The best substrate ever...

What is the best substrate for a ball python?

I have been using a mix of aspen and desert snow, but I really want to make sure I have the best. Help?

Aspen and Cypress are the best ones.. I use Cypress.. most people will say newspaper or paper towels are also good. it all depends on how you want it to look.. I like to go with the natural look..


Cheers

aspen!

Oh I like the natural look as well. :)
So is there any reason why you like Cypress over Aspen or visaversa?

It's all preference. Cypress Mulch, Aspen, or Paper Towels/Newspaper all work fine. Cypress, Aspen, and other expensive options like Diamond or Coconut will all hold humidity better than paper options, but paper is usually used in tubs where that's not a problem.

I go with newsprint or paper towels. They are the cheapest and the most hygienic

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Originally Posted by CopperNightShade

Oh I like the natural look as well. :)
So is there any reason why you like Cypress over Aspen or visaversa?

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It's what the store had at the time lol...

Thanks to everyone! This helps a lot!

Adults and Breeder get Aspen. Babies and Juvies get paper towels. Quarintine snakes get paper towels too, if they're adults, I use non-printed newspaper.

Jim Smith

It's mostly all prefference, in my racks I use unprinted newspaper or the blue shop towels by Scott, I get both in bulk. The blue shop towels have more absorbency than regular paper towels.

I used aspen for a while in a class tank and could never get my humidity to where I wanted it. Therefore, I switched to cypress mulch. For those that have plastic enclosures and aspen substrate how is your humidity holding up?

What if im going to use tubs but my room is like 30% humidity. Would I still be able to use unprinted newspaper or paper towel? Thanks.:)

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Originally Posted by warman0712

What if im going to use tubs but my room is like 30% humidity. Would I still be able to use unprinted newspaper or paper towel? Thanks.:)

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You can, but you may have shed issues. I suggest cypress mulch, which will increase the humidity in your tubs.

I started using Alpha Dri again and so far I'm liking it.

Currently I have one adult in a glass aquarium with aspen and three little ladies in tubs with lids using paper towels for substrate.

The adult tank requires a lot of effort to maintain humidity. There is a water bowl that is nearly a third of the tank. I have to put a wet wash cloth over the screen and cover that with aluminum foil. When shedding is going on I have to spray multiple times a day.

The three tubs have perfect humidity most of the time. If there is too much I replace the paper towels. If there isn't enough during shedding I wet the paper towel a little. I have more problems with humidity too high than too low. Also using white paper towels with no print shows everything that may be going on.

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Originally Posted by Reptile King

For those that have plastic enclosures and aspen substrate how is your humidity holding up?

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works great in my opinion. have had my rack for a week now and i was using some tubs before, and the humidity is all around 60%. thats with no spraying the cage or anything. i believe the aspen holds humidity verywell! it also depends on howmany holes you have in the tubs as well though i believe.

I have a melamine rack and using aspen there was never a humidity problem. I actually had to melt a few more holes in the tubs because there was a little too MUCH humidity. Cypress works too as does newspaper/shop towels etc... I've used both the hamster style shaved aspen and the snake aspen effectively. Best bet is to just buy huge bags of it online or at a local herp store if available.

I use reptile carpet for my small snake, and Aspen for the adult snake.

I use to use bark soil, and then i got gnats that liked it too much from a plant i brought in and took out quick lol..

i have a big tank, so its very hard to keep humidity in.. if you have a wood or a different type of encloser, you can get away with paper towel or even just news paper(any kind). You can put some paper towel into caves and dampen them up to make them more humid on the warm side of the encloser.

What i am doing right now. is a few sheets of newpaper on the bottom, papertowel in her cave, and in a humid plastic hut. on her hot side.


soon, the best thing i have researched, is coconut soil, if you have a tank as it keeps the humidity in really well, that is what im going to be using.. you can also spray the tank down with water every day, and even pour some water where the head pad is, as soil should get wetish in the morning and dry out by evening.. (also use bought filtered water the ones you can refill at the store, as theres less minerals and wont leave spots on your tank if thats what you have).

then the moss stuff i will be using in her cave and plastic hut, cause that too keeps it in very well.

hope that helps.

Newspaper--it's much easier to keep things sanitary. If humidity is too low, buying a humidifier is the best solution. Don't underestimate the size you'll need.

ya paper towel and newspaper is the best.. but since i have a tank, humidifier doesnt work well seeing that i have a huge house, and not small rooms.. plus i live in a cold climate during winter, so the heat is on all the time.. etc.. and no humidifier that runs through my heat..

so if you can have a humidifer and keep the room up with humidity yep that would work great..

glass tanks i just find it doesnt do much.. or if you have big rooms.

oh and if you do have humidity problems. i wouldnt go with aspen cause it cant get wet like newspaper, papertowel, moss or coconut soil.

Sounds Good.

For me it depends on the snake and its age.

The ones that like slightly cooler temps and higher humidity (boas & borneos) are on cypress mulch. They get fed in a seperate container to avoid eating any of it since the pieces are bigger.

The adult balls are on the larger aspen chip bedding and the baby balls are on the finley cross cut aspen (looks like confetti) so I do not need to feed them in a seperate container.

Hatchlings go on moist paper towel until after they shed/eat/and pass their first poo :P

Then they go on the finley shredded aspen as well.