whats the best substrate

Another vote for newspaper here. Not as pretty as other kinds, but effective and cheap!

I've used newspaper, but the ink smell combined with humidity had me worried...I wouldn't want to be breathing that all the time (yeah, I know it's supposed to be harmless soy ink).

So then I tried paper towels, which seemed to work rather well, and were very easy to clean. But recently Monty has decided that he likes to burrow, so he would go under the paper towel and then into his hide. It looked stupid, but he seemed content. I then handled him and he was really, really cool to the touch because he was touching the glass on the cool side of the glass tank (I'm going to be a plastic tub convert soon).

So now I'm using something that we've been using for our Box Turtles; It's called CareFresh pet bedding, and it's made of 'reclaimed pulp waste' and claims to be free of inks, dyes, clay and chemicals used in the paper making process. They also claim that it's processed to remove harmful aromatic hydrocarbons, tested for contaminants, and sanitized at 380º F to reduce bacteria, mold and fungus. It's supposed to be absorbent (yet to see), and is biodegradable...in fact you can flush it down the toilet. It also has very little odor, even when humid. And yes, it's supposed to be safe for reptiles.

Monty seems to like it, along with the fact that he can now burrow into it, and placing this stuff on top of some paper towels under his hide seems to solve the cold-glass problem. It's not the cheapest solution out there (newspaper takes that honor), but so far a little bit seems to go a long way to covering his tank.

Has anyone else tried CareFresh pet bedding?