GO GREEN!

[herpencounter]

Good point about the nails, never even thought about that. Humm, well maybe old sheets or pillow cases? Maybe terri cloth or lint free towels? Ill have to some looken around. Any ideas of any fabric or cloth that there nails wont get stuck in and will be washer safe?

I know what we can use!


Paper towels and newspaper.

 

[nrich]

haha! Great Idea!

 

[Barbel]

Barbel, where did you get your 90% of pet owners keep a reptile as a pet statistic? I'm just wondering because I never heard that number before.

My boyfriend and I heard that on reptile radio. Just to clarify, it is not 90% of people, but people who already own another type of pet also keep a reptile of some sort.

If you already get a newspaper, which I don't because the same info is online , you should recycle it. You can't recycle it if it has oils on it (from say your car), is yellowed by the sun or gets wet.

I will try to think of different washable materials that you could use. There is something out there, you just have to be willing to find it!

I will take some pictures of my tubs and post them later today. I think the shelf liner looks very neat and clean. It also comes in different styles/colors so you can pick what you want.

 

[Barbel]

Alright, here are some pictures of my set ups.

The rack

Adult set up

Juvie set up

Close up

Underneath: If your tub has a raised middle, you will want to cut the liner to fit the middle area. If you cut it to fit the whole tub, all the little bugs can hide around the edges.

 

[stewy84]

I know what we can use!


Paper towels and newspaper.

LOL yeah, thats not the answer that we were looking for but works well.And dont them shelf liners have little holes in them? Not going to work for me, I want the entier floor covered, no seeping threw for me. Then you have to wash tubs that much more and all that just sounds like work, i thought you were suspose to enjoy having geckos.And dont think i dont keep them clean new paper towel every week. Still think some kind of cloth is the way to go.

 

[Barbel]

And dont them shelf liners have little holes in them?

Not of all them do, that is just the style I went with. I do rinse my tubs out, but you don't have to do it everytime and it really isn't as time consuming as you might think. It took my boyfriend less than 20 minutes to rinse 14 tubs out last week. I like the holes because yes some of the mess seeps through and then they aren't walking around in all of it as much, probably some of it, but not all of it. This type of liner also tends to have a little better grip.
I really enjoy my geckos a lot and I see the work as part of that. Once you get a system planned out the work will go faster and be easier.

One way to avoid rinsing the tubs every time you change them is something I mentioned earlier. Have an extra set of already clean liner cut so you can take out the dirty, replace it with a new one right away and then clean the dirty ones for the next week. Let them soak in hot water over night, then the next day rinse them and hang (or lay) them out to dry. I plan on using this method when we get more geckos.

 

[BGalloway]

A good fabric to use as substrate might be old T-shirts or anything tightly woven.

 

[Haligren]

I use reptile carpet to line my tanks with. I use a mixture of vinegar and water to clean them with and I have a tile for Tiamat's bathroom. I'd like to get one for Mandarin too as soon as he decides WHERE his bathroom is. He's a messy little guy so I use paper towels to clean after him, but I try to conserve by tearing the paper towel sheets in half as you really don't need a big sheet to clean up a little gecko poo anyway.

As for breeding my own feeders I only have the two geckos and one doesn't eat much at all. So I only really go to get more once every two weeks, if that. The supers last forever if you take care of them. When I start working this summer however, I plan on getting some roaches - if my leos like them enough I'll keep a colony.

Switching the light bulbs to something more eco-friendly is something I have thought about but I live in a basement and in a country where the it's winter most of the year so it stays pretty cold down here. I need the extra heat from the bulbs to keep my temps within range. :/

 

[Barbel]

I use a mixture of vinegar and water to clean them with

That's really awesome! What is your percentage of water to vinegar? I would love to use that to spray down my tubs. Also, I would assume it's white vinegar, correct?

Okay, I think I may have an idea for a washable cloth to use in your tubs. First, I thought of canvas, which is a really tough, tighly woven fabric. The only thing is that when you cut it, it does fray really easily, so you would have to hem the edges. For those who wouldn't mind doing that, it would work really well and be washable.
Since most people don't have a sewing machine, I know that canvas wouldn't be practical for everyone. So I thought about placemats. There are a variety of fabric ones as well as plastic and they also come in variety of solid colors. They are also about the right size to fit right into you tubs without any alterations. The fabric ones can be tossed in the wash and the plastic ones can be rinsed off in the sink.
I also thought about demin since it is tough and washable.

 

[EchoPet]

I think using greener methods to take care of our herps (and all of our pets) is a great idea. I only have two geckos right now and they're both on slate tile, but am hoping to have a rack and several more in the future. I think shelf liner would be a great, greener, alternative to paper towels and plan to use that whenever I get a rack. I still use paper towels to pick up the poo off my tiles, but I just rip off a tiny piece at a time cause you don't need that big of a piece to get the job done.

I've been looking into other ways to go green in my life and am really excited about some up-coming projects. My boyfriend and I are going to start a compost heap and are looking at using about half an acre of our property to grow our own crops. I figure I can use our crops to feed my feeders as well, and any waste from the feeders and geckos can be thrown in the compost. We're also pricing out what it would take to get solar panels to completely solarize our house, but I think that's a goal that's still farther away. In the short term we might just build a workshop/reptile area and solarize that.

 

[leonut]

I wonder why It hasn't been suggested that we use recyled paper towels. besides, recyled paper towels usualy have an "earthy" color and look nicer anyway. P.S. Barbel, I like how you have pics of the geckos on their cages.

 

[Barbel]

My boyfriend and I are going to start a compost heap

We're also pricing out what it would take to get solar panels to completely solarize our house

Those are both things that we are going to do eventually. The compost heap will come sooner and the solar panels will definately be later; they are so expensive to set up! We always talk about how when we build our house (many years from now) how green we are going to make it and how gigantic our snake and gecko rooms are going to be!

I wonder why It hasn't been suggested that we use recyled paper towels. besides, recyled paper towels usualy have an "earthy" color and look nicer anyway. P.S. Barbel, I like how you have pics of the geckos on their cages.

Recycled paper towels are a really great idea if you are a person must, must use paper towels. Reusable tub liners are better, because in the end you will still be throwing away those recycled paper towels. So, if you feel there is nothing else to use but paper towels, then yes, by all means PLEASE buy the already recycled ones.

P.S. Thanks! They look so cute in their littles homes! The juvie is the first one I ever hatched. I hand fed her at first so she always looks up like that, waiting for a snack.

 

[Haligren]

That's really awesome! What is your percentage of water to vinegar? I would love to use that to spray down my tubs. Also, I would assume it's white vinegar, correct?

Yes, it is white vinegar, but I'm uncertain of the ratio; I believe it's something like two tablespoons of vinegar in a gallon of water. Although I just mix mine in a large spray bottle. Some people also use a bit of lemon juice or soap in with the mixture as well.

Vinegar is an awesome natural chemical. You can use it for so many things. lol

 

[leonut]

Recycled paper towels are a really great idea if you are a person must, must use paper towels. Reusable tub liners are better, because in the end you will still be throwing away those recycled paper towels. So, if you feel there is nothing else to use but paper towels, then yes, by all means PLEASE buy the already recycled ones.

You could use recycled paper towels then put them in the compost when the've been used too.

 

[Barbel]

You could use recycled paper towels then put them in the compost when the've been used too.

That would definately be the way to go!

Another supply that reptile keepers, especially breeders, tend to go through and throw away a lot are deli cups. Nearly every animal sold comes in a little plastic container.
I think that breeders should look into using biodegradable deli cups when they sell/ship their reptiles. There are several companies that make normally plastic stuff like silverware, plates, bowls, straws, trashbags, deli cups and other food containers out of corn and pototoes. These items can be thrown away without hurting the enviroment.

 

[EchoPet]

Those are both things that we are going to do eventually. The compost heap will come sooner and the solar panels will definately be later; they are so expensive to set up! We always talk about how when we build our house (many years from now) how green we are going to make it and how gigantic our snake and gecko rooms are going to be!

Oh, I hear ya. The compost is definitely something that will be done soon, especially because next week we're moving my horse out to the house, and I plan on composting her manure. The solar panels will definitely be something that we'll have to save up for. In the long run, I think the start-up costs will pay off with all the money we save by not paying electric bills and with tax breaks. It's just getting the funds in the first place that will be a bit of a hurdle.

 

[Barbel]

Alright. I just made a trip to Wal-Mart and I decided to look for green friendly substrate while I was there. I was in the kitchen area, near the placemats and they had cloth napkins. I felt the fabric and it is very tightly woven and smooth, has the thickness of a good quality paper towel and is washing machine friendly! YAY! They came in about five different colors including white and beige. I hope that helps out for those who are looking for wash friendly tub lining.

 

[lizardlove]

I used to use paper towels, but for only one gecko I realized I was using a LOT. It took six or seven sheets to line the bottom because if I only used enough to cover it the UTH would have been WAY too hot. When I switched to repticarpet, I wasted way less money and it was actually EASIER for me to clean than bundling up/folding/replacing all that paper towel.

I agree that if someone wants to use paper towel, go recycled! If more people buy recycled, more companies will produce it, supply and demand, etc. Earth-friendly is a good thing! It's not difficult to make tiny changes that will ultimately make a tiny difference - tiny is better than none at all.

 

[Tiny chibi]

Very good points you've made, every small thing makes a difference to making the planet greener.

 

[Dan K.]

someone need's to revise the repti-carpet because it's a wonderful product except for the fact that leo's catch there nail's and teeth on it. you can wash it and reuse. I've never used shelf liner can you wash that?