NO SUBSTRATE?!?!

[ZEDZILLAVIDZ]

SO IVE BEEN USEING REPTI CARPET. BUT I KNOW THAT PEOPLE USE TILE EVEN THE SHOP I GOT MY DRAGON USED TILE. THE BOTTOM OF MY ENCLOSURE IS GLASS AND I WAS JUST WONDERING IF IT WOULD BE HARMFUL TO JUST HAVE ZED MY DRAGON LIVING ON GLASS. LIKE WOULD IT BE BAD TO HAVE THE EXTRA REFLECTIONS OFF THE BOTTOM. I KNO THEY CAN ADAPT AND HES STILL REAL YOUNG. THOUGHTS PLEASE?

 

[ZEDZILLAVIDZ]

 

[ZEDZILLAVIDZ]

SEE I THINK HE WILL ADAPT. I SHOULDNT FEEL BAD ABOUT IT NOT BEING NATRAUL RIGHT. I MEAN THE MOST NATRAUL THING WOULD BE WILD HARD PACKED SAND TYPE CLAY STUFF. AND THATS SHUNNED APON IN CAPTIVITY. WE TRY TO KEEP THEM AS SAFE AS POSSABLE. HES WALKIN AROUND LICKIN THE BOTTOM AS I TYPE. SEEMS HAPPY ENOUGH

 

[Doublet74]

The only problem with glass is your beardie will have a hard time getting traction to hunt feeders.

 

[ZEDZILLAVIDZ]

heres an even more detailed look into the no substrate and other topics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIkm0lEvQiU&feature=plcp

 

[Colesdad]

I would use paper towels. I've got a little guy too. It's easy to change. A babies poop Isn't "runny", but it is wet. It would very messy if there was nothing to absorb it.

 

[ZEDZILLAVIDZ]

well as of 20 mins ago he made a poo. and it cleaned up very easy. no offence of course. just sayin

 

[Colesdad]

well as of 20 mins ago he made a poo. and it cleaned up very easy. no offence of course. just sayin

none taken

 

[diamc]

I watched the video and he looks very confused and I think it might be because he can see the carpet under the tank but can't figure out why he can't feel it or lick it. I would imagine that the glass bottom would feel cool to him, slate tiles holds the heat nicely. Like another member said, I would think it would make it harder for him to catch his feeders. If you prefer to leave it that way, have you thought about putting a washcloth or hand towel down so that he has something to snuggle into if he prefers rather than laying on the glass bottom?

 

[Jess]

I wouldn't use a glass bottom, it gives him no traction at all. You don't want him to have splayed legs or anything because of the slipperiness, and he will probably avoid walking on it. Use paper towels or slate if you want something easy to clean.

 

[ClydesGirl]

Why are you inclined not to use any substrate at all? My main concern, like others, would be traction. It would be very awkward for him to move around on, since it's so slick.

I'm a HUGE fan of non-adhesive shelf liner as a substrate. It's cheap, disposable, easy to cut to size, and SUPER easy to clean. I just wipe it off with alcohol-free organic baby wipes for spot cleaning and then take it out every couple of weeks for a more thorough cleaning. Since it's so cheap and easy to cut to size, it's easy to have spare pieces already cleaned and ready to go, so you can just swap them out.

 

[ZEDZILLAVIDZ]

i have put the repticarpet back in now. why i was inclined to not have any substrate was; concern that when i took it outside to get hosed off, i guess i just scared myself thinkin its gonna get some sort of bacteria or something sitting outside to dry. ive gotten past that now, it was interesting to see his reaction to no carpet, and to think about the easy cleaning it would allow for compared to the carpet. so we can all calm down now. i hope you all kno i do care a lot, so theres no cruleity on my part. just talkin things over.

 

[Colesdad]

I hope you don't think we mad at you, or that we thought you to be cruel to your dragon. We know that you were genuinely asking a question. Bc you asked it shows you care and love you dragon as much as we do our ow n

 

[ClydesGirl]

I didn't think you were trying to be cruel or anything. You just didn't include a reason in your original post about why you decided to take out the carpet, so it was hard to answer your question and make suggestions about alternatives. You really should look into shelf liner. It's MUCH easier to keep clean than repticarpet. I started out with the carpet, but once I switched to shelf liner, I never looked back!

 

[ZEDZILLAVIDZ]

I didn't think you were trying to be cruel or anything. You just didn't include a reason in your original post about why you decided to take out the carpet, so it was hard to answer your question and make suggestions about alternatives. You really should look into shelf liner. It's MUCH easier to keep clean than repticarpet. I started out with the carpet, but once I switched to shelf liner, I never looked back!

Had to look up what that shelf liner stuff is, but yea id imagine it rises off real nice and is prob dry in just seconds lol. Ill deff look into it.