Ok, so i'm building a vivarium for my Chinese Water Dragon, and I want all the "levels" to have a removable carpet on them (and possibly all the walls as well). I like to look; it's simple, attractive, and easy to clean. So my question is, what's the difference between regular outdoor carpet, like you buy al lowes/home depot; and the fancy stuff you get at the pet store? Seems to me I can buy some outdoor carpeting at lowes for a fraction of the price, clean it off with a 5% bleach mixture, and I should be good to go? Or is there something I'm missing?

I think that the outdoor carpet from a hardware store would be rougher, and also might be more likely to catch on a reptile's claws. But you could always go take a look and see if you think it's right for your project...

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Amy

I don't use it myself but I would have the same fear.
The hardware store carpet was never designed with reptile claws in consideration!

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

wouldnt be bad for snakes! lol

they make diffrent kinds of it. Theres some that is like a area rug in style, but more of a runner width. I dunno, my Leopard Geckos got their claws caught in reptile carpet before, but that was me. so who knows.

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The reptile carpet is supposed to be a tighter weave and the edges aren't supposed to fray with repeated washing.

Astro-turf is definitely a no-no, but I've found indoor/outdoor carpet at the hardware store that is very similar to repti-carpet that I have used in my cages.

The thing is it would cost me a small fortune to outfit an iguana cage with repti-carpet so instead he gets indoor outdoor and I keep his claws trimmed short.

The leopard gecko that I have on repti-carpet gets his nails and teeth stuck all of the time, so I don't know if it is any better, I never see my female gecko who is on the in/out carpet get stuck, but she might just have better coordination.

Whatever you do choose make sure you wash it really well prior to use.

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Those who say it can't be done should get out of the way of those who are doing it.

~*~Lacey~*~

My Photos

exactly. I'm trying to cover a 6'x3'x2' enclosure with three triers. that's a lot of repti-carpet! I figure I can cover almost everything with $30 worth of indoor-outdoor carpet. I think i'll give it a try. worst comes to worst, I'll have to swap it out for something later.

Yeah it's not economical to use repticarpet in a large enclosure.

Keep the dragons claws clipped short and it should be okay.

Look for a carpet that doesn't have loops in the fabric, and make sure it is a short tight weave.

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Those who say it can't be done should get out of the way of those who are doing it.

~*~Lacey~*~

My Photos

I don't use it as I've never found a reptile that lives on it in the wild.

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Mike
"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." - Mother Teresa

I've also never found a reptile living within a confined area in the wild either. That doesn't stop thousands of people from owning them now does it?