# Tile as bedding instead of fleece liners?



## crazyratgirl101 (Nov 29, 2013)

I own a bearded dragon, and I LOVE the tile in his enclosure. It is so easy to clean. You just wipe it off. You buy the tiles from home depot and arrange them to fit the cage bottom. The only concern I can think of is that the tile may be cold and hard, but if I provide plenty if nesting material then that wouldn't be an issue.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

I used vinyl flooring on my FF. As long as you clean it twice a day it's great. Wipes up and vacuums well. And no worries about the fleece being drug places as that's what it is there for. Just be careful with cracks.


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## crazyratgirl101 (Nov 29, 2013)

Yeah, I think I'm going to try it. It should be much better than washing fleece every day!


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## Mojojuju (Nov 15, 2014)

I scrub down fleece with wet wipes, and it actually works pretty well. But installing it and uninstalling it every week is annoying.


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## crazyratgirl101 (Nov 29, 2013)

Yeah, taking out the pee and poop soaked bedding liners got old, lol.


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## Hey-Fay (Jul 8, 2013)

Before Thistle got her tumor I used carpet squares. The Dollar Tree sells them for a buck; they hold up well, can be washed in a washer (Air dry only though), and when they need replacing they're only a dollar !


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## ponderosa (Oct 13, 2014)

I got sick of fleece. I still let them use fleece blankets for cuddling, but as liners, it was a PITA to clean and change every week, and it stunk when they would soak it with pee in a few days. My rats' cages are lined with plastic now, which is easier to wipe clean, but it was a nightmare to put in with zip ties and they're chewing it up. So I'm thinking about tile. However, since my rats are pretty rambunctious and tend to throw their stuff around, and I've already had one incident of one boy getting his foot stuck in the wire, I'm scared of somebody getting a toe or tail stuck in the spaces between the tiles. I wonder if that's an irrational worry though?


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## crazyratgirl101 (Nov 29, 2013)

Hey-Fay said:


> Before Thistle got her tumor I used carpet squares. The Dollar Tree sells them for a buck; they hold up well, can be washed in a washer (Air dry only though), and when they need replacing they're only a dollar !


That sounds like a nice idea! Carpet is tougher and less flimsy than fleece so it seems easier to handle. I will look into that before I make my final decision. 

About the nails getting stuck in cracks, it is something I would worry about. (I have heard of things like that happening to reptiles housed on tile) perhaps strategically placing toys and objects on the cracks might help eliminate the exposure to the cracks. You could put some material (like tissue) in the cracks so they won't get stuck.


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## splinter90 (Apr 7, 2015)

Hey-Fay said:


> Before Thistle got her tumor I used carpet squares. The Dollar Tree sells them for a buck; they hold up well, can be washed in a washer (Air dry only though), and when they need replacing they're only a dollar !


How often did you need to wash it? Once a week or so?


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## Tao.and.Laughter (Jan 24, 2015)

Hmmm... I like the idea of the vinyl tile... I may keep an eye on this one!


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## Roonel (Jan 27, 2014)

I use vinyl tile on the big bottom level of my ratties' cage where their food bowls are. They were very cheap and they're easy to clean. I would recommend them over fleece for that reason. I use bamboo dishtowels secured with binder clips on the smaller upper levels, which work well too and seem less stinky than fleece.


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

Does anyone who uses tile have pics of it in their cage? I am curious


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## Tedology (Mar 3, 2015)

Just was also curious about photos of tiles or other success stories.


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## Roxy the Rat (Apr 7, 2013)

Though I haven't started using it yet (plan to get it set up tomorrow) I've gotten some vinyl tiles from the Dollarama (3 for $1.25). Not only are they cheap and don't really absorb pee (like plastic trays can), they should be easy to clean and can be cut to fit the size of the tray!


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## Meghann (Jan 15, 2015)

I tried stick-on tile for about 4 minutes once. There was a problem I didn't consider, so something for anyone thinking about it... I have the ALT rebranded DCN, and when I started to put the tile on the bottom of the top half, I realized I was not going to be able to keep the tiles down and level and also be able to hang things in the bottom half of the cage from those bars. I returned the tiles the next day and am still trying to figure out what to do with the bottoms of my cages, haha. I like the look of some tile, but it definitely didn't work for me, unfortunately.

Adding a thought I had, this issue can be avoided if you just attach the tile to the pans that come with the cage instead of the cage itself... but I didn't think about that until just now haha.


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## Roxy the Rat (Apr 7, 2013)

Meghann said:


> I tried stick-on tile for about 4 minutes once. There was a problem I didn't consider, so something for anyone thinking about it... I have the ALT rebranded DCN, and when I started to put the tile on the bottom of the top half, I realized I was not going to be able to keep the tiles down and level and also be able to hang things in the bottom half of the cage from those bars. I returned the tiles the next day and am still trying to figure out what to do with the bottoms of my cages, haha. I like the look of some tile, but it definitely didn't work for me, unfortunately.
> 
> Adding a thought I had, this issue can be avoided if you just attach the tile to the pans that come with the cage instead of the cage itself... but I didn't think about that until just now haha.


Yeah, I intend to attach them to the original pan. This way they can be cut to fit. Otherwise I don't see how it could work lol


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## AdequateRat (Mar 12, 2015)

I've been using Bath mats.


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