Fergie1989
New Member
ok so i have got a yemen and in my terrarium i have orchid bark on the floor could anyone recomend a better flooring apart from paper towels or having nothing..... thanks john
Flooring for my yemen
- Thread starter Fergie1989
- Start date
martinm
New Member
try news paper thts wat i use?
Trillian
New Member
There are other safe options, what sort of look are you going for with the enclosure?
Fergie1989
New Member
im trying to go for a rain foresty look. im using orchid bark as my friend uses it and he has a panther who is about 11 months old
KarmaChameleon1337
Avid Member
You should inform him it's terrible to use, it can very well kill his chameleon.
Trillian
New Member
Okay, we have a few members who use rainforest-type enclosures, they usually keep pygmy chameleons because they thrive in leaf-litter and have evolved for that environment. Annoyingly for you your Yemen hasn't evolved to spend so much of his time so close to the forest floor, so is at risk of impaction if he snags insects or vegetation too close to your orchid-bark substrate. If you want to keep your Yemen healthy, but avoid the sterile look of kitchen towel or newspaper you could look at reptile carpet or astroturf?
Fergie1989
New Member
that sounds a lot better i just think it would look tacky with newspaper or paper towels
ISA my Veiled
New Member
For your terrarium like I said, I would recommend very very very fine soil. Just organic top soil. It will look good and the risk of impaction is very little. And if you want to avoid feeders being on the ground use a feeding cup 
that will guarantee she eats as well.
that will guarantee she eats as well.
martinm
New Member
Ulrich
New Member
I always use soil but with a good drainage. My cage bases are basically a huge planter box. Never had an issue with that. Sometimes the chams eat a bit of dirt. As long as you have no stagnant water, there will not be any mould in a screen cage and the soil will be safe. Just make sure it is organic soil. I would not use any bark for a Cham. And towels and newspaper are not really attractive to me to look at. As said before, your veiled is not a tropical species. It lives mainly on acacia trees. I don't think the tropical look is too appropriate to mimic.
Jac1582
New Member
or get repti carpet
I use repti carpet in my bearded dragons habitat and it's nice but for whatever reason I like the fake grass for the chameleons it just adds a lil depth and dimension. But I do agree that the repti carpet is very simple and it does come already precut for ya lol
If you are going for looks this is what I use in the bottom of my enclosure. It is a vinyl, slate pattern tile. Easy to clean, no risks of impactions, and pleasing to the eye. They are about 1/8 inch thick and come in 18X18 widths at Home Depot. If your enclosure is bigger you can always go to a flooring store and have them cut you a larger length off of a vinyl roll and cut that to fit the bottom of your enclosure if it is bigger than 18X18. This picture is of my cage. It is a DYI 18X18X36. I have one of their vinyl pans in the bottom which I covered with the vinyl tile. Note that I have a drain system in the center for excess water drainage that flows into a pan under the cage.
Attachments
Jac1582
New Member
That's beautiful! I never thought of vinyl flooring. So much easier to clean than my patio carpeting, I'm going to be switching to your flooring this week lol!!
Glad I could be of help!
I have vinyl in all of my cages. It makes the best cage bottom ever for Chams.
cloverthechameleon
Avid Member
you could get some dark brown or patterned vynal tiles or actual tile that would look pretty slick and its totaly safe
Jac1582
New Member
For anyone with a bearded dragon with the same question I've heard to use ceramic tile because it actually files down their nails and you dont have to file them yourself..once my dragon is big enough in her permenant enclosure I'm lining the floor with ceramic tile..but still sumhow never thought about vinyl for the chams;p
