Full Substrate Change?

So I just switched my BP and Boa into their nice wooden cages that I built instead of ugly tubs. With this change also came a change in substrate, they went from newspaper in the tubs to aspen in the cages.

How often do you recommend doing a full substrate change? I keep a close eye on em and will spotclean within a day of any mess but what about changing the whole thing and wiping down the inside of the cages and such. Once a month? Once every 2 months? Assuming proper temp/humidity conditions, no mold or diseases etc.

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Originally Posted by skaplan86

So I just switched my BP and Boa into their nice wooden cages that I built instead of ugly tubs. With this change also came a change in substrate, they went from newspaper in the tubs to aspen in the cages.

How often do you recommend doing a full substrate change? I keep a close eye on em and will spotclean within a day of any mess but what about changing the whole thing and wiping down the inside of the cages and such. Once a month? Once every 2 months? Assuming proper temp/humidity conditions, no mold or diseases etc.

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when the cage is clean and you can notice a smell it's time to do a complete change.have fun!

I do mine once every 3 weeks to a month. I use coconut fiber, so i'm not sure if that makes a difference or not but I think once a month is a pretty good barometer.

My snakes are younger (oldest is about 2 years old) so I do a full substrate change-over after every shed which comes out to be around once a month.

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Originally Posted by anatess

My snakes are younger (oldest is about 2 years old) so I do a full substrate change-over after every shed which comes out to be around once a month.

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I agree. I also want to add. It depends on the frequency of eating/defecating. Young snakes tend to need changes more often. My breeder female boa, I will not need to change her substrate for the 2-3 months of her being cooled and breeding(non=feeding) mode.