Another substrate question.

The SnakeKeeper care sheet says not to use bark as susbstrate :? What do other reputable dealers have to say about that?

I'm not a big fan of loose substrates period, unless they are necessary (such as with Sand Boas, etc.).

I guess they just look good. I use an inch and a half layer of Bark in my tank. I also use an Under tank heater. If I substituted news paper, would that not raise the temp?

Its possible that could raise the temps a bit. I have too many snakes to fool with aesthetics. Loose substrates are more of a pain in the butt when you have multiple snakes to clean on a daily basis. Plus I don't have to feed any of my snakes outside their cages or worry about them injesting loose bits of substrate.

Thats true.

Raj...the temps would definitely go up if you switched from a thick layer a bark to a layer of newspaper. If you do, I would highly suggest you hook your UTH up to a thermostat. Or at the very least, a rheostat.

OR use some kind of heat baffle - take a moment and try measuring the surface temp right on top of the heat source with NO substrate - gad -friggin-zooks is right. The substrate helps dissipate the heat, provides a baffle and evens it up a bit. If you are sternly opposed to loose substrate you can get platic pegboard at lowes (home depot etc) and cut to fit the bottom of the enclosure. Makes for a nice even heat dispersion and the holes allow a viable gradient. Also beneficial in that if a water bowl etc is turned over it goes to the bottom of the enclosure and prevents pooling of water that they'd have to sit in until you get home. If you do this be sure to finish the edges (sand then pass with a lighter to catch the particulate) then put your paper towels, newspaper etc on top.

http://www.hookstore.com/images/1824panelsflare.gif
only pic of the stuff i could find atm.

Props to Smynx for spotting this stuff and the brainstorm.

Or you can always buy the little self-adhesive rubber "feet" and put them underneath your cage and jack it up off the pad a tad.

The pegboard idea is genius! How durable is it when it needs to be cleaned?

Very - it's non-brittle plastic. I'll get a shot of the backside when I get home (pegboard, ahem) it has slight extrusions on the back where the holes are so that if you were to mount it on a wall as intended it would sit off of the wall enough to be able to insert the pegs (ok this is getting me too hawt) - which is very cool since it will not be sitting flush against the bottom of your cage. Hell you could probably throw this stuff in the dishwasher.

LOL!! Smulkin...only you would get hawt talking about pegboards! That really is a very cool idea! You and Smynx could cut & prep some standard sized pieces and market them!