Hey everyone
Well I've decided to re-decorate my beardies viv. and was just needing a little advice.

A while ago when I was browsing through the forums I came across someone who put tiles in their viv and I thought it looked pretty good and convenient (easy cleaned, bugs can't hide ect) but I can't seem to find any information on it on the web so I was just wondering is there certain types of tiles you should use? or can you use any kind? and what do you fill the cracks with? just what you use with everyday floor tiles? and what do I do with his heat mat if i put in tiles?

I was also wanting some information on live plants in his viv. Is this a good idea? and does anyone know of any websites that list the safe plants? or do you think im better just sticking with the artificial plants?

lol sorry I know its alot of questions but I haven't changed his viv since i got it two years ago so I'm not very clued up on this sort of stuff.

Thanks for any advice.

I use tiles.
They are just every day floor tiles which I bought from Topps Tiles for I think 59p each. Make sure you get ones with a slightly rough texture to help with traction.
I used ordinary adhesive to stick them to the bottom of the viv and ordinary grout too. Just lay them like you would a floor.
Give it 24 hours before you put your Beardie inside to make sure everything is dry - keep the doors on the viv open for ventilation.

Why do you use a heat mat?

The heat generated from a 100w bulb is sufficient to heat a 4ftx2ft viv.
Beardies have heat sensors on their heads and prefer their heat in the form of a light.

Defiantly better with artificial plants with Beardies. They come from the Australian Desert where there isn't much vegetation around primarily.
But plants in the viv are going to increase the humidity, which Beardies wouldn't want. Plus, whatever you put in he may try to eat so you would have to particular in what you put in.
It's just miles easier, and cheaper to use artificial ones. They are only for slight decoration anyway, they aren't a necessity.
Decorating the viv with stones and pieces of wood is the best thing to do as it provides climbing apparatus and platforms.

Hey thanks for the reply

Like i said, i haven't changed his viv since i got him and the heat mat is stuck onto the bottom of the viv -_- I was under the impression they needed a heat mat at night time.

Actually when I first got him he had two heat mats in his cage one on each side, i took the one on the cold side out right away. God he must have roasted.

Looking forward to tiling his cage. even tho im gonna have to pry this damn heat mat out. Its stuck down with like black duck tape stuff -_-

Yeah i've been looking at rocks and platforms and stuff.. do you know any good sites for viv decoration?
I think ill just stick to artificial plants then just for a little bit decoration.

I see. Unless your house gets really cold at night, like less than 60 degrees Fahrenheit, then no night time heat is needed. It gets pretty cold in the desert at night.

Are you using thermometers to keep an eye on the temps at the hot and cool end? And a dimming stat on the bulb?

It will look fab when it's done, I decided to go for beige coloured tiles, as it looks nicer, but you could have any colour you wanted really.

Well judging by the weight of stones, you don't want to buy them over the internet - it'll cost a fortune to send them.
Just nip down to your local garden centre and see what they have. As long as it's sturdy and won't topple over or are sharp, any stones/rocks will do.

I have this as a basking platform though, which Ozzy loves
Rabbit Or Guinea Pig Wooden Pet Shelter House 6226 on eBay (end time 28-Jul-09 10:06:29 BST)

I have a piece of wooden leading up to, which is screwed down, so he can climb up there. But most of the time, he just jumps up.

Sorry i should have put his minimum temp. His tank goes down to 13.1 deg. C or 60 deg. F at night time. Is this okay for him to be at this temp at night without a heat mat?

Soz i posted that before i read ur post lol :P that platform looks really nice. Ill have a look at all the colours you can get for the tiles excited now hehe :P

Yeah ive got a thermometer in his tank which gives me the max and min temp. I usually keep it next to his basking lamp tho to make sure it doesn't get too hot.

wow i fell awful asking this what is a "dimming stat"? I feel really awful asking that.

I would say it's fine. Just make sure he isn't fed close to lights out, as he needs to be warm to digest his food properly. I would say no food 2 hours before lights out.

Ozzy's lights for example come on at 7am and stay on until 8.30pm in the summer.
In the winter, they still come on at 7am but go off around 6pm.

What times do you come on and go off?

A Dimming Thermostat is what controls the heat of your heat lamp. Basically stops your Beardie from cooking.

What watt bulb do you currently use?

Dimming stats are expensive (around £40) but they are incredibly important. Basically, you set the temperature and the stat regulates the amount of heat put out by the light.
When we had that really hot weather not so long ago, there was a time in the day that Ozzy's bulb was switched off. I didn't do this, the stat did as the air temperature was high. If I didn't have the stat on, then it would have been incredibly hot inside his viv, which of course can be dangerous.

His lights come on at 8 am and go off at 10pm in summer time so thats 14 hours light (is this too long)

and gets 12/12 in winter at 8am to 8pm in winter.

Around 12 hours is recommended - might save you a bit of money on your electricity bill!
Does you Beardie stay awake until 10pm? Ozzy doesn't! He gets himself settles by about 7pm and pretty much waits for the lights to go off.

I would have them go off around 8pm, but earlier in the winter, as the night are naturally shorter, you should recreate this, so maybe switch off at 6pm?