Reptile prime

I like it MUCH better then Reptichip.

Any of those "blocks" of Coco chips, no matter what brand, need to be expanded with water. The positives about that are that you get a LOT more product once it is expanded, and you usually pay less.

But...

No matter which trick you use to get the block to expands with as little water as possible, the finished product is still far more wet then I would like. When used in "tubs" this creates 100% humidity for a long time. Creates a LOT of condensation which in turn keeps the substrate wet.

You also need a huge bin to store that mass of wet, expanded coco chips. I ended up keeping them in a huge bin and "turning" them every day with a hand shovel, trying to get them to dry quicker.

If someone uses cages, it would probably work out fine. A cage will dry these shavings out far quicker then a tub, esp. since its always rather challenging to keep humidity UP in cages or tanks.

But for tubs, "I" want to control the humidity. I want to start with a DRY product and then mist as needed !!

Reptile Prime is also easier to clean. You SEE the mess quite easily and can remove it completely. The bigger chunks in the Coco Chips make it a little harder to see and get everything out.

So basically, it all depends on your needs. If you need a TON of substrate, it might be more economical to go to the dry blocks of Coco Chips. If you have tanks / cages, the chips may work wonderful as well and if you have the space to store the expanded chips, by all means ;)

However, if you don't want to store big bins, if you have tubs, if you don't want to start out with "somewhat wet" substrate, then Reptile Prime is the winner.

I ordered some of this bedding on 10/20 - I have yet to hear anything from them as to when they may ship my product. Is this normal for them?? I don't really even have any way to contact them. I ordered online via Herptopia.com The whole process seemed rather convoluted. Now I wonder if I am even getting my product??

Personally I would be very cautious of too much humidity, I think 60% is too much in my opinion. I use Prococo because I need a lot of bedding for all my racks and need something economical. I prefer a humidity to where the bottom layer of the coconut husk is damp and the top is dry.

In my ARS racks in a dry climate the top layer dries out fast, and the condensation on the walls of the tubs are gone in a day. I do mist every day but it dries out fast on top, if the bottom layers dry out I mix the substrate by hand while misting to get the bottom layer damp. Some big breeders don't even monitor their humidity and keep things as dry as possible until just before a shed to prevent respiratory infections. From what I've seen just about any of these coconut husk type bedding are ideal. But I do find that some products mold, probably from contaminants in the mix.

i have not tried this product but would like to at some point just for comparison.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by L.West

I ordered some of this bedding on 10/20 - I have yet to hear anything from them as to when they may ship my product. Is this normal for them?? I don't really even have any way to contact them. I ordered online via Herptopia.com The whole process seemed rather convoluted. Now I wonder if I am even getting my product??

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I recently ordered from them and received the product in a timely fashion. Perhaps not as fast as Amazon etc, but I didn't expect it to be that way..

The 20th was a Friday, so most likely your order didn't really start processing until Monday. I would expect it to ship today, though, if it hasn't already. Shoot them an email...
I'm not sure what you mean about the process being convoluted ? I ordered through Herptopia, too, (although that webpage defaults to Reptile Prime) added the product to the shopping cart and checked out, received it a few days later.

If you go to Reptile Prime webpage (same thing as Herptopia, changed names) there is a phone number, email and they also have a facebook. Should be able to get in touch with someone then.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cchardwick

Personally I would be very cautious of too much humidity, I think 60% is too much in my opinion. I use Prococo because I need a lot of bedding for all my racks and need something economical. I prefer a humidity to where the bottom layer of the coconut husk is damp and the top is dry.

In my ARS racks in a dry climate the top layer dries out fast, and the condensation on the walls of the tubs are gone in a day. I do mist every day but it dries out fast on top, if the bottom layers dry out I mix the substrate by hand while misting to get the bottom layer damp. Some big breeders don't even monitor their humidity and keep things as dry as possible until just before a shed to prevent respiratory infections. From what I've seen just about any of these coconut husk type bedding are ideal. But I do find that some products mold, probably from contaminants in the mix.

i have not tried this product but would like to at some point just for comparison.

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I'm also not a fan of "to high" humidity with Ball Pythons, esp. if that means they sit on wet (or moist) substrate. I only keep it higher or moist to the touch during the shed cycle. Moist and warm breeds bacteria quickly.

I do mist almost every day, but its just in an area between the dry/cool ends, so that the snake can still choose where to hang out, without having to choose wet substrate in order to thermo regulate or "hide".

My display cage still has a mix of Reptile Prime and Repti Chips. I like that for the cage, because it holds humidity longer. That's why I wish you could buy the chips dry and in smaller quantities. I don't want to buy a block and store the expanded chips, just to mix soem with other substrate for one single cage..

Email them if you have any problems they are really good about fixing it. I once got a wrong tracking number and they found the correct one right away.

Generally takes about 4-7 days to get to you depending how far from Missouri you are.

You should have got an email with a tracking number and an order confirmation. Of course it will be sent to the email on your paypal account.

Their info is
info@reptileprime.com

1-573-472-7886

I emailed them today inquiring about it. I did get an email right when I placed the order just acknowledging my order but that was the last and only communication.

I hope to hear back from them today.

Check your spam filters. The processing is midwest organics and you should have a confirmation email that looks just like this.

https://i.imgur.com/MmakXlH.jpg

Is dust really non existent in reptile prime? I use reptichip and they say it's dust free but that's definitely not a true statement, idk if it's just the bigger chunks breaking into smaller pieces over time but I definitely notice some dust after cleaning a tub. I don't notice dust putting the reptichip in though. I personally like it though, keeps humidity up, easy to spot clean, absorbs odors like you would not believe. Thinking about trying reptile prime just to see if it somehow out performs it. Anybody here not like reptile prime for some reason?

I just got an update on my order. They said it shipped out but for some reason the email message letting me know this got lost in the shuffle.

All is good. Can't wait to get this stuff.