Enclosures and tiles

[dailyskin]

Ok please help me out - I have a new 4 x 2 x 2 enclosure arriving soon for my beardie, and I want to tile the bottom, and the sides.

Hubby laughed like nothing else when I told him I would tile it myself. He says there is No Way I will be able to. Now please help me to prove him wrong!!!!!

How do I tile them in? Floor first, then walls right? What equiptment and grout do I need? Will I be able to do this?! :shock:

 

[Chris1]

just place large tiles on teh floor, thick newspaper underneath to absorb any fluids,..

dont glue them or grout them, you want to be able to pick out individual tiles for a wash.

dont bother with the walls, if u want somethign on the walls get fake rock, it looks awesome (or u can make some urself with styrofoam, grout varnish paint and sand,...

 

[dailyskin]

I have these awesome wall tiles I really want to use...

And for the snake, they have to be grouted on the floor right?

 

[jibba]

Daily Skin.

It would be best to tile the floor with Slate Tiles from bunnings. Easy to clean, natural look and dont need to actually stick them down as they are heavy enough.

Also your dragons nails will wear down on the Slate Tiles, where as if you used ceramic tiles you will have to clip their nails.

take a look at my Thread regarding substrates and also my enclosure for more information.

Cost of Slate is about $10 per tile (400x400) I used a diamond tipped disk to cut the tiles with absalute easy.

As for the walls, ceramic will do fine, I would imagine, easy to clean but not that natural looking.

Hope this helps a little.

 

[dailyskin]

Oh thanks!!! So I don't need a fancy expensive tile cutter?!

And if I lay them withour grout, won't bugs and poo get in the sides? Would I be better to grout them?

The wall ones I have are awesome, they look like a pile of rocks all on top of each other...

 

[Chris1]

personally i dont like anything that can get stinky to be fixed in cages...

to stop them moving around you could put a layer of sand underneath so u can push them in a bit, but still be able to clean the whole lot occasionally.

snakes pee heaps and i think it'd soak into the grout.



cant help with the fixing of the tiles, so bump for tiling help!

 

[Viridae]

I glued mine. You will need a tile scorer to cut them with, it will cost about $50.

 

[dailyskin]

And I guess I put the cut edges on the outside...

Oooh my local Bunnings has a tiling workshop op Sunday! I'm so there!

 

[jibba]

I used some strips of Artficial Lawn on the sides of Slate tiles. To prevent insects getting in between the tiles. Looks great and also as I have heaps laying around since I did my whole back and front yard with artificial lawn, so after a few cleans I will just throw them out and put in new strips.

As Chris1 mentioned, I didn't want to fix them permanently as I may need to take them out occasionaly for thourough cleans etc.

 

[dailyskin]

Ok so for the Snake - I'll use adhesive and grout on the floor and walls.

And for the Beardie - I'll use adhesive and grout on the walls, BUT only lay the tiles on newspaper for the floor?

ALSO - are there any adhesives or grouts I can't use for fumes etc? I'll give it a couple of days to air... Something like this be ok? http://www.selleys.com.au/Selleys-Fix-N-Grout/default.aspx

 

[Kyro]

I wouldn't use grout for the beardie or snake as your going to have the same problem with both. As soon as they poop it's going to absorb in to the grout & i'm sure you know how snakes manage to hit the walls, floors & even the roof occasionally:lol: I'd stick with loose tiles sitting on sand so you can always give everything a good scrub & a few hours in he sun.

 

[dailyskin]

He is worried the tile edges will irritate the python's belly?

Can we put the python on red desert sand or something? Or are they like beardies, no sand?

 

[Chris1]

snakes pee way more than beardies, go with loose floor tiles for both,...(walls do whatever, theyre not likely to mess them up too much)

 

[herptrader]

Keh??

They can be installed in the same manner as you would other tiles... ie with tile glue and grout!

just place large tiles on teh floor, thick newspaper underneath to absorb any fluids,..

dont glue them or grout them, you want to be able to pick out individual tiles for a wash.

dont bother with the walls, if u want somethign on the walls get fake rock, it looks awesome (or u can make some urself with styrofoam, grout varnish paint and sand,...

 

[dailyskin]

Herptrader, are there any special products I need to use (eg non toxic) or is normal grout and adhesive ok?

 

[Chris1]

Keh??

They can be installed in the same manner as you would other tiles... ie with tile glue and grout!

keh?

it was a sugggestion on a better way to keep it clean.

ofcourse if she wants stinky stained grout in her tanks she glue and grout it,..!

pooeey!

 

[herptrader]

Actually tiling is very easy.

It is worth buying a cheap tile cutter from Bunnings. With some practice (sometimes none) you can get straight clean cuts every time. Just do not cut any overly narrow strips off. If you have to cut a narrow strip re arrange things so cut a wider strip off two tiles instead.

Layout and cut all your tiles and dry fit. Allow about 3 to 5 mm for grout.

Lay them beside the enclosure so they are all the right way around etc.

Buy a notched trowel, generally about a buck, and use it to make pretty patterns with your flexible tile glue and lay out your tiles on the glue.

Let is set overnight.

Mix up a waterproof grout to which you may wish to add and additive to make it more water proof. and squeegee it between the tiles. The squeegee might cost you a $1.50.

Let dry for a while and wipe over with a damp sponge.

Let it dry overnight and polish off the grout haze.

I find tiling one of the more relaxing jobs. The tools are cheap and not noisy so you can listen to the cricket or some nice tunes while on the job, the finish looks good and is particularly serviceable.

 

[dailyskin]

WOW that is so great!! Thanks so much! I don't even need to go to the Bunnings class now!

Darn hubby is so skeptical, but in reality, while I'm a total girl, I spend a lot of time doing crafty things so I think I'll be fine!

 

[herptrader]

Assuming your grout is more porous that the bottom of your enclosure they you may have a point but you still end up with damp being held in the gaps and under your tiles if even for a limited period.. which is a haven for bacteria etc. To me half the trick is not providing gaps that can retain moisture and grime.

Grout can be made fairly water proof and can be sealed etc. which is why it gets used in bathrooms etc.

I have all my enclosures tiled on the floor and find it particularly serviceable.

keh?

it was a sugggestion on a better way to keep it clean.

ofcourse if she wants stinky stained grout in her tanks she glue and grout it,..!

pooeey!

 

[dailyskin]

Yeah I think I'll grout all the tiles in, and I can always regrout if they get stained?

As for cleaning the tiles well - I can use a vinegar / bicarb solution in the beardie tank right? that's what I use for cleaning at out house anyway, no chemicals.

And the grout won't be too rough for a juv python's belly?