Switching Substrates

So I've decided that once I use up all my aspen bedding, I may switch substrates. What substrates do you guys recommend and what are the pros and cons of it? I've been leaning towards using paper towels but I sort of feel that it might be too plain since my snake's been on actual bedding this whole time.

Depending on what aspen you use can make a big difference.
I used this store brand aspen for a while and didn't like it, then tried a type of shredded aspen called "Harlan Teklad aspen" and I love it.
It holds humidity well, looks great, and is way better at absorbing.

I'd look into that kinda aspen if you're not dead set on switching to another substrate completely.

I like cypress in the winter for the humidity, newspaper during the warmer weather.

I just switched from Aspen to Repti-Bark, and found that the repti-bark was a better (worse?) insulator against my UTH. I had to adjust things around to re-gain the belly heat and bring up my ambient temp.


I also had read that Repti-Bark would hold humidity better, but I'm also struggling with it in that regard as well. Just part of the fun of changing things is adapting your practices to get what works

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Trackstrong83

Depending on what aspen you use can make a big difference.
I used this store brand aspen for a while and didn't like it, then tried a type of shredded aspen called "Harlan Teklad aspen" and I love it.
It holds humidity well, looks great, and is way better at absorbing.

I'd look into that kinda aspen if you're not dead set on switching to another substrate completely.

---

Is that the type of Aspen bedding that is almost like ribbons of stuff? The Aspen bedding that I use now is more similar to straw.

I just switched to paper towels from cocofiber/cypress blend, and I LOVE it. It does look plain, but it's super easy to clean up after them. Odor hasn't been too much of an issue because I do a wipeout whenever their tubs put off any smell.

Sent from my warm hide using Tapatalk

Ah, so you keep your snake in a tub. Mine is kept in a tank, which is another reason on why I'm just wondering what substrate to use. It's a lot of ground to cover if I am to use paper towels.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ViperSRT3g

Ah, so you keep your snake in a tub. Mine is kept in a tank, which is another reason on why I'm just wondering what substrate to use. It's a lot of ground to cover if I am to use paper towels.

---

I'm actually on my way out to stock up on dollar store paper towels, haha. I used them briefly in my tanks before I went to tubs, and while it was simple, it did look kinda funky. The next best bet if you want to keep a nice display going would be that Harlan aspen, from what i hear it's very soft and easy to clean.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ViperSRT3g

Is that the type of Aspen bedding that is almost like ribbons of stuff? The Aspen bedding that I use now is more similar to straw.

---

This is what it looks like.
http://i1338.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6179c403.jpg

Very finely shredded and absorbs very well.

I use the eco earth bricks. They're much easier to store. When you put the water in and it expands it can be a pain because you have to wait for them to dry out a bit. They're great at holding humidity and absorption. Has anyone ever used sani-chips, heard that works well to

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk

I use EcoEarth by itself, it's the best thing I've used so far. I've used ReptiBark and paper towels before, but EcoEarth is the only one that's worked for me. Paper towels just don't do much for humidity, so I only use it for the first few months I have a new snake to check for mites and easy spot cleaning. It's about 10-13% air humidity in the house at any given time here right now, but I'm able to maintain a 65-70% humidity for my boa constrictor and 50-55% for my ball python. The garter's humidity isn't much above the room's humidity, but he just shed a perfect shed so he's doing good, too. The only bad thing is that it dries out quicker during the winter, so you may need to mix it with cypress mulch or sphagnum moss so it holds humidity longer. I'm thinking about doing that because it's drying out every 2-3 days. During the summer I can go a week or two without having to do anything for humidity. This is the only winter I've had problems, though, which is because the RHP and CHE in the boa's enclosure is working harder than it would normally. It's colder here than it was at my old place. I've never had a problem with the bedding molding, either, but that probably will depend on how wet you keep it. When I mix water in it, I pour just enough water directly into it to make it dark when I mix it up and no water strains out of it when I squeeze it. It does get dusty when it gets dry, but you can combat this by mixing it up when the top becomes dry and then mixing water into it when the humidity drops about 5% lower than what it should be. It can be difficult to just spot clean, but if you just run your hand through it you can find any urates and feces that may be buried as long as you don't shift things around too much. You might want to use a glove. :P

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ViperSRT3g

So I've decided that once I use up all my aspen bedding, I may switch substrates. What substrates do you guys recommend and what are the pros and cons of it? I've been leaning towards using paper towels but I sort of feel that it might be too plain since my snake's been on actual bedding this whole time.

---

I've been using that kraft indented paper lately. I liked the paper towels when I was using them. I like the indented paper a little better because it's wide enough for one sheet to cover it instead of having to overlay multiple rows of paper towels.

It's kind of plain, but the snakes seem to be happy on it and it's easy for me to clean.

I will say, I use tubs and live in FL so humidity isn't really an issue for me. If you're using a tank or live in a drier area, something else might work better for you for helping with humidity.

For the Eco-Earth and cypress mulch, do those things get stuck to food easily? It annoys me to offer food that gets covered in the aspen bedding, so I'm hoping things don't get too messy when eating.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ViperSRT3g

For the Eco-Earth and cypress mulch, do those things get stuck to food easily? It annoys me to offer food that gets covered in the aspen bedding, so I'm hoping things don't get too messy when eating.

---

Unfortunately it does, if you offer FT and it is offered while wet, it'll get stuck. I used to put down a paper plate before feeding, it doesn't help if the snake drags it around though.

Sent from my warm hide using Tapatalk

Damn haha, I guess I may have to use multiple substrates to keep my snake and I happy. I'm thinking of having paper towels lining most of his tank, and then repti-bark in the feeding area so that nothing gets stuck all over the food while he's eating. Both seem to be easy to take care of over the current aspen bedding.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ViperSRT3g

For the Eco-Earth and cypress mulch, do those things get stuck to food easily? It annoys me to offer food that gets covered in the aspen bedding, so I'm hoping things don't get too messy when eating.

---

It does if it's wet or they drag it around, but it's nothing to worry about if you have good husbandry and a water dish if they need to drink afterwards.

Funny timing on this thread, as I am in the process of switching mine off paper to aspen. I second the recommendation for the Harlan Teklad, I've been using it for a while for my ASFs, since it's lab-grade the quality is very consistent and you get a lot in the bag since it's compressed. I still have my big breeder girls on paper though since I bring the males to their tubs, imagine getting a sliver of aspen stuck to your hemipene! :O

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 200xth

I've been using that kraft indented paper lately. I liked the paper towels when I was using them. I like the indented paper a little better because it's wide enough for one sheet to cover it instead of having to overlay multiple rows of paper towels.

---

I was looking at that as an option instead of newspaper. Do you buy it locally or online from somewhere like ULine?

Oh that kraft indented paper stuff looks pretty good. If I'm imagining it correctly in my head, is it like a really thick paper towel texture?

Plantation soil (Ground coco husk) for me. Excellent humidity control, easy to clean, and all my snakes love it.

My go to choice for all my terrariums.