Tired of current substrate. Help!

[Krug2227]

So little Gandolf has had carpet substrate since he was a wee little thing. Now, he is about 18" and in a 40gal tank. He has lots of room to roam and hang out but I am starting to get real tired of cleaning his carpet so often when he poops. Because I can never clean it fully and residue always sticks to it and just makes it smell. I clean the carpet once a week and then every month get new carpet. So, four cleanings and then I get a new one.

So my question is this: What is a better substrate? I know sand is evil. I will NEVER use sand. I've heard tile (especially slate) works great but what do you guys think is the easiest to maintain and clean? Thanks!

 

[brittani299]

Hello . I personally use tiles. I love them. They file the manual and are super easy to clean.

 

[icelore]

If you want your carpet to last longer, there are safe ways of cleaning it. You can clean your carpet with baking soda and vinegar. Make a paste out the the baking soda and a bit of water, and use an old tooth brush to scrub it into any touch to clean spots, then let it sit. Once wit's sat for a bit, rinse it out and spray the whole things down with white vinegar and let it sit again. Rinse it come more, let it dry and it should be perfectly smell free. You can also add some lemon juice to the vinegar if you want for extra smell fighting. It's all natural, safe, and dirt cheap. You can use the same methods for any cage decorations, plastic or wood as well.

 

[Yaaeee]

Slate tile! I got my 12x12 tiles of raw slate tile for about $1.30 each tile. Easy to clean/ remove. Love the natural look. Retains heat well. Love it

Just a tip: both lowes & Home Depot will cut the tile for free. Measure the INSIDE of your viv to have it fit properly. Though my 20L is 12"x30"... My tile needed to fit 11.5"x 29.5" given the thickness of the glass was 1/4" on both sides.