Repti-Bark (sucks); substrate advice?

Hi,

Repti-Bark does not absorb snake piss at all... my JCP just went and at least a square foot below the substrate had a layer of piss.... not a pleasant job cleaning it up.

I prefer natural looking substrate, because it looks good. ;) What absorbs faeces the best?

Otherwise I might have to switch to news paper or a different paper substrate. :(

What paper substrate is the best? I once heard of indented craft paper...anybody know that stuff?

Thanks,

Aspen absorbs really well. Don't use pine or cedar though.

Don't go for sand either. Uhm.. actually, cypress would work really well for a natural brown appearance and absorbs pretty well too. :]

Any type of paper is fine really..

Some people put a layer of newspaper on the bottom for absorption with a thin layer of aspen or something like that on top for a more natural look. One advantage of this is you just pick up the paper and it picks up everything on top of it, so it makes cleaning pretty easy. A disadvantage would be that you might end up using more aspen/whatever in the long run since you would not spot clean with this method. Also be aware that your snake can easily push around a thin layer of substrate so you might end up with parts of the newspaper showing at times.

Well that's the point. I don't want to change substrate every single time there's poop. I use aspen in my Ball cages but I think it wouldn't look good in my carpet cage.

I think I'll go with indented craft paper as it has a nicer look than newspaper.

Yeah, I had that same issue with Repti-Bark. I changed it to T-Rex brand Cypress Blend and that works better with the same "themed" look. If you want to try it out, get a small bag first because it has a much more "earthy" scent to it that you might not like. I don't mind it - smells like my garden after I tilling...

Nah I made up my mind.. Thanks though, anatess.

I'm gonna start using indented kraft paper... did a quick search on the forum and one person said two sheets held poop, urates, and urine from a 20lb boa. :O

Just in case you change your mind..

http://sllawnservice.com/yahoo_site_...880003_std.jpg

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Originally Posted by blackcrystal22

Just in case you change your mind..

http://sllawnservice.com/yahoo_site_...880003_std.jpg

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Used cypress mulch before... don't really like it all that much... I think this kraft paper will work like a charm.

I gave up on particulate substrate and now I use plain unprinted newspaper. Yes, I have to clean it every time a snake poops... but cleaning literally takes 10 minutes. Flush the poop... throw out the soiled paper... clean with some chlorhexadine if necessary... and throw down some new substrate - very quick and convenient. I used to use aspen, but got frustrated with it pretty quickly. It looked nice, but it was getting expensive to keep buying, and I had aspen bits all over the floor that I had to keep cleaning up. I actually found that spot cleaning aspen was more annoying than using newsprint and replacing it each time.

Just my 0.02.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DutchHerp

I think this kraft paper will work like a charm.

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Matt, you got a website for that paper handy?