What Type of Tile is Best to use???

[JasonZ]

I would appreciate knowing what type of tile works the best for a Wooden Bearded Dragon Enclosure? I want to avoid Slate and rock type tile only because they don't hold up so well over time and also hard to keep sanitized. I read around and its suggested to use Textured Ceramic Tile so they can get some grip. I bought this ivory type from Lowes but it has glitter in it that if you rub it enough the glitter comes off. I plan on taking it back to Lowes but the store closest to me only has 2 kinds of tile with texture to it. The ivory I bought that 12'X12" and a greenish colored tile that is 24"X12". Do I need to buy tiles with texture to them or would any type of ceramic tile work. I read the smooth type will cause issues with them slipping and not getting there feet under them so to speak but would like to know for sure. If anybody could please give me as specific as you can to the exact type of tile would be greatly appreciated. I'd prefer Lowes to get them from so I can swap for the tiles I bought. I can get them cut to any size for nothing at Lowes as well which is another plus. This is for a 48"X24"X24" wooden enclosure!!!

 

[ruben0311]

I have slate and brick in mine that I just swap out and steam clean when they get dirty. textured surfaces would be best as it will help with keeping a good posture when moving across, whereas smooth surface could stress your buddy out and may even keep him from even wanting to walk across it. Instead of tile why not use shelf liner? or linoleum tiles? stone does take some time to dry out after cleaning it but perhaps just finding a different material would be better?

 

[Toddzilla1108]

I do really like slate personally, I bought a big box of it for 15 bucks in tiles of varying sizes (squares, rectangles, etc.). If one breaks I have plenty more to choose from. they're pretty 'rough' so it's easy to grip on them and it files the nails a little bit.

 

[JasonZ]

I didn't think of linoleum tiles. As for the shelf liner, the ones I found when looking in both Home Depot and Lowes didn't look good and also there was only a very small like back end walkway of aisle with them in both stores. I am using Slate tiles now in my Beardies current home but they don't seem to hold up well. I swap from using chlorhexidine and scrubbing them quickly and towel dabbing them in antibacterial dish liquid and rinse off with water, towel dry, and sit them right in front of my heat vent. They have white spots that won't scrub out from cleaning and they just don't seem to look right. I'll see if there is any other type of slate that might be better than the brand I bought before.

I wasn't going to buy smooth tiles period but read that there are Textured Ceramic tiles that are good but can't seem to find much of a selection at my local Lowes and Home Depot. Rock is too porous in my opinion and impossible to keep sanitized unless I guess stem clean them but don't want to purchase a steam cleaner just for that if I don't need to buy.

Thank you for the replies and suggestions! Appreciate it! If you could give some specific slate, linoleum and shelf liners that you use I'll check and see if I can find them in a hardware store. I'm an exact type of person so if you could give me the entire type of what you use so I can do a detailed and exact search for them it would be appreciated! Thanks again!!!

 

[ruben0311]

Check out the Laminate Tile and Stone Flooring section of homedepot, there are a lot of different options to choose from, they even have little samples that you can take home to see if it looks good... I personally just went to 3 different stores and grabbed a bunch of samples and made a floor from that.. :twisted: ... :shock: now I feel like a criminal