Substrate preference?

[Albert420]

Hay peeps

So I want to switch to newspaper in my vivarium it's just gonna be so much easier to spot clean once a week and clean completely once a month, I was just winder in general what are the pros and cons, anyone here using newspaper?

I know it's more common with breeders but I inly have two snakes and Aspen shavings are not really available close by, I'm using reptibarc right now but it's a mission to clean, specially in the corners, also I found they swallow a small piece of reptibarc now and again during feeding and really dint want to take them out to feed them in a different enclosure, as this would stress them out as they are not really as "tame" yet so best not to mess with them I feel.

Thoughts on these concepts would be greatly appreciated, also the newspaper is normal already printed news paper could the ink in the paper do harm to my snakes?

So either I will stay with reptibarc or go over to newspaper dint plan in getting anything else

[Neal]

Hay peeps

So I want to switch to newspaper in my vivarium it's just gonna be so much easier to spot clean once a week and clean completely once a month, I was just winder in general what are the pros and cons, anyone here using newspaper?

I know it's more common with breeders but I inly have two snakes and Aspen shavings are not really available close by, I'm using reptibarc right now but it's a mission to clean, specially in the corners, also I found they swallow a small piece of reptibarc now and again during feeding and really dint want to take them out to feed them in a different enclosure, as this would stress them out as they are not really as "tame" yet so best not to mess with them I feel.

Thoughts on these concepts would be greatly appreciated, also the newspaper is normal already printed news paper could the ink in the paper do harm to my snakes?

So either I will stay with reptibarc or go over to newspaper dint plan in getting anything else

Newspaper and stuff is more so for convenience and a lot of breeders do it, I honestly frown up on it. If you can't give the animal some sort of real substrate IMO you shouldn't keep it. Newspaper, and that type of stuff are for lazy keepers(only being honest). When an animal is in my care, I consider it my responsibility to give it the best care and that includes giving it proper substrate. I'm sure this will ruffle some feathers, but never really cared as I always believe in saying what's on my mind.

Now as far as substrate goes, there are several things you can use and that will work, some works better in different areas depending on base humidity and what not.

1.) Bioactive - You can make up your own mix, and this stuff goes a long way, and works wonders, it's easy to spot clean and if you add clean up crews to it, it's little work once it's going. My cobras are on a bioactive substrate with isopods.
2.) Aspen - It's cheap, readily available in some areas and it holds humidity decent just don't overspray or it will mold if not enough ventilation. It's great for odor as it has it's own natural smell and it's easy to spot clean between full enclosure cleanings.
3.) Reptichip / Coco husk - These come in a block that you expand with water, it's great for humidity and it goes a long way. It's easy to manage and you can spot clean it. I don't believe it can help with odors like Aspen.
4.) Repti bark - It's okay, I don't find it holds humidity well but it doesn't mold either. It's relatively cheap and you can spot clean it easy as well. I don't believe it helps with odors.
5.) Eco Earth - It goes a long way, doesn't really help with odors, and it's really cheap. I don't really care for it with snakes because it seems to get swallowed a bit.
6.) Cypress mulch - It holds humidity good, pretty mold resistant, it helps with odor and can be spot cleaned. It's a bit more expensive, but it has it's perks. IF you get this you need to make sure whatever bag you're getting is 100% cypress, some places say mulch but when you look into it they mix other woods as well(pine etc..). Forest Floor is a good brand that's 100% cypress if I recall, or at least it used to be.

I got organic garden soil(made from food scraps and what not in a compost), organic potting mix(same brand as garden soil but has other stuff), peat moss, play sand, repti chip, repti bark and I mixed it up to the consistency that I like. I also added spaghnum moss for the isopods and to help with humidity when I want to raise it above the normal that it stays at. I spot clean at times, but the isopods do most of the cleaning. I also have 48x30x18 AP enclosures with 2x dome lights on each for day/night bulbs.

[Albert420]

Newspaper and stuff is more so for convenience and a lot of breeders do it, I honestly frown up on it. If you can't give the animal some sort of real substrate IMO you shouldn't keep it. Newspaper, and that type of stuff are for lazy keepers(only being honest). When an animal is in my care, I consider it my responsibility to give it the best care and that includes giving it proper substrate. I'm sure this will ruffle some feathers, but never really cared as I always believe in saying what's on my mind.

Now as far as substrate goes, there are several things you can use and that will work, some works better in different areas depending on base humidity and what not.

1.) Bioactive - You can make up your own mix, and this stuff goes a long way, and works wonders, it's easy to spot clean and if you add clean up crews to it, it's little work once it's going. My cobras are on a bioactive substrate with isopods.
2.) Aspen - It's cheap, readily available in some areas and it holds humidity decent just don't overspray or it will mold if not enough ventilation. It's great for odor as it has it's own natural smell and it's easy to spot clean between full enclosure cleanings.
3.) Reptichip / Coco husk - These come in a block that you expand with water, it's great for humidity and it goes a long way. It's easy to manage and you can spot clean it. I don't believe it can help with odors like Aspen.
4.) Repti bark - It's okay, I don't find it holds humidity well but it doesn't mold either. It's relatively cheap and you can spot clean it easy as well. I don't believe it helps with odors.
5.) Eco Earth - It goes a long way, doesn't really help with odors, and it's really cheap. I don't really care for it with snakes because it seems to get swallowed a bit.
6.) Cypress mulch - It holds humidity good, pretty mold resistant, it helps with odor and can be spot cleaned. It's a bit more expensive, but it has it's perks. IF you get this you need to make sure whatever bag you're getting is 100% cypress, some places say mulch but when you look into it they mix other woods as well(pine etc..). Forest Floor is a good brand that's 100% cypress if I recall, or at least it used to be.

I got organic garden soil(made from food scraps and what not in a compost), organic potting mix(same brand as garden soil but has other stuff), peat moss, play sand, repti chip, repti bark and I mixed it up to the consistency that I like. I also added spaghnum moss for the isopods and to help with humidity when I want to raise it above the normal that it stays at. I spot clean at times, but the isopods do most of the cleaning. I also have 48x30x18 AP enclosures with 2x dome lights on each for day/night bulbs.

I would love to get Aspen but it's really not that available by me, I'm in South Africa the only choices I have to choose from are reptibarc newspaper or the cocohusk but this will boost my humidity which I don't need at all seeing as my humidity levels are perfect with the reptibarc, I live in South African along the cost, so cocohusk is a nono so I might as well keep using reptibarc, but how do yiu feel about swollowing a piece of reptibarc every now and then surely that can't be good for the snakes and if a feeder dish is presented they freak out and handling befire feeding makes them not want to eat they snap out of that hunting mode, once handled so feeding in the enclosure really works best for me would love if they did not eat the reptibarc as I'm sure they don't like salad with their food lol

[Neal]

I would love to get Aspen but it's really not that available by me, I'm in South Africa the only choices I have to choose from are reptibarc newspaper or the cocohusk but this will boost my humidity which I don't need at all seeing as my humidity levels are perfect with the reptibarc, I live in South African along the cost, so cocohusk is a nono so I might as well keep using reptibarc, but how do yiu feel about swollowing a piece of reptibarc every now and then surely that can't be good for the snakes and if a feeder dish is presented they freak out and handling befire feeding makes them not want to eat they snap out of that hunting mode, once handled so feeding in the enclosure really works best for me would love if they did not eat the reptibarc as I'm sure they don't like salad with their food lol

I mean they swallow stuff in the wild. Yea it's nice to minimize it.

Do you feed live or frozen?

[Albert420]

I mean they swallow stuff in the wild. Yea it's nice to minimize it.

Do you feed live or frozen?

I'll see how I will go about managing it to keep it to a minimal and yeah you are right, I feed f/t heated up with a hairdryer to about 100 degrees Fahrenheit, so the feeder is nice and dry as well so the reptibarc barc does not stick it's only once they try to find the head and they make it a bit spit shine on the one side of the feeder where the reptibarc starts to stick