[kayskritters]

Hi,

Ive seen that people use lino and tiles (ceramic?) for leo and beardie vivs.

I just wondered how well the heat from heat mat penetrates through (for leos)? If the ceramic tiles are thick, does it stop the heat getting through? Do you stick them down or just cut them to fit and place them in? They must be great to clean.

Any recommendations? Would like the pros and cons.

Many thanks Kay.

 

[andy_gg]

i have tiles in with my leos, they are about 5mm thick and 10cm by 10cm. they work perfectly never had trouble with them. u need them to warm up abit at first but they hold the heat perfectly. i put the probe inbetween the gap over the mat where they meet. u also use playsand to fill the gaps

 

[kayskritters]

Are the tiles ceramic?

 

[Big Red One]

I use mostly ceramic floor tile and sometimes lino.

Ceramics hold heat better, once the heat has transferred into them they are fine and stay nice and stable. Lino doesn't hold heat quite as well, so I do prefer ceramic tiles.

All I do is cut 'to size' for the viv and then lay the tiles in the viv, over the heatmat (you may need to cut a small notch into the tile for the heatmat cable). The weight of them means there's no way the leo's can move them. Any small gaps at the edges can either be fileld with v small amounts of playsand ( I don't bother) or sealed with aquarium sealant....

 

[kayskritters]

I was thinking of putting sand between gaps then it wouldnt be so much of a task to remove them if the heat mat failed or something.

Ive just had a reptile room built and think I will put tiles into the leo and beardie vivs. Thought it might help keep nails down too.

Thanks for the replies.

 

[kizzy21_uk]

one question i have is in a stack do the tiles make the bottom of the vivs bow at all like are the tiles heavy, im getting a massive viv stack bulit and i want the best substrate and i thought lino.

also i board for people so wiv tiles how easy is it to do a deep clean after every reptile thats in there like now i completely empty the vivs out and disenfect them. wat bout germs and stuff under the tiles?

 

[Big Red One]

Hiya,

weight might be an issue if you have several vivs stacked, in that case maybe lino would be a better option.

For either tiles or lino, I just take it out for a deep clean as required, clean all over the tiles/lino (both sides) and the viv seperately. Once everything is dried off, pop it back in ! Jobs a good 'un... : victory:

One thing I have used recently in some hatchling tubs is a vinyl, sticky backed thing from B&Q - can't remember what it's called but it comes in a roll like wallpaper. you take the backing off and stick it down permanently onto your viv floor. Then as it's waterproof, just clean as you normally would using your preferred cleaning solution (I use F10).......

 

[kizzy21_uk]

ok thanx so much i think i stix wiv lino coz i i b worried bout the vivs bowing and they just cost me a fortune.xxx