Why you like/dislike your substrate

I use cypress in my tubs, and like others have said, the snakes seem to like it and it holds humidity very well. Doesn't mold and it really isn't that messy most of the time. If I'm short on cypress bedding, I will use paper towels and these seem to work pretty well too for me, BUT I find that whenever a snake does a poop or pee, I have to change the whole tub and can't just spot clean. It's great to absorb the liquid, but then it's all over the tub and smelly.
In my display cages (which I'm trying to get rid of) I use Eco-Earth. I LOVE this stuff and I think it holds humidity even better than the cypress, but when the snakes strike and miss the rat, they get a big mouthful of the stuff and they really hate it and struggle to spit it out for a minute. For some reason though, in my tubs, it never seems to dry out. In fact, it just seems to get more and more wet from the water dish spilling until it's sopping wet.
Still trying to work out the kinks here and there!

I'm currently using aspen. I really like it, it holds humidity pretty well, smells nice and it's super easy to spot clean. The only downfall is how messy it is, IMO. Well, how messy I am. I usually end up spilling it and leaving a trail through the house lol. On the bright side, it encourages me to vacuum more often :P

This was helpful, I just switched back to aspen, but I always spend so much on the reptile aspen because of how shredded it is, I'm always worried that the snakes will swallow the bigger pieces that you get from tractor supply.

I agree with all the pros n cons...however, for us, the paper towel pros seriously outweigh the pros for aspen. We have 22 snakes, all in a carpeted snake room. Paper towels are cheap, and a cinch to clean, esp since i clean tubs every day. We NEVER have humidity issues in our racks. We only have a few snakes that bunch them up, but it only takes a sec to replace them. Aspen is not as cost effective, and i dont like how quickly it molds. But the biggest turn off is all that vacuuming id have to do all over the house at least twice EVERY day...because aspen gets EVERYWHERE...

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Originally Posted by loonunit

I use Sani-chips, which are aspen, but not dusty.

Cons: I can't use them in the breeding tubs, because there's some risk of the chips getting lodged in the male's vent and causing Big Problems. So I'm back to newsprint for those, and it gets gross in there fast.

They're a bit expensive, and no one around here carries them. So I have to order from LLL Reptile, which makes them EVEN MORE expensive.

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Try looking up distributors of it. Most major cities have distributors of the stuff; lots of research labs, etc use sani chips. I found one local to me and the prices were dirt cheap. Get out your phone book and start giving some places a call.

I've tried everything: aspen shavings, aspen chips (sani chips), paper towels, news paper, etc etc.

I've recently settled on butcher paper as my favorite. I got a giant roll of it from amazon and can just tear off sheets as I need them. Super easy to clean, a massive roll doesn't take up much space, and I can use it for wrapping paper, craft paper when nephews visit, and whatever else around the house.

I'm rocking it from now on with my bps!

I use news paper because my house is very dry and spilling water or pouring water on it keeps my humidity just right. I use like 3-5 pages per 28qt and about 10 in the 41 qt's so urine doesnt't seem to get all over the tub, but still covers a lot of it. I wish aspen was more affordable and didn't mold, i'd use it more for sure. I tried cypress for a while and i'll have to say it was my favorite. humidity stayed perfect with weekly watering, easy spot clean, snakes loved it and were very calm, and it smells nice to me. Just did't like the cost or the possiblity of mites. so newsprint for me.

I can't believe how stingy people seem when it comes to there pets..paaper towels are ridiculous. Give them a bedding to feel at home and especially if your making this poor things live in tubs..plus if the price of aspen is to expensive,the maybe you shouldn't have pets,cause food and vet bills are even pricier.

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Originally Posted by NYHC4LIFE8899

I can't believe how stingy people seem when it comes to there pets..paaper towels are ridiculous. Give them a bedding to feel at home and especially if your making this poor things live in tubs..plus if the price of aspen is to expensive,the maybe you shouldn't have pets,cause food and vet bills are even pricier.

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It's not a matter of being stingy. It's a matter of finding the right bedding combination of what works for you and your animals. I'm not sure what you mean by "at home"... Balls can be kept quite well on paper towels or newspaper, with no issues eating, feeding or breeding. Aspen can be relatively expensive if you have a large number of animals to care for. Key word is relatively. As in, compared to a cheaper bedding option. IMO, this doesn't have bearing on if you can afford vet bills or food. In fact, if you save money on bedding, I would argue you'd have MORE money to put towards food and veterinary care. Just my .02

We are talking about suitable substrates for ball pythons. So price differences between these is part of the equation when all substrates being discussed are great choices. I have been through quite a few changes and no change in behaviour. The are all eating well acting the same. My reason for aspen was because of absorbency. I work long shifts and don't want the sitting in pee too long before I get home. For others paper substrates work better for them. The snakes are happy either way.

Cages vs racks/tubs is a subject best left for a separate thread.



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