Which Substrate for BRB

[van orden]

Hello,

I have tried both Zoo-med Repti-bark and a brand of Coco Husk.

Both substrate attrack these small white wood mites. Which I have researched are not harmful to the snake besides being annoying.

I am thinking about either boiling my substrate or switching to a the zoo-med green carpet, like astro turf.

What do most use, or do to get rid of these little white bugs. I see them on new bags of all bark like substrate, even at the pet stores.

Thanks

[aalomon]

Ive treated my cages with Prevent A Mite. That stuff works on almost any bug you can imagine. As for reptile carpet, bad idea for a brb. It would be really hard to keep the humidity up high enough for a rainbow.

[Jason Bowden]

Spragnum moss.
I know I misspelled this! A friend of mine kept one with a thick(3") layer and his BRB stayed buried.

Definately need a humid hide for them. IMO

[van orden]

I have the zoo med hyro-therm and their fogger. Is this enough to use the carpet.

I will check out prevent a mite. Is it something you leave in the cage?

[Vypyrz]

I will check out prevent a mite. Is it something you leave in the cage?

Provent-A-Mite is a spray that you treat the enclosure with. I use it as a preventative treatment on 4 tubs. I lightly spray the substrate down when I do a total cleaning and one can usually lasts me about 4 months or so. You can order it here:

http://www.pro-products.com/

If you decide to use this, make sure you follow the directions on the can...

[PyramidPythons]

In such a moist environment, you have to constantly worry about mold and mildew growth and that might not be so good with a carpet substrate. Unless, of course, it is one of the mildew resistant types. I actually went to Home Depot and purchased some of their porch type astroturf and cut it to fit Marius' tub. It is mildew and mold resistant and very durable (I wash it frequently in hot, soapy water and wring it out before laying it over something to dry). On top of this, I use Spaghnum Moss to give him something to burrow and hide in. All of his hides are made out of durable plastic (mold resistant) and his water dishes (one at the heated end and one at the cool end) are made out of glass. Anyway, that is my setup and 2 cents worth. Hope you find something great that works for you.

[I<3Dreamsicles]

Hello,

I have tried both Zoo-med Repti-bark and a brand of Coco Husk.

Both substrate attrack these small white wood mites. Which I have researched are not harmful to the snake besides being annoying.

I am thinking about either boiling my substrate or switching to a the zoo-med green carpet, like astro turf.

What do most use, or do to get rid of these little white bugs. I see them on new bags of all bark like substrate, even at the pet stores.

Thanks

I had them in repti bark also, i just washed the bark with water and drained it and couldnt see any... you could also bake/boil the substrate..

Washing also is great to get rid of all the dust that reptibark has... I cant imagine repti bark holding humidity well enough for a BRB unless you plan on spraying every day... (or close to it)