Tank Questions

[Dreamless]

So I'm going to be housing my little darling Poppy in a 45 gallon breeder tank with newspaper as substrate, a branch for basking, rocks for climbing around on, a salad bowl, and a hide plus appropriate lighting of course. She isn't coming home for a while as I've decided I am going to bring her home when she shows more interest in salad than bugs.

Now the important stuff. I have heard newspaper stains feet and I'm worried about that. I don't want my baby to be getting sick or anything from this. I will be changing the newspaper daily to keep her healthy and spot cleaning anything she poops on in her tank. I'll do a weekly deep clean as well. My other concern is the screen that will be covering the top of her enclosure, I've heard that some screens block or reduce UV getting to your animal.. if anyone has information on that please do let me know. Thanks guys!

 

[Taterbug]

You can get unprinted newspaper or butchers paper in rolls/sheets I believe. I do t care for it as a substrate since it's so light weight. You could also consider shelf liner, it's really easy to clean and can be replaced relatively cheaply.

If possible you want your light mounted inside the tank, or without screen in the way. The screen obstructs the light and reduces how much can reach your animal. Most lights are relatively weak, so it can be a problem if you have a fine screen. This site is a great resource for learning about UV lighting. http://www.uvguide.co.uk/

 

[KarenInCA]

Why not just use tiles as substrate? We were sold some kind of biodegradable chips when we first got our guy, because "they" were the experts, so we went with it. After realizing he was not walking on them…EVER, and finding out more info on this forum, we tossed the chips, and went to HomeDepot. We got rough surface tiles, and in our tank, it took 6 tiles (at about $3 each). We also got a few extras, and stacked them on top of one of them, to elevate the basking spot. Tile cleans up really well if pooped on, and about every other week, I take all the furniture out, and just clean the tiles with a bleach and water mixture. You can also choose from some gorgeous rich colors that will be aesthetically pleasant to look at as well. And if you want, you can use newspaper over it for a while, or if he doesn't poop for a couple days and you are expecting "the big bomb" to rain down sometime during the day while you're away. :?

If you go with tile, make sure you put a piece of cardboard down first, if the bottom of the tank is glass. That will give a cushion between the glass and the tile if you ever need to take one out and drop it. It will make it more difficult to crack the glass on the bottom.

 

[Dreamless]

Why not just use tiles as substrate? We were sold some kind of biodegradable chips when we first got our guy, because "they" were the experts, so we went with it. After realizing he was not walking on them…EVER, and finding out more info on this forum, we tossed the chips, and went to HomeDepot. We got rough surface tiles, and in our tank, it took 6 tiles (at about $3 each). We also got a few extras, and stacked them on top of one of them, to elevate the basking spot. Tile cleans up really well if pooped on, and about every other week, I take all the furniture out, and just clean the tiles with a bleach and water mixture. You can also choose from some gorgeous rich colors that will be aesthetically pleasant to look at as well. And if you want, you can use newspaper over it for a while, or if he doesn't poop for a couple days and you are expecting "the big bomb" to rain down sometime during the day while you're away. :?

If you go with tile, make sure you put a piece of cardboard down first, if the bottom of the tank is glass. That will give a cushion between the glass and the tile if you ever need to take one out and drop it. It will make it more difficult to crack the glass on the bottom.

My issue with tiles is pretty simple. I'm very worried about the tiles keeping the heat a bit too well and burning my baby's belly, even if she has climbing areas and such.. it's just a paranoid type concern. Also the grooves and such on a tile or even in between the tiles are excellent places for bacteria to grow which means cleaning the tank much more often. As for the look, I could care less. I just want to do what's best and healthiest for my beardie. I appreciate your idea though! Thank you

 

[Dreamless]

You can get unprinted newspaper or butchers paper in rolls/sheets I believe. I do t care for it as a substrate since it's so light weight. You could also consider shelf liner, it's really easy to clean and can be replaced relatively cheaply.

If possible you want your light mounted inside the tank, or without screen in the way. The screen obstructs the light and reduces how much can reach your animal. Most lights are relatively weak, so it can be a problem if you have a fine screen. This site is a great resource for learning about UV lighting. http://www.uvguide.co.uk/

Thank you for the advice. I'll look into shelf liners as they seem to be the next choice in keeping my beardie clean and free of bacteria that can make me and her sick. As for the lighting I was going to mount her UV bulb inside the tank but was unsure still if it would make a difference or not. I'll check up on the guide you provided and see if it answers my questions.

 

[Taterbug]

Screen physically obstructs the UVB radiation from entering the cage, it can do so by quite a bit (30-50%) if your lid is a very fine mesh. The type of bulb and fixture play a role in how significant that actually is though. High power lights (MVB, T5 w/ reflector) can be used outside the screen I believe.

I switched from tiles for similar reasons you gave. I found the waste got between and under the tiles too easily and was a hassle to keep clean. It's easy but more tedious than I wanted to deal with. The tiles are thin so they don't have much thermal mass, so they don't really stay warm too long. They shouldn't be a burn hazard since you will want to measure your surface temperatures, not just air temperatures. Thermal burns are generally associated with uncontrolled heat sources (hot rocks, heat mats etc).

I really like the shelf liner, one catch is I have only found it in 20" wide rolls at the biggest, since my tank is wider than that I have a row of small tiles down one edge to hold it down.

 

[timisimaginary]

My issue with tiles is pretty simple. I'm very worried about the tiles keeping the heat a bit too well and burning my baby's belly, even if she has climbing areas and such.. it's just a paranoid type concern. Also the grooves and such on a tile or even in between the tiles are excellent places for bacteria to grow which means cleaning the tank much more often. As for the look, I could care less. I just want to do what's best and healthiest for my beardie. I appreciate your idea though! Thank you

you can use a temp gun to measure the surface temp. they do hold heat better, which can be a good thing in some cases (cage cools down slower at night, warms up quicker in the morning). i use dark slate tiles, i check mine along with the basking spot temps with the temp gun and the tiles never get as warm as the basking spots.

one of the best things about tile in my opinion is you can keep spares and quickly switch them out if they get soiled, and then clean them later at your convenience. very helpful when JJ decides to take a big poop right before i leave for work in the morning. i use 12"x12" tiles, so more often than not the waste is deposited on a single tile, rather than a crack between the tiles, and i keep carpet or paper towel beneath the tiles, so if any does get down there it can also be removed quickly and easily.

 

[lisa127]

Newspaper is not toxic. Not nowadays anyway. I use newspaper for my beardie and for my leopard geckos. My blue tongued skink uses shredded paper from the paper shredder. I've been keeping reptiles for almost 20 years and never had a problem with newspaper. I use it because it's cheap, easily replaced, and it feels more hygienic to me. And I don't notice staining on any of my lizard's feet.