So I just flew back early this morning from Boston after spending the last 8 days in New England. Before I left I cleaned all my snakes tubs and fed them all last Sunday. One thing I knew when I left was that my female Enchi was in blue, though it didn't stop her from taking a f/t rat. All week long I was wondering if she had shed yet and if so how badly did she mess her tub? This morning after unpacking I went to check on my snakes and started with the Enchi and sure enough she had shed, and done all the other pleasantries too, making a huge mess of her tub. For a bit more info I use unprinted paper for substrate and she is in a Vision CB-70 tub. When I found her the paper was completely drenched in water, urine, and feces. YUCK!
So as I was cleaning her tub, and her, it occurred to me that I really should have considered switching her to aspen bedding for the week knowing full well she was going to shed and likely make a nasty mess of her tub.
Has anyone tried this before? I know I've read some posts in the past from people saying never to switch substrates as the sudden change may cause the animal to go off food but I've made several switches in just the last year as I've experimented with different substrates to find one that myself and the snakes can work with.
Just curious what others have done or feel is a best practice when going away.
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