Substrate for Leopard geckos?

[martinez2828]

So I've been getting kinda tired of change the paper towels in my geckos cages. So I was planning on changing to tile soon. But when I was up in my attic today, I found a big box of laminate wood. I think that's what it's called I'm not sure. It's not real wood and it's pretty thin. So I was wondering if I could cut this to size and use it for their flooring? Will it conduct heat well? Thanks!

 

[NikkiC223]

Does the wood have any glue or sticky stuff on the bottom? The only thing I would worry about is the heat going through the wood and letting off some of the fumes from any glue or sticky stuff. I'm not too sure about how well it would warm up. Do you use an UTH? I use ceramic tile and it heats up nicely where the UTH is. Maybe someone else can chime in about the wood...I'm just not really sure about how well it would heat up.

 

[Kylerbassman]

I would steer clear of it. Even if it's not wood, most of those products have a cork or pressboard underside. This can deteriorate with moisture exposure. Also, as said before, many materials like that use adhesives that can be bad if heated for extended periods of time. I would also think that it probably wouldn't conduct heat as well since it has products in it that are actually insulators and not conductors. Natural stone in my opinion is best if you don't like the paper towels. All said and done I think I only spent 7 dollars to do (2) 20 gallon longs. It will definately be worth it in the long run.

 

[DrCarrotTail]

I can see several issues that may come up with using the laminate. 1. Plastic doesn't conduct heat as well as tile or slate so may be difficult to get a good temperature gradient using it. 2. It may absorb bacteria depending on the type 3. It may disintegrate or erode from exposure to the uric acid in the leos fecal matter. 4. With slate, you can remove it and bake it in the oven to sterilize it the laminate may melt if you try something similar.

It may work - you just may need to keep a sharp eye on it for damage and do some experimentation with the setting of your UTH to get your temperatures right since it will be different than the thin paper towels. Maybe someone else has experience using it or knows something I don't about why its not more commonly used as a substrate?

 

[martinez2828]

Ok guys Thanks! What stone do you guys recommend getting specifically? And where?

 

[Kylerbassman]

I got natural unsealed slate at lowes. I think it was less than 75 cents a square. I just picked through the pile for the tiles that were thinnest since slate really ranges in thickness. You can have them cut them there for free, just make sure you get your measurements right. I love it and it has worked so much better than anything else. Bake the slate though and clean it in case they have anything on them that could be harmful. I used just a bit of sand around the bottom edges to keep them sitting correctly. I would however not reccomend to put a layer on the entire bottom. Leaving a gap between the slate and glass where the Uth is gets my tiles warmed up perfectly. Good luck, and of you have any questions, feel free to ask.

 

[Kylerbassman]

Also, in my opinion, less joints are better. I went with 12x12 and cut them to fit. You can use whatever, but I personally like less joints as to not allow a place to snag toes or feeders to escape.

 

[martinez2828]

Not sure I understand. When I put the tile in and theirs left over cracks between the the tiles should I fill it with sand? All of them? Thanks.

 

[Kylerbassman]

Just keep the tiles as tight and level as possible. I did fill in cracks with sand. First I set tiles in with a bit of sand just to get them level and keep them slightly off the glass bottom of my tank. After the tiles were in place I filled in cracks around edges and joints about 1/4 inch at a time and spray the sand with water. This will help to keep the sand in place so it doesn't create a mess all over your slate. The less sand you use on your top level, the better. If you can get a tight fit with the tiles it makes it a lot easier than having a large gap you have to fill.

 

[DrCarrotTail]

Putting a bit of sand under the tiles is also important as it helps to conduct the heat from the UTH to the slate. If you have too much of a gap between the bottom of the tank and the slate you'll find it hard to get a warm enough hot side.

 

[Kylerbassman]

Yeah, I honestly just put enough sand to level them out. I have about 1/4 gap under my tile to the bottom of my tank. I did however find by keeping the sand at edges that I gained about 5 degrees from my Uth in the center of my tiles where I didn't put sand.