Question about flooring

[ChrisVerena]

Hello,

My BDs currently live on some kind of special "potting soil" that's especially made for reptiles (got it from a German pet store, as we currently live overseas). I find this very messy though, as they step in their water dish and then scratch on the inside of the tank and smear mud everywhere. Also when taking them out, they are muddy most of the time, which is kind of annoying. I have seen that many of you have tile as the flooring. How do you put the tile in the terrarium? Is it being fixed permanently? Do you put the stuff in between the tiles, so that they don't poop in between? Also, I would still like to provide them with a little sandy area (desert or play sand, not the potting soil type of stuff). Do you have any tips for me?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Rob461]

You can get on large piece that fills the entire base or you can get smaller tiles. I use the smaller tiles, I did not put anything down or between them. If he does so happen to poop and it gets between I just lift them up and clean it.

As for the sand pit.. if you are dead set on having one use play sand. You can get it at Wal Mart or any other type of store like that (you said you are over seas, but I assume Wal Mart is everywhere), but in my honest opinion... stay away from sand pits. It is very time consuming to clean, and then you have to change the sand every two weeks. Everyone I know that has a sand pit or just uses sand has problems with parasites.

 

[ChrisVerena]

Thanks for your response. Do you just go to Home Depot or Lowes and get regular tile? Got point about the parasites and the sand ... I just really like the way sand looks but it is really hard to keep clean!

 

[kimmie]

Non-adhesive shelf liner! Don't get the stuff with the holes in it though. I use that and it works great and is awesome cleaning it!

 

[ClydesGirl]

I am currently using some vinyl peel-and-stick tiles, though I left the paper backing on them so I can pull them out and rinse them. The reason I went with the vinyl tiles was so I could cut them down to the sizes I needed with a box cutter instead of having to deal with getting real tiles cut down to size. I've only been using them for a few days (had reptile carpet before that), but so far so good.

 

[kimmie]

I am currently using some vinyl peel-and-stick tiles, though I left the paper backing on them so I can pull them out and rinse them. The reason I went with the vinyl tiles was so I could cut them down to the sizes I needed with a box cutter instead of having to deal with getting real tiles cut down to size. I've only been using them for a few days (had reptile carpet before that), but so far so good.

GET RID of those tiles ASAP! I had those in and was told the heat from the lamps will cause toxic fumes from the adhesive on the tiles! While we won't smell it, they could/can! Not worth the risk.

 

[ChrisVerena]

Oh man ... I thought that the vinyl floor was a brilliant idea! That sucks ... :x

 

[ClydesGirl]

Oh man ... I thought that the vinyl floor was a brilliant idea! That sucks ... :x

I'm going to do a bit of research and see if it's possible to just get vinyl flooring without the adhesive. Will post back here if I find out anything.

 

[kimmie]

Hey I thought the same thing and did not only the floor but the back piece (which was just plain plywood). I ran home the day I read it here about it being toxic and my DD and myself peeled it all up immediately!

I don't see why plain vinyl tile (w/o adhesive) would be bad, it was the glue that made it toxic. Maybe you could get a remnant sheet of lineoleum cut to size.

Wanted to add - there was a drawback with the vinyl tile also - it's slippery and my guy couldn't seem to get traction.

 

[ClydesGirl]

Wanted to add - there was a drawback with the vinyl tile also - it's slippery and my guy couldn't seem to get traction.

I've got the kind that is textured to be like stone, so it hasn't seemed too bad traction-wise. I ran to Home Depot at lunch time and they did have some non-adhesive vinyl tile, but a very limited selection of colors/textures. The vast majority of their vinyl tile was peel-and-stick. I think I will try some actual flooring stores over the weekend and see if they have a better selection.

 

[ClydesGirl]

Okay, I went out and bought some non-adhesive shelf liner, thinking it could tide us over while I search for better flooring options this weekend. However, when I got it home I smelled it and it seriously smells like nail polish remover. I don't see how it could be LESS toxic than the vinyl peel-and-stick tiles I have in there. Here is a link to the stuff I bought from Target. Is this not the right product?

http://www.target.com/Grip-Shelf-Liner-Beige-Print/dp/B001TGQ2UG/

 

[diamc]

The link you posted shows contact paper. Did it have paper on the back to peel off? If so, that's not what you want. This is what you want and the Duck brand is more cushioned.

 

[ClydesGirl]

The link you posted shows contact paper. Did it have paper on the back to peel off? If so, that's not what you want. This is what you want and the Duck brand is more cushioned.

No, it's not contact paper. If you read the label, it clearly states that it's non-adhesive. It's exactly like what you posted on the bottom, but it has like a solid layer over top that covers up all those little holes. I thought the kind with all the little holes (like what you posted) would be impossible to keep clean.

Kimmie had posted, "Don't get the stuff with the holes in it though." And after seeing the kind with the holes in at the store, I agreed, because it looked like his claws could pull off those little "pellets" of foam pretty easily and then he might eat them. Plus, like I said, it looked like it would be hard to keep clean with all those little nooks and crannies.

 

[Samajade]

I may be way off base here, but won't vinyl flooring get tons of teeny little scratches from their nails and be a breeding ground for bacteria? Impossible to get those bitsy can't-even-see-'em scratches cleaned and sanitized I'd think?

But if I'm wrong and vinyl is fine, then maybe a thought is to buy a small remnant of kitchen floor "linoleum" - all one piece, no adhesive.

(And FWIW, the non-adhesive shelf line that I use [under paper towels] is slightly padded - no holes at all. It's this: http://www.lowes.com/pd_171603-1451...chCatalogDisplay$Ns=p_product_quantity_sold|0 )

Edited to add: The shelf liner stuff is easy and cheap to just replace like 2-4 times a year, avoiding any worries about microscopic scratches and the resulting disinfecting concerns (if those concerns are even valid!).

 

[kimmie]

Samajade - the one you posted from Lowes is what I have (but in black) - works great!

Diamc - the one you posted a pic of isn't good because it's got those holes in it - and that can be lots of little traps for bacteria unless you are removing it daily and washing it. Too many nooks & crannies to clean!