Plaster of Paris??

[Rebecca]

Is it toxic to leopard geckos?? I don't plan on painting it or anything. I plan on having ceramic tiles laid out and filling in the 1" sides with plaster of paris. Is there anything else I can use if that's won't work (the P-O-P)?? I only have a Co-op, home hardware, pevey mart, zellers, and a very small art store where I can buy stuff so please keep that in mind, small town. Thanks!!

[North]

I don't think it would be toxic but it is still affected when it gets wet.. why not go with silicone?

[Rebecca]

Because it's a BIG area, too big for silicone. I'm not worried about water.

[Edwin]

I would be worried about the leos accidentally eating the stuff. Also, if they defecate on it, it would seep into the plaster.

How big a area are we talking about? My recommendation is to get those fake ceramic tile stick-ons that come in a single big sheet. Most people use them for their cellars. This way, you dont have to seal the edges of every single tile. You could also use Contact Paper:

http://www.contactbrand.com//productDetail.asp?sku=995300&bb=application&id=3

Hope this helps!

[Rebecca]

Well I have some heat resistant tiles so I can put my UTH in there. I'm going to put it on a rheostat, so it won't burn my geckos. The tank is 45" by something like 17", the tiles are about 12" squared I only have 3 so I have to fill in the edges so the geckos don't hurt them selfs. I might put some of that tack paper stuff over top to seal it.

[Lisa]

tile cement should work i think it's called grout or something like that

[Pixie]

I wouldn't permanently put the tiles in with plaster or something else, should you need to remove it for cleaning, it would be a real pain. Inevitably, something would eventually seep through the plaster or grout and it would need to be replaced.

I use plaster of paris to make hides for my snakes and leo and it is safe to use. What you could do, is make some molded little plates/tiles of plaster and seal them to fill in the gaps. That way, you could remove everything and clean it.

You can mould the plaster easily by finding "moulds" to help you make the appropriate sized tiles. Empty candy boxes, jewelry boxes, etc., lined with plastic wrap. Pour your plaster in, it takes a few minutes to set and pop it out to dry. You can then paint it with non-toxic acrylic paint and seal it with Modge-Podge. (To strengthen your plaster piece, you can also put some pieces of cheesecloth into the plaster.)

It would still leave you with some tiny spaces but nothing that would be harmful as it wouldn't move around very easily.

Pixie

[Alicewave]

I would not seal down the tiles either. It's much easier to be able to take them out for cleaning I find. They line up pretty tight without anything to seal them.

[Jeff Hathaway]

Rebecca,

Here's my thoughts:

Being able to remove the tiles for cleaning could be useful, but it may take more time and be more difficult than cleaning them in the enclosure. It does depend upon the enclosure somewhat. If it is difficult, then it generally doesn't get done as much.

I have never used ceramic tiles as a cage substrate. Interesting idea, though, and I just might try it out. I would install the ceramic tiles to cover the whole cage bottom. If I understand you correctly, you will have a large gap on one side if you just put in the 3 tiles. You should buy a few more tiles and cut them so that they will fit properly. Then install them with whatever tile-setting compound you prefer. You should then have very small gaps between the tiles which you can fill with grout, and then use an acrylic sealer on the grout. Alternatively, you could use silicone as well. This won't be a completely waterproof surface, but it should work well.

I was just re-reading your post- are you planning to install these into a regular glass tank? If so, you might be better off putting in the tiles without the tile-setting compound, and filling the gaps with calci-sand. Then you can remove them down the road if you want to use the tank for something else.

Jeff Hathaway
Sciensational Sssnakes!!

[Alicewave]

Home Depot will cut tiles to exactly the size you want. But if you are putting them in a glass tank I would definitely not fix them in there permanently and I would leave a little extra space to pry up the tiles.

[Rebecca]

I only have 3 tiles because I got them free. I have them placed centerly so there's a uniform space around them. I have glued them down because it's easier just to clean them in the cage. It's not a glass aquarium. It's a home made ply wood and plexiglass cage, that I bought for 50 bucks. I don't have a home depot here. I've called about getting more tile but it's just too much money. I plan on filling with plaster of paris because the bottem is UGLY!! It's not sealed or anything, so I plan on covering it, with that stuff. I do like the idea of having the tack stuff, it's non-toxic and it's colorfull. I can pick a color to off set the light pink tiles.

[Rebecca]

Oh ya I used non-toxic kids glue to glue them down.

[gfisher2002]

I wouldn't use it. Go with everyone elses suggestions here. Silicone is cheap if you buy it bulk from the supplier.

[Rebecca]

I used the pop. I don't wany yo use silicone basicly because I think it looks bad. Also the pop works good. It's not getting wet so no worries there. I'm also thinking of adding some more glass. I have a peice (rounded edges nothing to harm my geckos) over the heat pad. I'm thinking of covering the rest in glass as well that way I have a beautiful bottem that is water proof.

[XxRachxX]

you could always stick the tiles to a board, with stringhandles or something to get it out easily!. and you could find some crappy cheapo tiles and do a mosaic around the edges where there is no tile!