Where can i get clay tile for my terrarium?

[Mattalie]

Im tired up having to keep having to move all of the things around to get to alex's messes and then trying to put a new peice of paper in the same spot. Where can i find clay tile and how much would it cost?

 

[Bushmaster11B]

Woodson just installed slate tile in his new 39" x 20" enclosure ( I think that is the size). And he said he bought his at Lowe's (U.S.) and it was about $15. Not really expensive. If you want to grout it (1st make sure you have an enclosure separate to house BD while drying) grout is about $10- $12 at same location. Hope this helps.

 

[Mattalie]

Thanks and is the grout necessary or does it not particularly matter? I feed him in a separate enclosure so i dont have to worry about crickets hiding and coming out at night to bite him

 

[Mattalie]

And im also assuming that if he licks it it wont be toxic to him right?

 

[Bushmaster11B]

wash the tile and bake it when you get it. you can take the measurements to Lowe's and they will cut any tiles you need. no toxic if you keep clean. i use 50/50 water and white vinegar, it's safe. the good thing about NOT grouting it is you can remove and clean which you will need to do at least once a week to prevent salmonella. Slate is found in deserts and by rivers usually. It's not toxic and I have slate in my enclosure.

 

[Mattalie]

Can you post a pic so i get an idea what to look for

 

[Mattalie]

What temp and how long should i bake them

 

[Bushmaster11B]

Here is the link for Woodson's new enclosure. It has the tiles on the bottom of the thread:
http://www.beardeddragonforum.com/index.php?threads/new-enclosure.9278/

I would bake them at 325 degrees for 30 minutes and then spray wash it with the water/ vinegar solution.

 

[Mattalie]

So is this ok?

 

[Germ]

I would think that would do quite nicely .

 

[Bushmaster11B]

All this tile has me wanting to buy. So I plan on updating my build: http://www.beardeddragonforum.com/index.php?threads/operation-tropic-thunder.8705/

I too will be using a free floating tile substrate. All your tile and Woodson's looks great.

Mattalie, do you have pictures of your tile in your enclosure?

 

[Mattalie]

No net yet. I havnt had time to take everything out of his enclosure, clean it, and put the tile in. As soon as i do i will post a pic though.

 

[Mattalie]

Speaking of cleaning, what should i use to clean the inside of his enclosure?

 

[Bushmaster11B]

Easy! I would use a 50/50 solution of water and white vinegar. It kills germs and bacteria like salmonella and it's safe for your BD. Plus it cleans glass pretty good as well.

 

[Mattalie]

Ok thanks

 

[Mattalie]

The heat rock is only in there for if he gets impacted. Heat on his tummy helps. And i just put a bunch of things i cleaned in there. Its more organized usually.

 

[Bushmaster11B]

Heat rocks can literally cook your BD. They get way hotter than 110 degrees F. Did you know that BD's bellies are more sensitive and susceptible to getting burnt at even 110 degrees than the rest of their body parts? That is why the "SUN" is in the sky in Nature and the only way a rock would get hot is because it was heated by the Sun. BD's don't have "Heat Rocks" in the nature and if I had a BD with impaction problems, I would first re-check my Husbandry and take my BD to the Vet. The only good heat rock is an unplugged one!

How do you know if he gets impacted? I don't see anything in your enclosure that would impact your BD, so what is the issue? Is your BD getting enough fluid? Are you properly gut-loading your live feeders? Where is your BD's greens? They should be offered throughout every day.

Not trying to be harsh here, but someone needs to tell you and ask these questions. It's up to you to take the advise from us or not.

 

[Mattalie]

I just cleaned his cage. Hadnt put everything in it when i took the pic. thats y there are no greens. When i bought him the pet store kept him in sand so i bought the rock just in case. The heat rock is never plugged in i just use it as decoration. I know exactly how to take care of him. He is properly fed with crickets and greens. The crickets are fed gut load cricket drink and flukers orange cubes. He does not like to drink from a dish so i bathe him every other day and feed him water with a eye dropper. I play with him plenty so he gets to know me. I clean the messes out of his cage as soon as i notice them. I have two UVB lamps and a heat lamp. Basking spot temp is at 108 degrees and cool side is at 85. The heat rock is fine to use as long as you monitor the heat. When used it should only be on for a few min to prevent burning.

 

[Bushmaster11B]

Just as long as you monitor it. I would wrap it with a wash cloth if you still feel the need to use it and only use it when you are watching your D. Every single heat rock I ever saw and bought when I had certain snakes, made temps of 130-180 degrees F. That is way to hot and very dangerous. Just like heat pads in direct contact. I have to argue the fact that you don't know everything when it comes to Husbandry. I guess it's my opinion because I never had any impaction issues with "any" reptiles I ever owned. Take my advise or not but when you bake your BD on accident, don't come crying about it because I warned you. I have been working with multiple reptiles for 14 years now, new to BD's but I have been told my husbandry is excellent by several people here in BDF.

 

[Mattalie]

And in nature they basically live on a heat rock. Contrary to popular belief the dont mainly live on sand rather on hard packed clay. When the sun comes up in the deserts it heats the clay up to 130-160 degrees. Also as i said before, i bought him from a pet store that housed him on sand. I bought the heat rock as a precaution in case he ate sand at the pet store. Also as i said i monitored him when i used the heat rock. It was only on for a few minutes each time and only got up to 90 degrees. Id also like to inform you that i have also been caring for lizards for a very long time. For 9 years i have owned may species of lizard and when the were old enough i sold them to friends after teaching them how to take care of them. Ive been asking questions because this is my first beardie and every lizard is slightly different.