What's the best substrate?

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Originally Posted by KingPythons

Honestly, you just blew my mind!!

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Why is that?

The backless indoor outdoor carpet. I didn’t know that was a thing. Sounds amazing! Do you currently use this??

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Originally Posted by KingPythons

The backless indoor outdoor carpet. I didn’t know that was a thing. Sounds amazing! Do you currently use this??

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Oh yes, for a few of my snakes, & I have used it for many years. It's not everyone's choice, just another option that works very well for some snakes. I like that it comes in nice colors (brown, tan, green) so it looks nice, & that it has plenty of texture (some is ribbed also) for snakes to have traction- it's also easy for them to shed against.

Not everyone will love handwashing it- it's somewhat stiff & you'll need to wash it in either your bathtub or a large laundry sink. Before I wash it, I go outside & use a small rock to scrape off the snake's feces into my flower garden ("fertilizer" :D ), then use liquid dish soap to scrub any dirty spots, & wash the whole thing (one rinse should do unless you used too much soap ;)). I often just let it drip dry over the sink (the water drips out very quickly) & reinstall when most of the water is out (a few shakes will hasten the dripping) since adding a little humidity is fine, & I use UTH anyway. (I do have extra carpets cut to fit if I'm in a hurry to clean their home & need to wash the carpet later, but I often just have that snake "out" for a while as I'm cleaning their home.)

You can also spot clean it pretty well between washes. Pick up any fecal matter, then spray with whatever usual product you use to wipe down enclosures (I'm a chlorhexidine user myself) & wipe/dry w/ paper towel.

Incidentally, you can even disinfect it (with a little bleach)- it won't discolor at all. You just don't want to use much bleach or you won't get the smell out, & there must never be any trace of bleach left- it's toxic to snakes. It would be better to use alternative products (F10 or chlorhex.) to disinfect it- but it's tough enough even for bleach, just fyi.

I would NOT use carpet for snakes that burrow a lot (kings, gopher/bull snakes) as they're likely to stay under it, but otherwise, it works well for many, such as my rat snakes. Ball pythons aren't big burrowers either, & the large boa I had for many years did great on carpet. You've heard of "carpet pythons", but she was a "carpet boa"-:rofl: For large snakes, it really saves on all that substrate mess too. ;)

Just another option...one that saves money & materials (constantly buying so much substrate) & also one that I prefer for some snakes. It's NOT going to hold a lot of humidity (at least not for long) so I'm not promising it's the best for ball pythons, but it could be workable when combined with a good humid hide.

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Originally Posted by Ruby

Oh that sounds great! Do you buy it online? If so, Could you send a link? :)

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Yeah I get it off eBay .. in bulk

About £25 for 70L


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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Yeah I get it off eBay .. in bulk

About £25 for 70L


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Originally Posted by Zincubus

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Thanks so much!

Bottom line, the "best" substrate is the one that's available to you (in your area), is affordable, meets the needs of your pets, & that you prefer to work with. Everything has pros & cons, & some products are available under various brand names with minor differences.

On this forum, where BPs are the most popular pet being kept, substrates that hold humidity are the most commonly used, but (fyi) for anyone wanting other bedding choices (such as paper-based etc), I find that Chewy.com (& other online sources) offer many other excellent options. You'll miss them if you only look under "reptile" products- look under "small animal" bedding, etc. & be sure to read the description closely to make sure it's what you want.