# Fixing Ecocarpet



## ThatFredChick (Mar 6, 2012)

Hi!

I was wondering if anybody has any decent ideas for basically stickinck reptile carpet down in a vivarium. My boy's not very well and keeps falling over his furniture so I've had to remove most of it, meaning the edges keep popping up where I've had to use multiple pieces...

I have some stickyback velcro somewhere, would that be ok?? I'm not sure what gases may be given off when the glue heats up lol..

Many thanks to anyone who's done it or can help!!! :hmm:


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

no sticky tape, including sticky Velcro strips...very dangerous to reptiles


Silicone will probably do it, however the reptile needs to be out of the enclosure until it has completely cured; using a neutral cure aquarium safe silicone that would take 24-48hrs - that said, you wont be able to remove it to clean it, so not a great idea; just use a normal substrate imo, aspen, bark etc, or paper if you prefer


can I ask also, what species is it? and what is wrong with it?


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## ThatFredChick (Mar 6, 2012)

*Thanks!!*

Thankyou for that, glad I didn't dig it out :whistling2:

He's a bearded dragon. He didn't have UV as a juvenile (he's a sort of rescue lol), and is a very fussy eater. He's suffered a persistent infection in one of his femoral pores and it recently spread to his system so he's on Baytril now and picking up well, he ate solid livefood for the first time in a week and a half today 

He's still very weak and his MBD isn't helping, but I keep my fingers crossed 

Would two layers of silicone (i.e. one on the viv floor and one on the carpet) grip eachother enough? I have two sets so I can just swap it out to wash and dry properly.

Thanks!!


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

aww, such a shame mdb still crops up these days

you will have allot of trouble getting it out if its siliconed in, and if he has a chronic infection, you definitely don't want that, hygiene is extra important - I would use paper personally, changed out every few days aswell as regular sterilizing of the enclosure (F10 is good), at least until he's fought the infection off.

reptile carpets are essentially bacteria farms


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## ThatFredChick (Mar 6, 2012)

*Difficult one*

Unfortunately due to the MBD and current ill health he slips all over the place on paper and I'm forever finding him rolled onto his back and very very angry lol..

I can change the carpet regularly because of the 2 sets, I have vivclean here and have been told in the past you can use baby sterilising fluid as long as you rinse it very thoroughly. Have you heard of or tried it?

Thanks!!


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

ThatFredChick said:


> Unfortunately due to the MBD and current ill health he slips all over the place on paper and I'm forever finding him rolled onto his back and very very angry lol..
> 
> I can change the carpet regularly because of the 2 sets, I have vivclean here and have been told in the past you can use baby sterilising fluid as long as you rinse it very thoroughly. Have you heard of or tried it?
> 
> Thanks!!



aww lol fair enough

I've not used it/miltons stuff, but I have heard it mentioned, I don't remember if it was recommended or not...maybe run a search for Milton here on the forum, something might pop up, I have no idea how effective/safe it is for reptiles

my preferred method is 70C+ water and chlorine to sterilize, but for a (presumably plastic) carpet that might melt it at that temp lol; F10 steriliser is definitely safe and effective, if you discover that Milton/baby sterilizers arnt safe, your vet should stock it, or a similar product under a different brand


as for sticking the carpet down, best thing would probably be some heavy drift wood, or even a couple of (sterilized) bricks to weigh down at each end - gluing it down will be a nightmare to remove and reattach


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## ThatFredChick (Mar 6, 2012)

*Thanks *

I'll have a look thanks for your recommendation  we're due a checkup end of the week if I can get the slot lol, I'll ask him 

Unfortunately he falls over a lot of his furniture sometimes but since he's been so ill he falls over everything even his basking slab >.<

Could I maybe stick some plain velcro down with silicone lol?

Thanks!!


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

ThatFredChick said:


> I'll have a look thanks for your recommendation  we're due a checkup end of the week if I can get the slot lol, I'll ask him
> 
> Unfortunately he falls over a lot of his furniture sometimes but since he's been so ill he falls over everything even his basking slab >.<
> 
> ...


yeah that could work, silicone doesn't stick to all plastics tho, so it really depends what its made from, if its PVC Velcro, it almost certainly wont stick with standard HA6 silicone - if it sticks, then its probly a good solution! might want to try it out on a small piece of the Velcro first

(use a Neutral cure aquarium safe silicone, some of them take upto 48hrs to cure safely before you can put the beardie back in)

another solution could be to use a picture frame, just the frame, to hold it down, hopefully he can manage climbing over a thin piece of wood without to much trouble (or make one to fit if you are handy with a saw and screws, if its around the edge of the viv, he shouldn't be able to trip over it)


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## ThatFredChick (Mar 6, 2012)

*Thankyou!*

Thanks for the advice on the sealant, I've never used it before! I think that'd be my best best, I'm sure I can find some velcro that'll work 

Thanks!


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