doing tile if thats what youre set on just make sure temps are good as for vinyl, i know the heat tends to let out a smell of the vinyl and who knows what else it releases so id stay away from vinyl. I use aspen without a problem but i know alot of ppl that use newspaper or butcher paper or cardboard liners, problem with that is once it gets soiled then you have to replace it all where with the aspen you can spot clean and move on. I know with the beardies on tile, if you dont stay on top of it then that poop gets all over the place and i see the same with snakes. Good luck