What is it when you say 'SLATE" or SLATE TILE

[henward]

i am not aware of this,
can someone post a pic of slate substrate or slate tiles?

slate are flat pieces of rocks? that is like a tile cos you can put them side by side?

when you say tiles, do you literally mean tiles like you use in a kitchen or bathroom? or do you use the natural slate rock as tiles?
cos they would look bloody nice! i like the idea of slate rocks but i need to see exactly what people are referring to.

 

[THE WHISPERER]

have you tried the search function?

 

[gothra]

Mostly when people say "tile" here, they refer to those that are used in flooring, that could be cut to fit the size of the tank. I don't think it matters what other people use, just pick something that suit you most. If you can find some natural slate rock flats to use as flooring with a little bit of sand to fill the gaps, that'll be awesome! I love naturalistic setups too. Just make sure it isn't too thick, so the heat from the UTH can come through.

I have almost tried all sorts of substrates, perhaps I can share my thoughts on some of those:
- sand: looks nice, but I worried like hell when my leos slowed down eating during winter; keep thinking if they're impacted or what.

- paper towel: cleaning is easy; beige colored paper towel looks better than standard white ones

- ceremic tile: looks clean (a range of colors and texture to choose from), but I find the tile can get hot spot sometimes (e.g. when my gecko push away the humid hide, it gets really hot there, almost 100F+).
*note: I added one small strip at the back to fit the tank, and rolled up paper towel to fill the gaps at the side.

- carpet (cotton table mat): I currently use this one, I throw them in the washing machine for cleaning. Looks and works great IMO.

(sorry guys, I know I've shown this pic the millionth times...)

Special thanks to my models: Marly (picture 1,2,3) and Bambi (picture 4)

 

[henward]

the first picture,what substrate is that?
looks like soil

i think im gonna use slate flat rocks and rocks in general, some round river stones too. then fill up the tiny gaps with a lil sandy stuff
that would make the tank less than 5% sandy substrate

 

[T&KBrouse]

Heres a picture of a gecko enclosure with a slate tile bottom. (Not my leo. Found this picture in a google search)

I really like the look of slate and how well it distributes heat. You can find all sorts of different colrs, sizes and textures of slate at any home repair/harware store.

 

[thestack510]

Avoid using ANY sand. Leos lick everyting and you don't want to risk impaction.

 

[Foreverandever]

Go for slate or tile. It looks the best and is the safest

My tank with tile (bought at home depot for 93 cents per tile...only needed two)

 

[gothra]

the first picture,what substrate is that?
looks like soil

i think im gonna use slate flat rocks and rocks in general, some round river stones too. then fill up the tiny gaps with a lil sandy stuff
that would make the tank less than 5% sandy substrate

Its natural black colored sand from Japan. Its very pleasing to the eye, almost sparkles with a bit of lighting; but its not worth risking my gecko's health and saves me from over-worrying, so I switched to another substrate.

I use a lot of round river stones too, get the larger ones, the geckos like sitting/lying on them!

 

[Vyeguy]

Slate is a type of rock very common in my area. it comes in either tiles from a tile store but you can go to pet shops or land scape yards and but the flat rock. it looks nice and transfer heat well. the down side is the rock is not stable and can flake off and is sharp.