Why you like/dislike your substrate

I have been using paper towel as my substrate in my closed melamine rack. 41 qt tubs.

I switched when we had mites and stick with it. Now I have had my snakes all make some nice big messes the last few days. I don't mind the poop but the urine almost soaks the whole tub floor! It isn't really a big deal because cleanup is easy but I miss aspen for the absorbency.

For me these are the pros and cons

PROS

Paper towel:
•affordable (only 6 tubs)
•easy and fast to clean and I can spot urine, mites etc.
•the warm spot is easy for the snake to lay on without pushing substrate around too much
•doesn't cause dust and bits of shavings around the living room

Compressed Aspen shavings (used for bunnies):
•pretty affordable (way cheaper than reptile aspen)
•easy to spot clean
•absorbs urine! This is nice cause I just grab a bunch from around the area and quickly clean the floor below
•I like the smell
•I feel like the snakes like it better but I think this is just pet conditioning from pet stores
•looks nicer (not a real concern)

CONS

Paper Towel:
•urine soaks the whole floor (I work 12 hr shifts and that is a long time for them to be sitting in pee
•doesn't for tub I have to use two strips. No real big deal but still a con
•can't spot clean because I find the messes are always a little bigger or smeared more so I do a full clean
•doesn't hold humidity very well

Aspen
•a little dusty and easy for shavings to get on the floor
•a little more of a pain to put in tubs
•A touch more expensive than paper towel
•more waste when cleaning tubs
•makes my monthly clean a little longer

These are just some points that I have been thinking about. I may make the switch back to aspen.

My biggest turn off is the urine soaking the whole tub. I just hate the idea of the snake sitting in its own pee for potentially 12 hours.

I would love to hear why you like your substrate.


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Right now I am using paper towels for the bedding. Previously I was using aspen. I do agree with your pros and cons on the situation but I still think the paper towels beat out the aspen for the price and how easy it is for the clean up.

I'm using Aspen right now.

Pros:
Easy
Cheap
Looks nice and clean
The snakes will move it around and make little burrows. In the back of a rack, they can push all the Aspen up and kinda make their own hide. They seem to enjoy that.

Cons:
Aspen gets everywhere. (But easy to sweep up)
Molds very easy if it gets wet.

I'd agree with everything you said Whisper. The only thing I would change is that my tubs dont have humdity issues. The water bowls spill enough water when sliding the rack in that the humidity stays good with paper towels and the tubs are FB70s with no holes. However, i still do not have an issue with humidity in my V18 60 slot rack and all but one are on paper towels.

I think the biggest pro for paper towels is the time it takes to clean. I lucked out and found some paper towels from BJs (a bulk store on the east coast) that fit the FB 70s nicely.

I'm sure its not that big of a problem but I also prefer the paper towels due to their almost 100% inability to be injested or pulled into the cloaca.

I use newspaper during the summer (I can get yesterday's leftover papers free from the grocery store manager), and cypress during the winter to help with humidity since the house really dries out. Newspaper is easy - out with the old, in with the new. I do like the cypress for the younger snakes as they burrow into it and it's pretty absorbent, but it's $$$$$.

My humidity is almost good with paper towels and spilling the water bowls is what keeps it decent. Just have to spray during sheds. I have 10 holes in my tubs though for good air flow and I probably only needed 6-8. With aspen it seems to have just the right amount of humidity. I think I may try it this week again. It does get everywhere though.

When I had a cage I used cypress and it was awesome because it kept humidity even though I had a CHE as the heat source. It smells great too.

It's great to hear why others choose the substrates. Keep it comin!


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Well, I made the switch back to aspen. I must say I forgot how nice it was to spot clean. At least when they pee they aren't sitting in it because it is container and absorbed by the aspen. I do a full clean and disinfect every 3-4 weeks so the tubs never get gross. Also poops are easier to pick up. Seems to keep the smell down too. So I am much happier with the aspen. Especially because I am gone for so long on 12 hour shift work.

Sometimes the small things make a big difference. Substrate really isn't a big decision but it can have a big impact on how enjoyable it is to care for these awesome creatures.


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I've been back and forth with aspen and newspaper through the years. I always end up going back to aspen because I think the snakes feel more secure with something to burrow in. it is definitely easier to clean. and i think it keeps the "snake poo" smell down more. then I get tired of vacuuming up aspen...and go back to newspaper lol. I tried paper towels too but it gets expensive since I go through a lot.

I have gone back and forth between aspen and paper towels too. I finally switched back to aspen for the reasons previously listed but also my snakes would get the paper towels all bunched up on one end of the tub and would always poop off the paper towel. I do vacuum more with the aspen but with German shepherds in the house I vacuum all the time anyway.

I use Sani-chips, which are aspen, but not dusty.

Cons: I can't use them in the breeding tubs, because there's some risk of the chips getting lodged in the male's vent and causing Big Problems. So I'm back to newsprint for those, and it gets gross in there fast.

They're a bit expensive, and no one around here carries them. So I have to order from LLL Reptile, which makes them EVEN MORE expensive.

I use cypress in my tubs, and like others have said, the snakes seem to like it and it holds humidity very well. Doesn't mold and it really isn't that messy most of the time. If I'm short on cypress bedding, I will use paper towels and these seem to work pretty well too for me, BUT I find that whenever a snake does a poop or pee, I have to change the whole tub and can't just spot clean. It's great to absorb the liquid, but then it's all over the tub and smelly.
In my display cages (which I'm trying to get rid of) I use Eco-Earth. I LOVE this stuff and I think it holds humidity even better than the cypress, but when the snakes strike and miss the rat, they get a big mouthful of the stuff and they really hate it and struggle to spit it out for a minute. For some reason though, in my tubs, it never seems to dry out. In fact, it just seems to get more and more wet from the water dish spilling until it's sopping wet.
Still trying to work out the kinks here and there!

I'm currently using aspen. I really like it, it holds humidity pretty well, smells nice and it's super easy to spot clean. The only downfall is how messy it is, IMO. Well, how messy I am. I usually end up spilling it and leaving a trail through the house lol. On the bright side, it encourages me to vacuum more often :P

This was helpful, I just switched back to aspen, but I always spend so much on the reptile aspen because of how shredded it is, I'm always worried that the snakes will swallow the bigger pieces that you get from tractor supply.

I agree with all the pros n cons...however, for us, the paper towel pros seriously outweigh the pros for aspen. We have 22 snakes, all in a carpeted snake room. Paper towels are cheap, and a cinch to clean, esp since i clean tubs every day. We NEVER have humidity issues in our racks. We only have a few snakes that bunch them up, but it only takes a sec to replace them. Aspen is not as cost effective, and i dont like how quickly it molds. But the biggest turn off is all that vacuuming id have to do all over the house at least twice EVERY day...because aspen gets EVERYWHERE...

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Originally Posted by loonunit

I use Sani-chips, which are aspen, but not dusty.

Cons: I can't use them in the breeding tubs, because there's some risk of the chips getting lodged in the male's vent and causing Big Problems. So I'm back to newsprint for those, and it gets gross in there fast.

They're a bit expensive, and no one around here carries them. So I have to order from LLL Reptile, which makes them EVEN MORE expensive.

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Try looking up distributors of it. Most major cities have distributors of the stuff; lots of research labs, etc use sani chips. I found one local to me and the prices were dirt cheap. Get out your phone book and start giving some places a call.

I've tried everything: aspen shavings, aspen chips (sani chips), paper towels, news paper, etc etc.

I've recently settled on butcher paper as my favorite. I got a giant roll of it from amazon and can just tear off sheets as I need them. Super easy to clean, a massive roll doesn't take up much space, and I can use it for wrapping paper, craft paper when nephews visit, and whatever else around the house.

I'm rocking it from now on with my bps!

I use news paper because my house is very dry and spilling water or pouring water on it keeps my humidity just right. I use like 3-5 pages per 28qt and about 10 in the 41 qt's so urine doesnt't seem to get all over the tub, but still covers a lot of it. I wish aspen was more affordable and didn't mold, i'd use it more for sure. I tried cypress for a while and i'll have to say it was my favorite. humidity stayed perfect with weekly watering, easy spot clean, snakes loved it and were very calm, and it smells nice to me. Just did't like the cost or the possiblity of mites. so newsprint for me.

I can't believe how stingy people seem when it comes to there pets..paaper towels are ridiculous. Give them a bedding to feel at home and especially if your making this poor things live in tubs..plus if the price of aspen is to expensive,the maybe you shouldn't have pets,cause food and vet bills are even pricier.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NYHC4LIFE8899

I can't believe how stingy people seem when it comes to there pets..paaper towels are ridiculous. Give them a bedding to feel at home and especially if your making this poor things live in tubs..plus if the price of aspen is to expensive,the maybe you shouldn't have pets,cause food and vet bills are even pricier.

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It's not a matter of being stingy. It's a matter of finding the right bedding combination of what works for you and your animals. I'm not sure what you mean by "at home"... Balls can be kept quite well on paper towels or newspaper, with no issues eating, feeding or breeding. Aspen can be relatively expensive if you have a large number of animals to care for. Key word is relatively. As in, compared to a cheaper bedding option. IMO, this doesn't have bearing on if you can afford vet bills or food. In fact, if you save money on bedding, I would argue you'd have MORE money to put towards food and veterinary care. Just my .02

We are talking about suitable substrates for ball pythons. So price differences between these is part of the equation when all substrates being discussed are great choices. I have been through quite a few changes and no change in behaviour. The are all eating well acting the same. My reason for aspen was because of absorbency. I work long shifts and don't want the sitting in pee too long before I get home. For others paper substrates work better for them. The snakes are happy either way.

Cages vs racks/tubs is a subject best left for a separate thread.



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Using wood shavings of various types.

Tried indented kraft paper and it was hit or miss. It seemed many animals could not get "comfortable" on it. With larger colubrids that make a lot of waste, they would cruise through the puddles and get streaked with crap. It was a mess.

Dried pine (mallard creek mini micro flake) and Harlan Tekklad aspen is what I alternate between, depending on what the local feed store has in stock. I keep a shop vac in the snake house so the mess is negligible. When the snakes crap or pee, I vacuum up the spot and it's surrounds, clean it with F10sc and place back a scoop of new aspen/pine. Simpler than paper and the snakes - as a whole - seem to prefer it.

I can see paper being a huge pain for colubrids or sure.

For balls I can see why some prefer paper and why it is better for them. It's great to hear the why's for all the different (yet acceptable/correct) substrate choices.

Thanks again everyone for your participation.


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I use the reptizorb tub liners from superiorshippingsplies.com, and I really, really like them.

Pros
-Precut to fit tubs perfectly
-I can see exactly what their urates/feces look like (which was actually very helpful when Cornelia was having tummy troubles) and I know exactly how often they desposit them
-Super easy clean up, if there's a mess, roll up the liner, wipe tub with f10, put in new liner
-Strong enough not to fall apart no matter how wet they get
-Absorb a ton of liquid, so snakes aren't left sitting in a puddle, even when you slosh a bunch of water out of the bowl
-Since they fit the tubs perfectly, all the clean spares fit nicely in a stack in an empty tub

Cons
-They don't disguise odors at all, I always know when one of them has left me a present
-Since they suck up moisture so well, it makes bumping humidity hard, I always have to have the water bowls on top of the heat

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Whisperinmyhead

Why you like/dislike your substrate?

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"My" substrate is mostly carpet. It's soft on my feet,but it can stain.

Carpet must be nicer than my laminate floors. Stains come up easy but hard on the feet. Spot cleaning is a cinch. Substrate change can be quite costly.


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I use coconut fiber, holds moisture decently, easy to clean up (just scoop out the poo, I use a small aquarium fish net), looks nice, and fairly cheap, you can buy them in compressed bricks that you soak in water but I usually mix that with a bag of the dry stuff so it's not quite so wet.

I'm currently using newspaper, but thinking about to change to aspen or something else. I don't mind the cleaning and I do actually like newspaper, but the huge drawback is that the ink from the paper will attach to the snakes. Especially on whites snakes. I wish I could find someone to sell me unprinted paper, but the people I've talked to only have those enormous roles that weigh like 4 tons, lol. That would last a life time to say at least. :D

Butcher paper or packing paper sold anywhere they sell shipping supplies may be a good alternative if you really like your substrate just not the ink.


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I have been using paper towels (tried newspaper too, didn't like it at all), but seem to be going through them very fast due to one of the cons you mentioned (when they go, you have to change all of it, and sometimes use extra if there is a lot of liquid). This has made me consider getting one of the aspen/cypress substrates, but I have concerns about whether the dust will bother their breathing or mess with their digestive system if accidentally ingesting any of it while eating. I know when I was younger and sometimes still now, even a little bit of dust would bother my breathing, so if it is always in their face/by their nostrils, how much will that bother them? I am not concerned about extra work on my part, as long as the substrate I use is best for my BPs' health.

I'm fine with aspen. It takes a little more to keep up with humidity,but it's no big deal.

Currently using coconut bedding. The one they tell you not to use with leos. I like that the belly heat is distributed through the bedding very well because it's so compacted together and spot cleaning is a huge plus.

Have used paper towels and hate having to change out the whole tub.

So far so good

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Originally Posted by Frothy

I have been using paper towels (tried newspaper too, didn't like it at all), but seem to be going through them very fast due to one of the cons you mentioned (when they go, you have to change all of it, and sometimes use extra if there is a lot of liquid). This has made me consider getting one of the aspen/cypress substrates, but I have concerns about whether the dust will bother their breathing or mess with their digestive system if accidentally ingesting any of it while eating. I know when I was younger and sometimes still now, even a little bit of dust would bother my breathing, so if it is always in their face/by their nostrils, how much will that bother them? I am not concerned about extra work on my part, as long as the substrate I use is best for my BPs' health.

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Many people have used aspen in the hobby for ages. I have never heard of it causing respiratory issues. I think snakes would have been adapted to dust as they live in rodent holes and termite mounds in the case of balls. I no expert though.

Ingestion could be an issue but I hear it is rare to have impaction problems with ball pythons.

Others may chime in with more experience than I. I can say I have never seen an issue and I have used cypress and aspen mostly. Paper towels for only a short time.


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