Good morning! I am currently building a new home for my beardies. I have decided that this one is going to have ceramic tile instead of the paper towels and the green turf I've used in previous homes. Now my question is, do I tile it complete with grout and everything or just lay them in? I have done a little bit of research and had mixed reviews. One said review actually stated not to make the tile permanent because you have to replace the heating pad under the tile which I was completely appalled by. Why are we putting heating pads under the tile and a dragon cage?? I do not agree with that practice and therefore that is not a worry for me. Other discussions and things I found said to make sure the tile can be removed easily so that you can take them out to clean them up or replace them if they get broken. I'm not sure how easily a tile is going to get broken if it is permanently fixed into the cage. I read on a discussion thread that if I put the grout in that will help with worms getting down below the tile. I originally wanted to make the tile a permanent fixture with the grout and all. However I'm new to using tile as a substrate and wanted to know thoughts on grouting it or not. Tia!
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Ceramic tile for BD home
- Thread starter Joannie
- Start date
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- Tags
- ceramic tile grout substrate
I use half ceramic tile and half non adhesive shelf liner. The tiles fit right up next to each other so nothing gets in between and it's easy to take them out to clean. If you do tile your whole tank, I recommend getting them cut to fit the tank so that you don't have any open spaces. Remember to measure the inside of the tank and not the outside of the tank when getting tile cut. The tile should also be rough, not sealed. The dragons need to be able to grip the tile.
Personally I like to be able to change things around. If you need to move the tank for any reason, it would help to be able to take the heavy stuff out. If there is a tough stain on one of the tiles you can take it out and clean it and let it dry or you can replace it with another. I once did tile in the whole tank when my boy was younger. What ended up happening was he filed his nails down to little nubs because he glass danced so much. I took it out and waited for his nails to grow back and then I started doing the 50/50 for him.
I'm a new owner as well secon go around. My first go was a baby beardie from a bigbox pet store . Avoid them at all costs , which it sounds like you are.
Second I think tank setup is very important the first tank I had was a small 18x18x18 with the coil type bulbs for both UVB and basking, big mistake a month in my 4 month old Yoshi began doing bad in the smaller tank the UVB bulb seem to be hurting his eyes and he slept for a whole day at one point. I quickly built a 4x2x2 got a reptisun 10.0 tube bulb and he seems to be thriving again.
Feedings had always been the easiest part I've found Yoshi eats Black soldier fly larvae, and crickets, and gets butter and wax worms for treats, he also gets a fresh salad every morning based on the ingredients in the breeders care package, things such as bok Choy, dandelion, carrot, parsley, cilantro, and a ready made organic field greens salad, every couple days we throw some different fruit in things such as blue berries, grapes, watermelon. As well as we dust the crickets with calcium once a day, the bsfl do not need dusting as they are very rich in calcium to begin with we also dust his food with a vitamin on the weekend.
Hope you enjoy your new friend
Second I think tank setup is very important the first tank I had was a small 18x18x18 with the coil type bulbs for both UVB and basking, big mistake a month in my 4 month old Yoshi began doing bad in the smaller tank the UVB bulb seem to be hurting his eyes and he slept for a whole day at one point. I quickly built a 4x2x2 got a reptisun 10.0 tube bulb and he seems to be thriving again.
Feedings had always been the easiest part I've found Yoshi eats Black soldier fly larvae, and crickets, and gets butter and wax worms for treats, he also gets a fresh salad every morning based on the ingredients in the breeders care package, things such as bok Choy, dandelion, carrot, parsley, cilantro, and a ready made organic field greens salad, every couple days we throw some different fruit in things such as blue berries, grapes, watermelon. As well as we dust the crickets with calcium once a day, the bsfl do not need dusting as they are very rich in calcium to begin with we also dust his food with a vitamin on the weekend.
Hope you enjoy your new friend
