Substrate ideas for a 18x18 tank?

[voretaq7]

Does anyone have any ideas on a natural-looking substrate for an Exo Terra 18x18 cage?

The inside of the cage is 17x17, but there are some lumps of sealant in the corners that keep a 17x17 tile from sitting flat, so I've got a few 6.5x6.5s and 4x4s, with the gap space filled in by paper towels.
My leo doesn't mind, but I do - If I try to hand-feed and the mealie squirms or wanders away they get under the towel/into the cracks and I have to disassemble part of the floor to get them back out. (Oh, and it's ugly )

I did try repti-carpet, but gave up on it because when I washed my test mat it shrunk/curled as it dried and went from fitting perfectly to having about a 1/2" gap all around


Any thoughts?

 

[Tanggecko]

Ive used indoor/outdoor carpet in my tanks before. I use tile now. I have a tank like the one you are talking about. If you are going to try indoor/outdoor carpet get the higher grade stuff not the astroturf crap. Your local hardware store should have some indoor/outdoor carpet that is really close to repticarpet. They should have it in a few colors too. Other than that I would just cut the 17x17 tile down to about 16 3/4x 16 3/4 and deal with the seam around the edge. Thats how i have mine. I use a little Dust buster vacume to get mealworms out of the cracks.

 

[voretaq7]

I've been thinking about the indoor/outdoor carpet, but I'm worried that it will wind up shrinking/warping like the repti-carpet did (I also keep hearing about geckos getting caught on it, but mine loves the carpeted hide I made and doesn't seem to have any problems -- how common is that?).

I'll probably stop by one of the mega-home-warehouse stores tonight and see if they can hack up a tile for me - The paper towel filler method is pretty good at keeping the mealies out of the cracks, it's just that there's a lot of cracks in the current setup .


This means I have to convince the gecko to come out of his tank to replace his floor - Joy... (He is decidedly opposed to being handled - this was a pet store rescue and I think the only time they ever touched their reptiles was to dump them in the cage - he's still terrified of me. )

 

[GatorGirl286]

maybe try the 17x17 tile but have the corners cut so that it fits around the sealant and lays flat. i know they cut tiles at lowe's.

 

[voretaq7]

Wound up doing a 16x16 tile & filling the border with paper towels for now - I think it looks infinitely better than before, but the leo still hasn't left his hide -- I think he's miffed that I picked up his house (with him in it) and moved it across the room into a box while I redid the tank.