Thinking about a substrate switch

I have been using coconut husk and I love it for several reasons. It looks great, it holds humidity, and it has no smell. What I DO NOT like about it is how much it sticks to rodents at feeding time. I only feed f/t and after I defrost them in water, I blow dry them until the are positively fluffy and the substrate STILL sticks to them. I am tired of watching my girl try to get rid of a mouthful of coconut husk every time she is finished eating. She always gets it out, but it's pitiful to watch and I can't imagine all that healthy. :confused:

So, any two cents worth from you guys would be appreciated. Here is a little about my set up.

I have a 2x2x1.5 fiberglas tank with a sliding glass front (I don't know the exact gallons, it was given to me, and made for ball pythons). It is in my living room, so I have a very naturalistic set up for aesthetic reasons. In addition to a UTH, I have a red bulb heat lamp, which is positioned over a large water dish to achieve correct humidity levels. I do not like the idea of newspaper or astroturf because there is no way to spot clean it, it all needs to be changed as soon as it is soiled. I check the substrate every day for poo and other nasties and grab out handfuls of soiled substrate and replace with a clean handful. I bleach all hides and plants and change the substrate completely every 2 weeks, so I go through a bag a month. Not too bad, I only have one snake. :)

In your experience, what other substrates look nice, don't smell when cleaned properly, are not magnetized to rodent fur, and are best for the snake's wellbeing? (good for humidity, etc.)

I really don't want to have to feed my girl outside the tank unless I have too. Just seems like unnecessary stress to her.

aspen bedding is the best in my opinion.

unfortunately, you're not going to find a substrate that won't stick to rodents while still being able to spot clean it, at least not to my knowledge.

I use cypress and feed all of mine f/t. All of mine with the exception of the queen feed directly from the tongs and I never have a problem with the bedding sticking to them. I did have the same problem with the queen during one feeding due to laying the rat directly onto the cypress. Every time he went to swallow it he would catch pieces of the cypress poking the insides of his mouth and he eventually gave up and decided to not eat that day. Now when I feed the queen I flip his hide upside down and lay the warmed up rat inside, after he does his ten minute long "spider dance" he eats it without issue.

If you are looking to keep a pretty (natural looking) tank you could consider using something like astro turff. If you buy a few pieces you will keep that tank looking pretty all of the time. Plus they are easy to clean after potty breaks and are available in different colors. Hope it helps the effort.

I think the easiest solution to your problem would be to do feedings in a different tank/tub and just keep your favorite substrate.

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Originally Posted by ARamos8

If you are looking to keep a pretty (natural looking) tank you could consider using something like astro turff. If you buy a few pieces you will keep that tank looking pretty all of the time. Plus they are easy to clean after potty breaks and are available in different colors. Hope it helps the effort.

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She said no astro turf. I recommend doing what Choreboy does and lay the rat in the upside down hide :)

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Originally Posted by spitzu

I think the easiest solution to your problem would be to do feedings in a different tank/tub and just keep your favorite substrate.

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This is what I was going to say. If you take her out and feed her in a tub with no substrate, or only a sheet of newspaper, she wont end up with a mouth full of anything - except "positively fluffy" rodent.

I don't believe in feeding in a separate feeding tub. It is unnecessary and stressful. Just my opinion.

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Originally Posted by evan385

I don't believe in feeding in a separate feeding tub. It is unnecessary and stressful. Just my opinion.

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I feel the same way. I tried the whole feeding in a separate tub thing and it worked for 1 out of my 7 with live food, the rest of them just tried to dart/explore. I now just feed them in their own tubs and they're all taking f/t.

I know someone who just lays down a piece of cardboard or newspaper that covers a good portion of the tub during feeding. Snake feeds on that, no substrate is ingested. Don't have to take the snake out and stress them, and you can use whatever bedding you want. Like a plate, haha. Plus it helps keep things clean if your snake gets a little over zealous with squeezing the rat.. Blood is usually caught on the plate/cardboard/paper and then is thrown out!

There is no 'perfect' substrate they all have pros and cons. Feeding on substrate it is inevitable that the snake will eat some. As pointed out feeding in a separate container can cause issues too. It is always a moment of the lesser of two evils. I have had an animal (one eyed with remarkably poor aim) get a full mouth cyprus mulch and have a digestive blockage (I have the x-rays and vet bills to show for it...) Personally I'd rather see a royal eat fine coco coir than wood chips. Paper would be safer than either but it is a pain to clean and looks well like paper and is very poor with humidity issues (hygroscopic it draws humidity from the air) No great answer why there is so much debate if it was a clear choice there would not be controversy.

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Originally Posted by Emily Hubbard

I have been using coconut husk and I love it for several reasons. It looks great, it holds humidity, and it has no smell. What I DO NOT like about it is how much it sticks to rodents at feeding time. I only feed f/t and after I defrost them in water, I blow dry them until the are positively fluffy and the substrate STILL sticks to them. I am tired of watching my girl try to get rid of a mouthful of coconut husk every time she is finished eating. She always gets it out, but it's pitiful to watch and I can't imagine all that healthy. :confused:

So, any two cents worth from you guys would be appreciated. Here is a little about my set up.

I have a 2x2x1.5 fiberglas tank with a sliding glass front (I don't know the exact gallons, it was given to me, and made for ball pythons). It is in my living room, so I have a very naturalistic set up for aesthetic reasons. In addition to a UTH, I have a red bulb heat lamp, which is positioned over a large water dish to achieve correct humidity levels. I do not like the idea of newspaper or astroturf because there is no way to spot clean it, it all needs to be changed as soon as it is soiled. I check the substrate every day for poo and other nasties and grab out handfuls of soiled substrate and replace with a clean handful. I bleach all hides and plants and change the substrate completely every 2 weeks, so I go through a bag a month. Not too bad, I only have one snake. :)

In your experience, what other substrates look nice, don't smell when cleaned properly, are not magnetized to rodent fur, and are best for the snake's wellbeing? (good for humidity, etc.)

I really don't want to have to feed my girl outside the tank unless I have too. Just seems like unnecessary stress to her.

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as others have mentioned, all substrate will stick (at least partially) to prey and will be ingested, regardless of whether you feed live or f/t. however, there is really no cause for concern. it might look uncomfortable, but the risk of impaction is virtually nil, and snakes don't need approval from the health department before they eat off the floor. if you like your current substrate and it works for you, keep it. having said that, I switched to sani-chips a while back and it meets all of your criteria in my opinion. it's clean, smells pleasant, and also it's extremely easy to notice when it needs to be spot-cleaned or changed entirely. http://www.nationalpetpharmacy.com/search/sani-chips

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Originally Posted by ARamos8

If you are looking to keep a pretty (natural looking) tank you could consider using something like astro turff. If you buy a few pieces you will keep that tank looking pretty all of the time. Plus they are easy to clean after potty breaks and are available in different colors. Hope it helps the effort.

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I would really recommend against using repti-carpet or astro-turf. do a quick search on here and you'll see a lot of very negative experiences.

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Originally Posted by Choreboy

I feel the same way. I tried the whole feeding in a separate tub thing and it worked for 1 out of my 7 with live food, the rest of them just tried to dart/explore. I now just feed them in their own tubs and they're all taking f/t.

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in my opinion, feeding in a separate tub is not all bad. it's often unnecessary and can cause undue stress in many snakes, but for someone with only one or two balls, it's really not that bad, especially if it saves you from worrying about the ingestion of substrate.

ultimate issue: if you decide you don't want to risk your snake ingesting any substrate whatsoever and elect not to feed in a separate enclosure, start using paper towels or newspaper. if you want to preserve the more "natural" aesthetics by using a substrate, I would recommend sani-chips or regular aspen bedding over all others that I've used.

I agree with:
-keeping the same substrate but laying down printer paper or cardboard on top when feeding
-feeding in seperate tub (controversial, but I agree, if you only have one snake and they are willing to feed in a seperate tub, then why not? My first bp never had issues with feeding in a seperate tub, but obviously theres a risk they wont eat in a seperate tub so you have to take that into consideration)

Also agree with:
-Cypress mulch, that stuff holds humidity great in tank setups. Just supervise your feedings, Im using it now and Ive had no problems as of yet and I feed in my tank. Wood chips are a bit harder to stick onto food prey than coco-husk (i used to use coco), but can be more dangerous if they get a mouthful. If you supervise and make sure not a big amount goes in her mouth, then you're all good.

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Originally Posted by evan385

I don't believe in feeding in a separate feeding tub. It is unnecessary and stressful. Just my opinion.

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I feed mine in a separate tub and do not have any problems and the snake is not stressed at all!


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Originally Posted by tsy72001

I feed mine in a separate tub and do not have any problems and the snake is not stressed at all!


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That can be said for some, but not all. I think that is the point. Not all snakes will tolerate a move and then feed I have a few that will and a few that will not it is not certain.

lay down a piece of cardboard or paper towel. or just serve the rat on a plate

i should mention SilPats! i thought about getting some of these for feeding time but i guess i just never got around to it.

they're used for baking, they're made of silicone and are freezer, refrigerator, microwave, and dishwasher safe.

Silpats

get a couple of these (the particular one in the link is 10" x 15" so could be cut into a few different pieces) and lay them down over the substrate at feeding time. when your snake is done you can wash them off and reuse them. then you don't have to worry about using the same dinner plates as your snakes :P

i really should get on that.

Thanks everyone! I love all of the input, it's so great to hear all of your opinions and experiences!

I think what I am going to do is just try out some other options you all mentioned and see if I like the results better. I have a 1/2 bag of coco husk left and I am doing a full tank clean Thursday night, so I will use it up and then try out something else.

I really, really, don't want to feed her outside. She is the sweetest little snake on any day but feeding day, she just becomes a little monster that one day. I cannot sit in front of the tank on feeding day without her striking the glass, so I don't think I could possibly get her out and into another tub without there being bloodshed.

Anyone have any opinions or experiences on mixing two types of substrate together? Just curious.