another substrate question

Ari just finished his first shed with me and it was successful! I was really worried he'd have a bad shed because I had difficulty keeping the humidity high enough. I eventually thought to use tin foil over the screen and that kept it a little more stable. Then today I found a nice complete snakeskin in the corner of Ari's hide :D

Ari's in a tank with paper towel as substrate and some wet moss for moisture I use a ceramic heat bulb and an uth (along with a water dish and hides of course). I'll definitely be using a different substrate now though. I'm not sure whether to go with aspen or coconut bark, or would something else be better? Also, Ari likes hiding under the paper towels, so would the substrate change be less stressful for him if I keep a layer of paper towel over the new substrate?

I suggest aspen, it's cheap and holds humidity decently. It's easy to spot pee and poo and easy to spot clean. I use it in my one tank and my quarantine rack and have never had a bad shed :)

You could keep a small layer of paper towel over your substrate if you wanted, if he doesn't already feel comfortable in the hide he has. I have paper towel and a towel substrate in mine, and Levi will slither under the towel and paper towels to hide, even with the hide he already has. There's nothing wrong with providing extra means to make Ari feel at home. :)