# Slate purchasing?



## Morty'sMamma (Jul 23, 2018)

Hi! I have been looking for some slate to use as a place to feed my Sulcata, Morty in his habitat. I’m having a difficult time finding some and I’m going to try some local tile places tomorrow.so, friends I was wondering if anybody had any ideas of where to find a smaller piece or pieces, fairly inexpensively? 
The worst part is that I know I have some pieces somewhere in my storage unit that came from a roof where my mother used to work in Pennsylvania, that I was going to paint on.
Thank you all in advance for your ideas !


----------



## baldegale (Jul 23, 2018)

Morty'sMamma said:


> Hi! I have been looking for some slate to use as a place to feed my Sulcata, Morty in his habitat. Having a difficult time finding some and I’m going to try some local tile places tomorrow. Was wondering if anybody had any ideas of where to find smaller piece fairly inexpensively? The worst part is that I know I have some pieces somewhere in my storage unit that came from a roof where my mother used to work in Pennsylvania, that I was going to paint on. Thank you all in advance for your ideas.



how big is your enclosure? you could just go to home depot or lowes and get a 12”x12” stone square for like $1-$3


----------



## Morty'sMamma (Jul 23, 2018)

I tried Lowe’s yesterday and they didn’t have any. Was actually quite surprised. Thank you! I don’t know the exact measurements off the top of my head it’s not huge but it’s not small either. Marty is about a year and a half old. So a piece of tile would be fine in his enclosure.


----------



## TammyJ (Jul 23, 2018)

Sure, tile is great. Turn it so the rough side is up.


----------



## baldegale (Jul 23, 2018)

Morty'sMamma said:


> I tried Lowe’s yesterday and they didn’t have any. Was actually quite surprised. Thank you! I don’t know the exact measurements off the top of my head it’s not huge but it’s not small either. Marty is about a year and a half old. So a piece of tile would be fine in his enclosure.



hmm, well the rock is always outside, i dont know about the slate tile though.


----------



## Wolfpackin (Jul 23, 2018)

Check local stone yards, if you know of any.
They might sell or give you the broken pieces they have laying around.


----------



## Wolfpackin (Jul 23, 2018)

Or take a trip to my neighborhood, you can have your pick of tans, grays and red slate/shale right off of the ground.
And it's free...except for the cost of getting here...and then getting home with 50 pounds of rock.


----------



## Maro2Bear (Jul 23, 2018)

Morty'sMamma said:


> Hi! I have been looking for some slate to use as a place to feed my Sulcata, Morty in his habitat. I’m having a difficult time finding some and I’m going to try some local tile places tomorrow.so, friends I was wondering if anybody had any ideas of where to find a smaller piece or pieces, fairly inexpensively?
> The worst part is that I know I have some pieces somewhere in my storage unit that came from a roof where my mother used to work in Pennsylvania, that I was going to paint on.
> Thank you all in advance for your ideas !




You don’t HAVE to feed your Sully on a piece of slate. Many of us used terracotta plant saucers...one smaller one for food, one larger one for water. Have you kept cuttlefish bone too? The idea is to ensure your tort has a rough surface to keep its beak trimmed. Any flat stone will work too...


----------



## baldegale (Jul 23, 2018)

Maro2Bear said:


> You don’t HAVE to feed your Sully on a piece of slate. Many of us used terracotta plant saucers...one smaller one for food, one larger one for water. Have you kept cuttlefish bone too? The idea is to ensure your tort has a rough surface to keep its beak trimmed. Any flat stone will work too...



agreed, i went to my local river and got a 2” thick flatish rock. it works wonders


----------



## Momof4 (Jul 24, 2018)

I get mine from the stone yard. They don’t even charge me. I walk up with little 12x12ish piece and say these are for my tortoises and he says “no charge”.


----------



## Erik Elvis (Jul 24, 2018)

I have a stone place near me. They supply a lot of the driveway stone and such. They do have some slate but more of the slate like stone which seems a little rougher and in my opinion looks better. It is thicker than slate though and more expensive.


----------



## Morty'sMamma (Jul 24, 2018)

Maro2Bear said:


> You don’t HAVE to feed your Sully on a piece of slate. Many of us used terracotta plant saucers...one smaller one for food, one larger one for water. Have you kept cuttlefish bone too? The idea is to ensure your tort has a rough surface to keep its beak trimmed. Any flat stone will work too...


Thank you! And yes, I have kept the cuttlefish bones in there for him. I had tried a terracotta saucer for his water initially when he was tiny. It was getting mildewy/moldy though. However, at that time he was in a large black plastic tote/tub.
Since it has a lip like his current feeding dish. I hadn’t thought of that. His current dishes are reptile supply plastic dishes. His water one is great bc it has a sloped entry/exit and it cleans up easily. He bites at the sides of the food dish. I can certainly try a saucer again as a food dish. I had read that a flat surface was optimal as it’s more natural and is also a great sharpener. 
It’s been overwhelming as a new tortoise caretaker since there is so much information out there. I’ve found this forum to be super helpful!!!!
Again, Thank you so much for your suggestions!


----------



## Morty'sMamma (Jul 24, 2018)

Wolfpackin said:


> Check local stone yards, if you know of any.
> They might sell or give you the broken pieces they have laying around.


I’ve been readesrching looking for some. Thank you!


----------



## Morty'sMamma (Jul 24, 2018)

Wolfpackin said:


> Or take a trip to my neighborhood, you can have your pick of tans, grays and red slate/shale right off of the ground.
> And it's free...except for the cost of getting here...and then getting home with 50 pounds of rock.


LOL Thank you!That’s a sweet & kind gesture! Now, where would I be traveling to? On a more serious note I’m going to ask some locals where I live where a god place to go rock hunting! I need some for my gardening and other pet habitats as well!


----------



## Maro2Bear (Jul 24, 2018)

Morty'sMamma said:


> I’ve been readesrching looking for some. Thank you!



I wouldn’t stress out too much on this and definitely don’t spend much money on this. It’s _really _not a requirement as long as you are feeding proper grasses, weeds, and have a cuttlebone available.

Good luck... have u posted a pix of your Sully? Please do.

Have fun n happy torting.


----------



## MPRC (Jul 24, 2018)

Hop on the craigslist free section, post a pic of your cute tort and offer meeting a cool reptile in exchange for a piece of slate or rough tile in the dimensions you desire. I have people who are always dropping off extra garden spoils because they know we are here and come pet the torts in exchange for freebies.


----------



## Morty'sMamma (Jul 24, 2018)

Maro2Bear said:


> I wouldn’t stress out too much on this and definitely don’t spend much money on this. It’s _really _not a requirement as long as you are feeding proper grasses, weeds, and have a cuttlebone available.
> 
> Good luck... have u posted a pix of your Sully? Please do.
> 
> Have fun n happy torting.


Thank you! I’m definitely looking to spend as little $ or finding it free! I just want to make sure I’m doing all the right stuff caring for my baby!

And I have posted some pics of my lil guy on my page. I took one of him sleeping last evening bc he just looked so stinkin’ cute! I couldn’t help myself! I’ll see if I can upload it here! It’s not a great view of his face but shows his lil sleeping position! I didn’t want to wake him so flash was off. 
Thanks again!


----------



## Morty'sMamma (Jul 24, 2018)

MPRC said:


> Hop on the craigslist free section, post a pic of your cute tort and offer meeting a cool reptile in exchange for a piece of slate or rough tile in the dimensions you desire. I have people who are always dropping off extra garden spoils because they know we are here and come pet the torts in exchange for freebies.


What a wonderful and ingenious way to be resourceful! Thank you!


----------



## MPRC (Jul 24, 2018)

Morty'sMamma said:


> What a wonderful and ingenious way to be resourceful! Thank you!



We have a neighborhood facebook group that I post on, my tortoises are always out in the yard so people stop to say hi to them.


----------



## Pastel Tortie (Aug 3, 2018)

Morty'sMamma said:


> I tried Lowe’s yesterday and they didn’t have any. Was actually quite surprised. Thank you! I don’t know the exact measurements off the top of my head it’s not huge but it’s not small either. Marty is about a year and a half old. So a piece of tile would be fine in his enclosure.



Over the past year or so, I've been able to find slate tiles at Home Depot locally but not at Lowe's. If anyone's looking for slate tiles, it's probably worth it to check both stores (if that's an option). Half the time, it seems like they're basically across the street from each other, anyway.


----------



## Morty'sMamma (Aug 4, 2018)

Thank you. In other cities have lived in usually those to DIY stores are right across the street from each other but unfortunately not in Charleston, South Carolina. However for the meantime I’m going to be using a terra-cotta – and the next time I’m in the neighborhood of Home Depot I’m going to check them out too. Thank you!


----------



## Olddog (Aug 4, 2018)

Slate floor tiles (12 in square) purchased from HD for $1.48 plus tax.


----------

