Need help with tile

[TipsyTraveler]

So i recently decided cleaning repticarpet is a pain and plan to switch to tile. I have some leftover tile from when we got our flooring done a while back and it is just gorgeous. But i had some questions..

Are there different types of tile that i should worry about? or will any do? I'm hoping to use the tile i have on hand.

Will i need to seal it? or can i just have the pieces snugged nicely together where he cant get his claws in the cracks?

Will the tile get really cold at night during the winter? Right now i dont have the need for a CHE but i feel like the tile will get cold easily.

 

[icelore]

Any kind of natural tile will do, and you should have to seal it. The only thing you should watch out for is if you choose to go with slate, sometimes the lower cost pieces will have sediment rock deposits in them that can be sharp around the edges. You can plainly see them though, they are kind of red/orange, so as long as you check over your pieces you should be fine. Also, feel around the cut edges of your tiles to make sure where they were machined that they are smooth. If they seem a little rough, you can use a metal file on them or run them against concrete.

Smoother tile is easier to clean, but tile with texture allows you dragon to get around better without sliding.

As for heat, the tile will actual absorb heat and give it off through the night, especially if you use darker stone. No substrate, be it paper, tile, or sad, can get colder then the ambient temperature, so none is more cold then another.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

Can i put it in snugly until i get sealant? I made sure i couldnt get the tip of a pencil in so his claws should be good. The tile has some texture to it and is dark. What type of sealant should i get? I have a wooden viv i built and i woild like to be able to remove the tile and replace it later on so sealant sounds like it would only make a mess on the wood.

 

[Claudiusx]

You do not need to seal.

-Brandon

 

[icelore]

Any kind of natural tile will do, and you should have to seal it.

Meant to say shouldn't. Sorry! Was typing on iPad and didn't notice it.

Depending on what kind of wood you made it out of, you might want to seal the wood itself before putting the tiles down on top of it though. If your wood is raw, and your dragon poops between the tiles and the liquid runs between them, it will soak into your wood if it isn't sealed.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

I will have multiple layers of newspaper under the tile like i do my repticarpet. just in case.

 

[icelore]

That will work, but it's just an extra step to clean then. Might as well just have the newspapers is you've going to have to change them. You could just use something cheap and simple like modge podge to seal the wood underneath though and save yourself the trouble. Then you can just pick up the tile and wipe beneath if necessary, instead of picking up all the tiles to remove and replace the newspaper.

Just my two cents. Hope whatever you do works out for you!