easy clean up, no mess, no weird smell.

 

[Terry15]

You could staple a piece of reptile carpet to some sort of thin board or alternate material and put it in the tank. Too much work keeping any carpet clean.

 

[charmander16]

You could staple a piece of reptile carpet to some sort of thin board or alternate material and put it in the tank. Too much work keeping any carpet clean.

Yeah if you took a board and wrapped the astro-turf around the edges of it and stapled it from underneath, that may work.

My thinking on putting it in only half or 1/3 of the tank is that maybe it won't get pooped on so much if you're lucky.

I'm working on figuring out ways to "direct" my dragons pooping to where I want it to go. We just moved into a new viv though, so it will take a bit to get it figured out.

 

[Fuzzman]

Oh ok,thanx for all the advice. All of it was very helpful. I saw this and thought if I folded all the edges it would not unravel as a squared off edge.

 

[Terry15]

Mystic does not like pooping in his tank, he can't take the smell. He has been going on the kitchen linoleum floor, that's an easy clean up too. Sorry I did not read the other persons suggestion. You still may want to try the non adhesive shelf liner, it has a spongy type of backing. If you cut it just right, you will be happy with how easy it is to clean with a wet & dry paper towel.

 

[Fuzzman]

Oh ok,I'll look into shelf liner. I'm happy with my bare wood floor as it's a simple clean up but saw the grass carpet and thought it'll be something different. Thanx again for all the advice guys

 

[charmander16]

Yeah, I think it's nice to have multiple different floorings if possible, just like different lighting levels and elevations, etc. variety is good. I'd say put it in a portion of the tank and see if he likes it.