Substrate for corn

I currently use paper towels as substrate for all my snakes. It seems my new corn prefers to burrow under it. I believe she was kept on aspen at her previous home. Should I switch her back? I already have it on hand, as I use it for my rat's bedding. It just doesn't seem to me that it would be very comfortable against a snake's skin. Are we sure that it doesn't have the same harmful effects as pine/cedar?

Any input is appreciated.

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Originally Posted by jenaero

I currently use paper towels as substrate for all my snakes. It seems my new corn prefers to burrow under it. I believe she was kept on aspen at her previous home. Should I switch her back? I already have it on hand, as I use it for my rat's bedding. It just doesn't seem to me that it would be very comfortable against a snake's skin. Are we sure that it doesn't have the same harmful effects as pine/cedar?

Any input is appreciated.

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Are we sure pine has harmful effects?

She has a tough skin, use what you like, paper or aspen.

I thought pine was right up there with cedar?

Thanks for the reply :)

Kiln dried pine is fine.

I've got decades behind that statement.

Aspen is good, it's what I use for my corn and he burrows in it a lot.

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Originally Posted by omnibus2

Aspen is good, it's what I use for my corn and he burrows in it a lot.

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Same here

I love, recommend, and use newspaper pellet! It's great stuff! :D Carefresh is great too, but it's expensive. I can get a 32lb bag of newspaper pellets for $7, Compare that to a bale of carefresh which goes for around $17... and with 100 snakes I would go broke! Although, I used to use aspen before I switched to newspaper pellet and it's not too expensive and it smells really sweet. Some medium sized bales came in to my store on clearance and my manager let me have all 3 for $1 each! Working at a pet supply place has it's advantages! I avoid cedar like it's the plague and I stopped using pine when I heard that it is not the best option out there. I kept my snakes on kiln dried pine for years without any issue but, if there is any chance it is not good for them I am going to avoid it and pay $1 or $2 more for the newspaper pellets and aspen! Besides, I hate the smell of the stuff and the fine dust in it, it makes me itch! There is just no way for me to tell if the pine was properly dried for long enough to make it safe. I have also used cypress mulch, hardwood mulch, tek fresh, and repti-bark at times.

thanks all!

I use Aspen also, and my corn snake burrows all the time.