Reptichip

Anyone out there using reptichip for their BPs? Been hearing a lot of good things about it through podcasts and online. I keep all my BPs on paper towels and they do fine, but I'm considering trying something that's a little easier on the eyes. I already went the aspen route and had mold problems almost immediately, so I'm a little apprehensive when it comes to substrate. Seeing as its summer right now and I live in Tampa, humidity is currently not an issue. However, once the weather starts to change and it gets later in the year, it becomes a little bit tougher for me to keep the humidity where Id like in my rack. Apparently this reptichip stuff holds humidity like a champ, which would be awesome! Anyone have anything, good or bad, to say about this stuff?

I know it needs to be prepped but I've never tried it. Some people seem to think it's the best thing ever, some don't see any benefit over their previous substrate. I don't know anyone who had a bad experience with it. I don't like how their marketing is misleading personally. I'll just copy my response from an email when it got discussed.

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I mean even a recent example, I'm sure on the reptile groups you have seen the coconut husk bedding repichip being advertised like heck as the latest and greatest thing. Well their advertising actually made me snub them as they tell lies when comparing it to cypress. http://www.reptichip.com/fans.html . Cypress absorbs oder, has great longevity as it can be spot cleaned, can be organic. So Wtf is up with the chart? You could truthfully claim cypress takes longer to grow and depending on who's logging it, has a negative impact on the environment. Why tell lies? Also their whole faq reads like stereotypical marketing, I can't stand it. The thing is it actually may be a better bedding, but their advertising made me say forget it. Unless there is some massive benefit I will never even try it.

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I use for my BP's and I really like it. It's easily spot cleaned and doesn't hold odor. I don't mist every day but once in a while I will. When my snakes go into shed I spray it at least once a day sometimes a couple times to keep the humidity up. They shed perfect. It doesn't mold and I usually change it out completely about every 3 months.

My only issue is that some of the vendors claim the coco used is better than all the other cocos out there because of the area it comes from......
When smoke started getting blown up my rear I stopped listening.

We just switched to it from the expandable coco husk. I like it a lot better! It looks great and it holds humidity well only requiring minor misting if in shed. The smell is decent and easy to spot clean. It says on the bag that you can wash the whole likes of it and re-use and I can't find a reason why not.

I use eco-earth and have no problems with humidity.

If you buy it off of Amazon there is a product called GROW!T coco coir that is basically the same thing at half the price.

Also I've been hearing ads on the radio for some sort of Amazon Prime special on 7/12 so you may be able to take advantage, if you want to try it without spending a ton of money.

When it comes to substrate and many other herp products, if it's "made for reptiles" the price is jacked up. You can get this material cheaper from gardening supply vendors.

Mold will grow on it if the sub is too moist however, ie poor, stagnant air etc

I have decided to give it a try with some animals (not all), of course like anyone else price is a consideration and buying online and spending $20 a brick + $10 shipping would be completely unrealistic.

Currently I am getting Harlan Lab grade Aspen for around $9+ delivered to my door, so for me switching completely if I did would have to do with the number of tubs I can get done, and how long between full cleaning I can go.

I have a distributor on the east coast that will do local shows (so we are already talking a much better price than online) but make it worth it I would need to order bulk (50 bricks) and pick it up to get the price really down, that many bricks would last me a long time so the upfront cost might not be that bad after all.
I use mulch on a regular basis as well but I have had issues with some large sharp pieces.

So we will see, coco mulch chip is nothing new it’s been used in horticulture for decades, the only new thing is that it is now targeted toward reptile keepers.

Right now it’s an experiment but I always like to try new things, I can tell there are things I like about it already now we will see if cost wise it is doable to switch my entire collection.

Hi BP.net gang, glad that I found this thread. I'm JT, the owner of Reptichip LLC and On the Ball Pythons. Would like to take a second to clear up any misconceptions and to answer any questions that you may have about Reptichip. More information can be found on our FAQs page at our website (I won't attach a link here, as we want to be cognizant and respectful of anything that could be perceived as advertising...but for interested parties, it's very easy to find).

First and foremost the advantage over cypress: We ceased using cypress due to the rampant destruction of wetland habitats. 68% of the US wetland habitat has been destroyed since 1970 due to the deforestation that occurs to produce cypress products and mulch. A cypress tree takes 40 years to grow to size...so there is no such thing as a sustainable cypress product. We moved to chipped coconut (of the absolute highest quality) which is a sustainable and renewable resource. Here are a few articles for those that are interested in learning more about wetland habitat destruction caused by the cypress logging industry:

http://digitalcommons.butler.edu/cgi...=facsch_papers

http://www.dogwoodalliance.org/2015/...tland-forests/

Having bred ball pythons for over 10 years, I've used the gamut of substrates (aspen, newspaper, liners, cypress, different types of coconut, etc..). What we've found is that Reptichip has superior absorption and odor control qualities that far exceed those of triple milled cypress. You can see customer reviews of the difference here.

As for the quality and location that we source our coconut: just like any natural product, there is a wide variety of qualities of raw product. Sri Lanka is widely regarded as having the highest quality of coconut available (a fact that we confirmed here during 9 months of testing). Beyond that, we source from specific locations of inland Sri Lanka where the coconut is not exposed to the salt that is found in coastal coconut products. From the plantations, coconut then goes to our manufacturer where it is highly washed to remove remaining salt, minerals, and tannins that can be found in other products. From there it goes to processing where the coconut is chipped, inspected, pressed, and packaged. Some people assume that because the size of different brand of coconut blocks are similar, they all must be from the same manufacturer or source...this is not the case. The reason that the blocks are similarly sized is that there are only a handful of molds that will fit the German machinery that most manufacturers use to compress the coconut. So far I've seen coconut from Sri Lanka, India, Cambodia, and Vietnam all use the same sizes to compress their product. The quality of the product that is inside the packaging is what matters to us here.

There are many differences between the manufacture of Reptichip and other agricultural based coconut products; the main being that we've invested the time (and money) into ensuring that our manufacturers know and understand that our customers have significantly higher standards than the horticultural industry when it comes to the care and health of their animals. We implement this through our QA/QC at the manufacturer, and here at Reptichip main.

I'm happy to answer any questions that you may have here or in private. My contact information is on every block of Reptichip as well, to include my personal cell phone number, so please fee free to reach out to me at any time. I appreciate the opportunity to share a little more about Reptichip...thanks BP.net!

JT
512-828-2545