Yay, Another Poop Question!

[Hapa_Haole]

I recently switched my BP over to rats and paper towels as the substrate. When she used to urate/poo when on aspen I never noticed much liquid around the poop/urate but now when she goes about half of the 32qt. tub's paper towels are soaked in liquid. The poop and urates are solid and not runny looking in any way.

Is this a normal thing that I just didn't notice when she was on aspen since liquids can travel much further distances in paper towels? Or is it a potential side effect of the switch to rats (a bigger prey item that carries more water, her getting bigger and therefore having bigger bms, etc.)? Or should I be planning to do a fecal exam the next time she poos?

Thanks,
Dennis

[Nvar]

Sounds pretty standard to me. I use paper towels in my tubs as substrate and my BPs put out a large amount of liquid when they go. You may want to double-up on the towels so they'll absorb more fluid.

[Nvar]

Also, I think using paper towels for substrate requires more attention to the habitat than aspen (not quite sure since I've never used aspen). I check my tubs daily and generally end up changing the towels 2 to 3 times each week. Clean-up is a breeze though.

[Kaorte]

Aspen is pretty absorbant. When I spot clean urates/urine, I usually just have to change the one corner that they peed in. When you use aspen, there is a larger surface area so it can absorb more. With paper towels, obviously there is not as much surface area to absorb liquid. Does this make sense? lol

[Hapa_Haole]

Thanks guys, I figured that was the case. Next time the tank is due for a cleaning I'll double up on the paper towels.

Dennis

[littleindiangirl]

Aspen is no where near as absorbant as paper towels. Use a thick brand like Viva, and put a couple of layers. Aspen unfortunately lets the pee go straight to the bottom of the tub, where it will dry later on. Papertowels soak it right up if you get a good brand. A cheap thin brand will not perform as well as the thicker towels.

[Hapa_Haole]

Also, I think using paper towels for substrate requires more attention to the habitat than aspen (not quite sure since I've never used aspen). I check my tubs daily and generally end up changing the towels 2 to 3 times each week. Clean-up is a breeze though.

Yeah...when I switched to paper towels I noticed that I was cleaning more often. It made me think that aspen hides a lot of things that shouldn't be in there even with frequent spot cleaning. I'm definitely sticking with paper towels.

Dennis

[Hapa_Haole]

Aspen is no where near as absorbant as paper towels. Use a thick brand like Viva, and put a couple of layers. Aspen unfortunately lets the pee go straight to the bottom of the tub, where it will dry later on. Papertowels soak it right up if you get a good brand.

Right. Just like that old science experiment you used to do where you'd hang the tip of a piece of paper in a cup of water and after a little while the paper soaked the water up against gravity. The paper towels absorbed the liquid across their surface area making it look like much more liquid was expelled than when she used to go on aspen. Thanks for stopping my worries.

Dennis