Substrate

[CoolioTiffany]

I'm done with using paper towels. It's so messy and I hate that the fact I gotta clean it every single day and spray the cage with disinfectant.

What substrate can I use besides paper towels and newspaper?? I want to use sand, but still looking for more options. I feed my Beardie insects from tongs and she eats her greens off of a plate, so nothing is ever on the substrate.

[flynn]

I currently use newspaper for my beardie. I realize you said you didn’t want to use it and would prefer sand. My biggest problem with the sand was the smell and the dust in my apartment. What would happen is that the dry sand would suck the moisture out of the urates and stool, so even though the sand didn’t actually have any urates or stool it would still smell.

When it came time to do a full clean it was a nightmare. I used a shop vac a few times and the static electricity that would build up would cause the sand to 'volcano' out of the shop vac when I opened it to dump the sand into a garbage bag. If you like physics it was kind of neat; if you like a clean floor...not so much.

[ladywhipple02]

I don't know if my beardie is a particularly messy eater or what, but when I was keeping him on sand, I always found little bits of leafy greens all over the place.

I switched from sand to tile and have never looked back. They are fairly cheap at Hope Depot or Lowes. I bought some of the larger ones and overlap them. Gives her a little difference in terrain. Plus I got some that are darker colored, a dark grey... they hold the heat GREAT and are so easy to clean. Spray them down, wipe them off, good to go.

[CoolioTiffany]

I don't know if my beardie is a particularly messy eater or what, but when I was keeping him on sand, I always found little bits of leafy greens all over the place.

I switched from sand to tile and have never looked back. They are fairly cheap at Hope Depot or Lowes. I bought some of the larger ones and overlap them. Gives her a little difference in terrain. Plus I got some that are darker colored, a dark grey... they hold the heat GREAT and are so easy to clean. Spray them down, wipe them off, good to go.

Wow that seems pretty effective. I might as well try the tiles. Do they look like just normal tiles you put in the floor of a house or do they have a rocky look to them?

[flynn]

...I switched from sand to tile and have never looked back...

Do you use tiles that have a coating on them or uncoated (and therefore maybe porous?). I assume they are some kind of stone tile as opposed to linoleum? I would also like to try the tiles, sounds like a great idea.

[CoolioTiffany]

Do you use tiles that have a coating on them or uncoated (and therefore maybe porous?). I assume they are some kind of stone tile as opposed to linoleum? I would also like to try the tiles, sounds like a great idea.

How about she just posts a pic of her tiles

[ladywhipple02]

You can use any kind of tiles that you want. You can even use linoleum or shelf liner if you want to. Just depends on what you want your cage to look like.

If you purchase something that's been treated, just make sure it doesn't have a strong smell, and also make sure that it isn't too slippery (for instance, self liners are fine, but get something with bumps or grips). Beardies get uncomfortable on slippery surfaces.

[ladywhipple02]

How about she just posts a pic of her tiles

I'll take pics when I get home for you guys

[CoolioTiffany]

You can use any kind of tiles that you want. You can even use linoleum or shelf liner if you want to. Just depends on what you want your cage to look like.

If you purchase something that's been treated, just make sure it doesn't have a strong smell, and also make sure that it isn't too slippery (for instance, self liners are fine, but get something with bumps or grips). Beardies get uncomfortable on slippery surfaces.

I'm thinking about getting like a rock-like tile so that there's bumps and edges it can climb on so it doesn't get uncomfortable

[flynn]

I'm thinking about getting like a rock-like tile so that there's bumps and edges it can climb on so it doesn't get uncomfortable

'Rock-like' tiles may also help with keeping those beardie nails filed down. Mine HATES when her nails have to be clipped lol.