Everyones Favorite Substrate -

I'm personally started using Aspen, and I lightly mist it do to the fact that I don't want mold to build up. I'm thinking about getting some other substrate once I use up my Aspen bag.
I'm looking for some substrate that can give me a goold humidity level.
So what do you guys use?!

Paper Towels :) They clean up easy, are cheap, and dont look all that bad.

I have repti-bark in one cage and the green reptile carpet. So far the carpet is easiest to spot the poo and easy to clean but the repti-bark looks the best and is easier to keep the humidity up to specs.

Im using coconut husk ... great in holding humidity and looks good too. Some of the guys here recommend it.

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Originally Posted by led4urhead

Paper Towels :) They clean up easy, are cheap, and dont look all that bad.

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I used paper towels in my 10 gallon tank, but it a roll lasted me about a week a half, and the girlfriend kept wondering what happend to all the rolls :shock:

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Originally Posted by kraniumz

Im using coconut husk ... great in holding humidity and looks good too. Some of the guys here recommend it.

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I actually wanted to get Coconut Tusk before I bought the Aspen bedding, but I couldn't find it in any of my local pet stores.

CEDAR!!!!

er.

newspaper or paper towels.

i've always used repti bark. for some reason i don't like the look or the hastle of newspaper. i figured, if he goes to the bathroom, i will have to take EVERYTHING out, change the newspaper, put everything back in...and do that every time he goes. with the repti bark, i just grab a plastic bag and take the poo out...works great :)

My favorite substrate is my bed :D

Carpet for appearances, but paper for cleaning simplicity. It doesn't get easier than throwing it away every time.

I use aspen bedding. I have tried that Coconut husk but all it made was a mess and Jojo didnt like being on it he would crawl on his hides and water bowl and never touch the stuff. And when he did get on the ground he would move over his water bowl and it would all go in his water so i stopped using it. Some people have had success using it but i have not. I would use it for an amphibian or something like that but not for a snake.

I use paper towels or newspaper in Sophie's home and Aspen in Smitty's. However, we'll probably switch him to paper towels as well b/c he still hasn't eaten for us and we don't want to take him out to feed him. It's simple, cheap, and looks ok. I did the astro carpet for awhile, but it was too much of a PIA to clean, even w/a few extra pieces.

Repti bark is great because you can spot clean easily, it holds releases humidity well and doesn't mold. Also, my setup has a flat piece of corkbark that my bp has basically created a burrow underneath, by pushing the bark towards the sides and making a little spot for her to chill in. Its also a good substrate to rub on to aid in shedding. Nice natural look too.

I guess I'll get a giant bag of Repti-Bark for humidity reasons.

excellent choice :D

I use news paper ... Now some of you that are useing the more naturalistic substrates ... I allready saw one post where some one said they grab the feces with a plastic bag . what about the urates? I think alot of people dont realize how much liquid is involved in some bowel movements from their animals because they dont see it and it soaks in to the bark and starts growing a nice little bacteria factory
I am not saying the more naturalistic substrates are bad , just that you need to be sure to remove all of the soiled substrate as well which can be as much as 1/4 to1/2 of whats in the cage
BTW its not a bad idea to remove every thing in the cage and give it a good scrubbing and disinfection every week any way

ESU repti carpet...been using it for years, easy to clean and lasts a long time. Recently found a place that is selling it VERY cheap online, at places like petco its kinda pricey but this place has it for a few bucks. I should have my order soon, to see if its the same stuff or if its the same quality.

Bed-a-Beast: easy to spot clean, looks natural, great w/ humidity and you can feed on it.

I have used Cypress mulch for my snakes. I have found for humidity levels it works really well. It also gives you a visual cue: when it is dark, it is moist and when it is light brown it is dried out.

I have found it really easy for spot cleaning and use a cat litter scoop to remove the soiled spot. It is attractive in that it looks natural (if you like that sort of look) ; the only bad things I have read about it is in the book "Reptile Keeper's Guides - Ball Pythons" by R.D and Patricia Bartlett that they had experiences with the snake eating bits of it with the mouse and having the potential to cause mouth rot. I personally havn't had this happen, but anything is possible.

just my two cents. :)

Using bark now, but thinking about moving to newpaper. I usually throw it away, but I am better off putting it to good use in my cages.

I started with the coconut shell stuff, and really liked it, but I can't find it anymore. Any ideas?!

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Originally Posted by RobertCoombs

what about the urates? I think a lot of people dont realize how much liquid is involved in some bowel movements from their animals because they dont see it and it soaks in to the bark and starts growing a nice little bacteria factory

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Don't get me wrong, I agree that all soiled substrate should be removed. However, urine as far as I know is extremely sterile. The extremely high concentration of salts and acids makes it toxic for most living organisms so I kind of doubt substrate soaked in urine alone would harbor much bacteria. Feces however are FULL of bacteria, and I would take extra care that any substrate that becomes soaked with any liquid expelled with feces, urine or not, be removed and all surrounding substrate as well.

Sorry hhw, but urine IS sterile INSIDE the body, but the outside of the body isn't and bacteria can build up if it sits. That's why if you get a urine sample from an animal you need to put it in the fridge. It will slow the bacteria so they can't multiply so quickly. If you've ever seen urine under a microscope, boy howdy. The bacteria are just a swimmin'. Just passing through the urethra, urine can pick up bunches of bacteria. So even if the snake ONLY urinated, scoop out ALL of the soiled substrate, because it does harbor bacteria and will mold. I've seen pee mold in the fridge. Wasn't that fun to clean out... ;) Also, I don't doubt that Mr. Coombs knows his stuff since he's been around snakes for quite awhile. Yay bacteria factorys :) Well, at least that's what we used to say in Clinical Pathology. Yay Streptococcus. :-D Anyway, I hope that explained some things for ya.

depends.....if it is a display cage, aspen, reptibark, cocoanut, is awesome lookin'.....if not.news paper is great,cheap and simple.

http://www.creaturetravelers.com/

That is one source of the coconut husk bedding. I've been using it for just over a week, and so far I like it. My newest BP, Nippy, came to me in a 10 gallon enclosure on some old bark bedding. She had the remnants of an old shed still stuck to her, including what appeared to be a stuck eye-cap. When I bought her new enclosure last weekend, I lined it with the coconut husk and dumped some clean water down onto it to bring the humidity up a bit. While she also has a nice large water/soak dish in the new enclosure, I haven't seen her actually soaking in it yet, but she has gone through another shed and it looks as though this one went much better than her last one. That may be coincidence, but I think the higher humidity of the new substrate also helped a lot.

reptile carpet, its kinda like newspaper in a sense but looks SOO MUCH BETTER. I just put some in roxy's cage yesterday so she hasnt pooed or peed on it so i dont know how easy it is to clean but alot of people said its super easy. i would put it in the corns cage but she goes poo poo like every other day so that would be a real pain to clean it everyday.

it is very easy to clean. i just soak it in hot water/bleach mix in my bathtub for 20-30 minutes and then rinse it out really well. i keep a second clean piece on hand for when i have to clean the first one. which right now is just about everyday (silly nellie thinks there is a drought coming or something and just can't stop gulping down the water...) it dries super fast too so there is never a time when i am without. i do use paper towels from time to time too though, especially if i am cleaning a piece of the carpet and i can tell that nellie is gonna have to go again soon.