Vinyl Tile

[Vex]

Greetings everyone!

I've been lurking on these forums for a while now, learning everything I can and enjoying all the stunning gecko photos. I finally have a question to ask and it is regarding vinyl tiles as a substrate. I've read that the high end, non-porous textured tiles are a decent choice for flooring but I don't know how to tell "high end" from lesser quality that may put off gasses when heated to the 90-95 degree range. I also wanted to make sure that this really is a safe and good option.

So I guess my question is actually two.

1) Are high-end vinyl tiles really safe?

and

2) What are good brands? Since I don't really know how to tell the good tiles from the lesser quality, I was hoping someone might be able to point me in the right direction. I don't want to compromise the safety of my gecko by getting a subpar product.

I am currently using natural slate tile, but I'm not sure I'm entirely happy with it (the local Home Depot's stock wasn't that great) and was considering vinyl tile as an alternative.

Any assistance and advice is much appreciated.

 

[pmkent1]

Welcome! The only vinyl tile that would be considered porous would be VCT (Vinyl composite tile) like you would see in a Walmart or hospital. Any sort of "peel-&-stick" type vinyl tile you would by at a Lowes or Home Depot would do just fine.

I dont personally recommend natural slate tile since its about as porous as tile can get. If you like the slate look you could do a decent porcelain tile thats made to look like slate. Its 100% non-porous

 

[Vex]

Thank you! I really appreciate the response. I wasn't sure if there were specific brands I should be looking for/stay away from, or if anything readily available at Home Depot would be good, so this was very helpful!

And thanks for the welcome!

 

[ChristinaJ]

peel and stick "tiles" are a huge no no! when heated the glue gives off a poisonous gas and can kill the gecko, search for threads on this as I know for a fact there are several. The only kind of safe tile are natural slate and ceramic type of tile.

 

[GGss6]

I currently use calcium sand but (hopefully) tomorrow my dad is going to get me some granite tile (excited)!

 

[pmkent1]

peel and stick "tiles" are a huge no no! when heated the glue gives off a poisonous gas and can kill the gecko, search for threads on this as I know for a fact there are several. The only kind of safe tile are natural slate and ceramic type of tile.

Can you reference that thread for me? Id love to read it. Ive been a contractor for 12 years and Ive never know vinyl tile to be toxic. Ive used it several time in the past with other reptiles and never had a problem. The temps in a cage are (or at leat should be) in the 90's at best. Thats definitely not enough to melt the advesive even if it were toxic... Id like to see what that thread says.

On a side note, natural slate is about the most porous stone there is. I know a lot of people on here have recommended it but thats just about the hardest stone there is to really keep sanitary. Put a drop of water on it and see how fast it sucks it up. Ceramic or porcelain on the other hand would be ideal. Put a drop of water on that and itll just sit there until it evaporates.

 

[Designer Geckos]

We much prefer reptile carpet in terrariums. Cut a small triangle of paper towel for the one of the back corners and that's the bathroom. Easy to swap out and it keeps the carpet and terrarium spotless for many months. It's amazing how quickly the leos learn to go on the paper triangle. They are really little clean fanatics....

 

[GGss6]

so is the granite tile ok?

 

[Vex]

peel and stick "tiles" are a huge no no! when heated the glue gives off a poisonous gas and can kill the gecko, search for threads on this as I know for a fact there are several. The only kind of safe tile are natural slate and ceramic type of tile.

See, this is why I asked this question here. I have read several different threads in different forums about vinyl tiles, and what they seemed to indicate is that the high-end variety would be safe. That they would need to be heated well beyond the 90-95 degrees for a leo's warm side in order to put off toxic gasses. While I worked for a construction company for 2 years, I was an administrator and we used subs, so I never really learned much about any of the materials used in our buildings.

So I came here to find out if, indeed, "high end" vinyl is truly a safe alternative to the natural slate I am currently using (and not particularly satisfied with), and how to tell which brands would qualify for this designation.

We much prefer reptile carpet in terrariums. Cut a small triangle of paper towel for the one of the back corners and that's the bathroom. Easy to swap out and it keeps the carpet and terrarium spotless for many months. It's amazing how quickly the leos learn to go on the paper triangle. They are really little clean fanatics....

I considered reptile carpet, but I had concerns about keeping it truly sanitary and don't want my gecko to get her little toes or teeth caught, which I've read a lot of folks have trouble with.

And while paper towels sound great, the idea of how many I would waste... It makes me a little queasy. I'm a bit of a recycling nut... I don't think I could bring myself to do it -- my family already wastes enough of them as it. My preference is for something more permanent.

So this brings me back around to available types of tile.

The local Home Depot doesn't have much of a selection for sale that doesn't require the purchase of an entire case of tile, and I'm having difficulty tracking down textured tiles -- most of them are glazed smooth. While I could afford an entire case, it's a bit silly when I only need to cover a 24" x 18" space -- though I will do it if that's the best/only alternative. And all the best options are special order only, so I can't just get it right away. I also have no means of cutting it to size, unless Home Depot will do it for me (which was a bit of an issue for the slate tiles -- I'm not sure if they'd cut more for me).

I had also read that Porcelain and Ceramic tiles didn't necessarily conduct the heat a leo needs very well. Given that there are multiple suggestions for it in this thread, I am going to assume this is incorrect and it heats up just fine.

My local Home Depot is the only place within approximately a 45 minute drive where I can purchase a tile substrate, so I'd prefer to be able to get it from them, though I will commute if necessary to branch/store with a better, more appropriate selection.

I appreciate everyone's feedback very much! I just want my leo to have the best and safest environment she can.

 

[Designer Geckos]

We use reptile carpet in all our terrariums as do our customers and teeth do not get caught because we do not feed crickets and only place feeders in bowls. Carpet is the way to go. If you were a gecko, would you rather lay on a hard surface all your life, or soft carpet?

 

[Vex]

We use reptile carpet in all our terrariums as do our customers and teeth do not get caught because we do not feed crickets and only place feeders in bowls. Carpet is the way to go. If you were a gecko, would you rather lay on a hard surface all your life, or soft carpet?

And there are no issues with toes getting stuck?

I do use a feeding dish, but my gecko also likes to hunt her mealies when she can.

 

[Designer Geckos]

And there are no issues with toes getting stuck?

I do use a feeding dish, but my gecko also likes to hunt her mealies when she can.

Nope, and we have some huge Giants on carpet, zero problems. Use the paper towel triangle bathroom and you never need to clean the carpet....sometimes just a quick vacuum to pick up shed particles or mineral dust. We've sold hundreds of terrarium setups with zero problems. Our customers love it, very easy. I wish the carpet in our size for the Exo 18x18 came in gold, but it only comes in green. Gold would look better, but the green is cool.

 

[Vex]

Nope, and we have some huge Giants on carpet, zero problems. Use the paper towel triangle bathroom and you never need to clean the carpet....sometimes just a quick vacuum to pick up shed particles or mineral dust. We've sold hundreds of terrarium setups with zero problems. Our customers love it, very easy. I wish the carpet in our size for the Exo 18x18 came in gold, but it only comes in green. Gold would look better, but the green is cool.

Thank you! I really appreciate the information! My main concerns were definitely the possible hazard for teeth/toes and overall sanitary issues, but this has gone a long way towards alleviating those worries.

 

[Kaila]

We use reptile carpet in all our terrariums as do our customers and teeth do not get caught because we do not feed crickets and only place feeders in bowls. Carpet is the way to go. If you were a gecko, would you rather lay on a hard surface all your life, or soft carpet?

I tried reptile carpet before and my poor gecko kept getting his toes stuck on it almost everyday. Maybe I have bad luck?

 

[GGss6]

We use reptile carpet in all our terrariums as do our customers and teeth do not get caught because we do not feed crickets and only place feeders in bowls. Carpet is the way to go. If you were a gecko, would you rather lay on a hard surface all your life, or soft carpet?

I had rocks in my terrerium when I had carpet and she never layed on the carpet, she would just bask on the rocks. Plus they would lay on rocks in whe wild

 

[GGss6]

Nope, and we have some huge Giants on carpet, zero problems. Use the paper towel triangle bathroom and you never need to clean the carpet....sometimes just a quick vacuum to pick up shed particles or mineral dust. We've sold hundreds of terrarium setups with zero problems. Our customers love it, very easy. I wish the carpet in our size for the Exo 18x18 came in gold, but it only comes in green. Gold would look better, but the green is cool.

you can easily cut it

 

[Vex]

I tried reptile carpet before and my poor gecko kept getting his toes stuck on it almost everyday. Maybe I have bad luck?

Could it also have maybe had to do with the brand of carpet used? I see that there are Zilla and Zoo Med brands, as well as Exo Terra's "Moss Mat". I would not be surprised to learn that one of these brands is better/safer than the others.

@Designer Geckos: Which brand do you use, out of curiosity?

 

[ChristinaJ]

I avoid reptile carpet and only use paper towels because in my experience carpet is a very poor choice, I've kept leopard geckos since I was 5 and have experimented with all kinds of substrate, when I had them in glass aquariums, I preferred the look and ease of tile, but my collection soon grew grew enough that racks were needed and ever since I have used paper towels.

 

[kaws]

I would avoid reptile carpet. I've heard a FEW bad stories about it and little toes. I have NEVER heard anything bad happening with the vinyl tile. I've been using it for quite awhile now with NO PROBLEMS. The trick is to NOT peel the whole paper off. I just used a exacto knife and cut a "border" out of the paper so just the EDGE is expose (just enough to make it stay/stick in place.

 

[Designer Geckos]

Funny, but since we've got hundreds of customers all using reptile carpet with zero problems, I think we have a pretty good basis for our opinions on it.

I would not recommend it for folks using crickets though. We never use crickets for a variety of reasons.