AstroTurf

Im a new BP owner. Got it as a gift. Love it. Wish I would have had time to assemble everything needed for the habitat, before hand, but im doing what i can. For substrate I went with astroturf. Didnt hear one bad word about using it. Went to home depot, and of course they have 10 different styles of it. I got the softest one with about 1/4" nap. but I just read on one site, to avoid astroturf, to abrasive on their skin. Should I not worry about it, or switch to aspen? This is just one of many questions I need answers to. LOL

Lance in Anza, Cali

Hi, I'm no expert by far. I'm only 2 years into the herp hobby. However, every website or book I've read about bp's, as well as every bp owner I've talked to online or in person, discourage the use of astroturf or any kind of reptile carpet. Cypress, Repti-Bark, and aspen are acceptable (some say aspen can irritate a bp's belly, so that's one consideration as well as the fact aspen is quick to mold if made wet). You may also line the cage floor with newspaper or paper towels--they work great, though you sacrifice the convenience of spot cleaning.

I would never use it, anything material like that would just be a pia

Id use aspen over astroturf.

Oh, and NEVER use cedar or pine shavings. Not good for snakes. If you're new to keeping snakes as pets, I recommend the book Good Snakekeeping by Philip Purser. It goes for $25 in pet and book stores but can probably be found cheaper online. At the very least consider purchasing a good ball python manual and read up on your new friend.

I've heard of people using that fluffy hamster bedding for snakes, too. But I'm not 100% certain that's a good choice, either.

astroturf is great for maintaining bacteria in the enclosure ;)

Paper towels, aspen, cypress, and a few others are much better choices.

I would avoid astro turf also. Aspen or paper towels are the way to go as stated before.

No astro turf leave that for sport fields.
If your using a screen top enclosure I would go with cypress mulch.

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Originally Posted by antiochian

Oh, and NEVER use cedar or pine shavings. Not good for snakes. If you're new to keeping snakes as pets, I recommend the book Good Snakekeeping by Philip Purser. It goes for $25 in pet and book stores but can probably be found cheaper online. At the very least consider purchasing a good ball python manual and read up on your new friend.

I've heard of people using that fluffy hamster bedding for snakes, too. But I'm not 100% certain that's a good choice, either.

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Kiln dried pine is fine.

If you get any more, go cut the pieces out of Boise State's field, I hate that thing!