How deep for the aspen

I am wondering how deep I need to keep my aspen bedding, really. The bag says 2" for a small snake 4" for a big snake. I have a small snake for now. It seems that 2" really is deep and the UTH would have a hard time keeping that much stuff warm.

So, how deep do I really need? I have it about an inch right now.

thats probably good enough thats all we had it

You don't want the aspen too thick or it will trap the heat and create a major hot spot on the glass. An inch layer is fine, and about what I used when I went the whole tank route. You will also want to 'fluff' the aspen to keep it from getting too packed down as well.

Just keep an eye on the temps and monitor it, to see what will work for you and your setup. I hope that helps some.

My general rule is no thicker than the first joint of the index finger. BPs aren't burrowers normally, like corns, so they only need a layer thick enough to cover the floor. I like to put my aspen on top of a layer of newsprint for ease of cleaning as well as an alert to dirtiness. :)

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Originally Posted by tigerlily

You will also want to 'fluff' the aspen to keep it from getting too packed down as well.

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Any reason? I tamped it down after I put in in there. So I have about an inch of aspen tamped down...

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Originally Posted by cpsinatl

Any reason? I tamped it down after I put in in there. So I have about an inch of aspen tamped down...

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Because it needs to be fluffed for the heat to effectively come through - tamped down insulates it underneath the aspen, not allowing much heat up through the top of the aspen where your snake lays.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Because it needs to be fluffed for the heat to effectively come through - tamped down insulates it underneath the aspen, not allowing much heat up through the top of the aspen where your snake lays.

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Yup, what she said. :gj:

Humm... ok.

I do shoot the temps with my heat gun fairly often so I'll keep an eye out for that.

Maybe this weekend I'll fluff it back out. It certainly is more than an inch deep "fluffed".

Won't the snake keep it fairly flat? I need to keep fluffing it out then?

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Originally Posted by cpsinatl

Won't the snake keep it fairly flat? I need to keep fluffing it out then?

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If I ever pack down the aspen my BP will burrow through it and fluff it back up again. He likes to "nest" in it when he is going to hide for awhile.

My ball packs it down, a lot. I constantly have to fluff. He's never really burrowed in it, just pushed it around to make more room for his fat butt.