Paper towels vs Reptile Carpet as a Substrate

Willowbyrd · Oct 2, 2014

I've been using paper towels for the last 5-6 years for my leos for substrate. Lately, browsing through the forums like i often do on and off, I've seen a lot of people seem to use reptile carpet instead. Besides the reusablility and eco-friendly, what are the benefits or cons to using reptile carpet over paper towels?

Or, what is the substrate you use and what do you feel that is best for leopard geckos.

indyana · Oct 2, 2014

For cons, the carpet needs to be rotated and fully soaked/cleaned regularly or it can get smelly. Some people have also had geckos injure toes when their claws got snagged on the carpet.

Personally, I use paper towel or brown kraft paper and a tile in the poop corners.

laurahlove · Oct 2, 2014

Yeah, I use the carpet in all my tanks. It gets dirty pretty easy, with the calcium dust sticking to it, but my Leos all have a little poop box so no problem there. But when I do their weekly cleaning, I take the carpet out and rinse it really good with hot water in the shower to clean it.
The tanks at my work use paper towels and I personally hate it. They are so messy and the Leos always mess them up and they water bowl gets water all over them, not to mention the carpet just looks prettier. Plus the crickets always hide under the paper towels.
But I've never had my Leos toes get stuck on the carpet or anything like that.

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JennyBeen · Oct 2, 2014

Mine has a more natural-looking "desert" carpet that is a bit rougher than the other carpets, (it has a sort of dirt texture) but also doesn't have any loose bits despite it's rocky, sandy appearance. I do like that it makes the cage look a bit nicer and more natural, and I can just pick up poop corners with a bit of toilet paper for spot cleaning. It does also seem to stay in place quite well, as I've not had to adjust it at all.

Admittedly I have not used paper towel, but I don't care much for how it looks aesthetically, and it does seem to move around a bit more from what others have said.

Willowbyrd · Oct 2, 2014

Yeah, the issue I have most of the time is that sometimes the food somehow climbs out of the bowl, even though I'm using a bowl that has a lid on top for them NOT to climb out, but they still climb out somehow. Then they proceed to hide under the paper towels that are flipped up in the corners.

laurahlove · Oct 2, 2014

Reptile carpet would be better for that

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Dinosaur! · Oct 2, 2014

I have used paper towle with no issue.

Pros: Cheap, easy, doesnt need to be cleaned, can be moistened for the humidity for hatchlings, bio-degradable, great for rack systems, etc....

Cons: not very "pretty" for a display tank, has to be changed weekly, slides if its not weighted down (it should have hides on it though...), bugs can hide under it.

Repti-carpet is a product that I never found appealing personally, just because it looks like cheap felt that I use when I'm to lazy to buy decent craft supplies. It looks and fake to me (no offense, I just really dont like it...), and I like my cages, clean, sterile, and white.

Pros: reusable, can be cut to size, more asthetically pleasing, .... I don't know a lot of pros, sorry

..... Um, it's better then using sand for certain at least.

Cons: Stinks to high heaven if you don't clean it quick enough (had some for a while, and it was bad), you need to buy multple ones to rotate between while cleaning the other ones, I've had crickets eat it before, and toes can get stuck, and even ripped off if they get stuck in it, and bugs can crawl under it.

I will sggest another substrate though

Slate tile.

Pros: looks naturalistic, comes in tons of colors to go with any theme, asthetically pleasing, great heat conductor, no impaction or toe loss, just wipe off messes and rinse them off once a month, can be cut to size, very cheap, and let's see those stupid bugs crawl under that!! If I had a vision tank instead of my rack system, tile would be the substrate for me!

Cons: Sometimes they don't fit "perfectly" (gaps can safely be filled in with sand though), tricky to pull out of the tank sometimes.... I can't really think of any other cons!

Many people on here use tile for the asthetic appeal, with as little risk to your geckos safety as possible. Check out the "show off your cages" thread, and you will see some great tile set ups!

Willowbyrd · Oct 3, 2014

Dinosaur! said:
I will sggest another substrate though Slate tile.

Pros: looks naturalistic, comes in tons of colors to go with any theme, asthetically pleasing, great heat conductor, no impaction or toe loss, just wipe off messes and rinse them off once a month, can be cut to size, very cheap, and let's see those stupid bugs crawl under that!! If I had a vision tank instead of my rack system, tile would be the substrate for me!

Cons: Sometimes they don't fit "perfectly" (gaps can safely be filled in with sand though), tricky to pull out of the tank sometimes.... I can't really think of any other cons!

Many people on here use tile for the asthetic appeal, with as little risk to your geckos safety as possible. Check out the "show off your cages" thread, and you will see some great tile set ups!

I thought about that after people started talking about other kinds of substrate. I have a 20 gal long that they are in, so that probably will be a better looking option and easier to take care of instead of paper towels. Thanks for the suggestion!

laurahlove · Oct 3, 2014

The only reason I've never thought about using tiles, or even used tiles is would the under tann heat pads heat through the tiles? That's my only concern.

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Dinosaur! · Oct 3, 2014

Tile is actually a wonderful heat conducter according to everything that I have read

But I understand your concern!

And no problem! I just saw that no one had mentioned it yet, so I thought I would

Willowbyrd · Oct 3, 2014

Looks like my next adventure on making my tank better for my leos is to get some tiles for their area and more plants. Do you think having little rocks in there is good? Like smaller rocks to fill up the corners and things?

Dinosaur! · Oct 3, 2014

As long as the rocks arent small enough to be swallowed, or big enough to crush your leo if they fall, you should be fine

You could also get creative and adhere the rocks together to make a corner-of-the-tank hide for them

Do let us know how the tile turns out! I love tile setups!

Willowbyrd · Oct 3, 2014

Yeah I think the corner rock thing would be cool. Because currently one of my leos uses the back corner with the viney plants as like a makeshift hide. So I think I could possibly turn that into something, or rearrange things so it would make it more naturalish looking. Nothing like people do with handmade setups.

Is hot glue okay to use for glueing rocks and things together in their tank?

Crunchewy · Oct 4, 2014

With our Leo we started with reptile carpet but he would get his mouth stuck, let alone feet, in the carpet. It was very distressing to see. We have used paper towels ever since and haven't looked back.

Trevor0322 · Oct 6, 2014

Ive seen people use a dried out soil sand mix. It seems successful. A lot of people speak against natural substrates. Right now I use paper towel, but i would like to add some more natural enrichment to my set ups so i have been researching myself.

Dinosaur! · Oct 7, 2014

Yes, there are some very nice, naturalistic substrates out there

the safest ones that can be used for leopard geckos in particular are the ones that you mix with water, mold to the shape of the tank, and let them set. You can paint these depending on the brands i believe, and even set stones, gravel, or sand in the wet mixture while it is drying to make it even more naturalistic (and impaction proof!) . If I knew any brands, I would mention them, but I am clueless in that department... I am all for naturalistic substrates, as long as it doesnt pose any more of a risk to my geckos health than the tile would

nikiplanb · Oct 15, 2014

This was my tank setup before today. I used to use reptile carpet but I found that when I tried to clean poop it would sometimes get mushed into the carpet which was hard as hell to clean out. I eventually switched to paper towels and they're sooooooo much cleaner for me. I really want to try tile I just haven't had the chance to get some yet.

lisa127 · Oct 15, 2014

I don't use either. The reptile carpet seems too "dirty" to me. The paper towels slide all over the place when the lizards walk. I use newspaper sheets. It's sturdier than paper towels. I have a dedicated reptile room they are in (not in living room) so I don't worry about how it looks.

laurahlove · Oct 15, 2014

nikiplanb said:
View attachment 67568
This was my tank setup before today. I used to use reptile carpet but I found that when I tried to clean poop it would sometimes get mushed into the carpet which was hard as hell to clean out. I eventually switched to paper towels and they're sooooooo much cleaner for me. I really want to try tile I just haven't had the chance to get some yet.

I gotta say, dang girl! Lol! That's a pretty awesome set up!!!

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Paper towels vs Reptile Carpet as a Substrate

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