Bedding

Hey! I'm new here, I've had my ball python for about a year and a half now and I've been fed up with all the misinformation floating about the web. I was told very confidently by someone who was a supposed BP expert, that as long as I cleaned feces, urine and shed as soon as I saw it, I wouldn't have to clean the cage more than once a year -__- From what I could tell it always LOOKED clean but now I can see how very wrong I was as my python is suffering from some minor scale rot. OK getting to the point. I have a 75 gallon tank (I know not ideal, but my ball Lucy likes her ability to roam) so putting down all newspaper would make it an eyesore. I was wondering what bedding I should use other than newspaper and how I would know when it should be cleaned or replaced. I'm already aware to avoid pine and I think aspen. I just want to figure out what's best and safest for my ball while not relying on google where I find nonstop conflicting info. Thanks!


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What are you using now? And why not just clean it more often?

Aspen Sani Chips are nice to look at. I spot clean everyday unless it looks really bad then I clean right away, other than that I try to replace bedding at least once a week. There has been times I would miss a cleaning and catch it the next week.

Just wandering.... Where did you hear Aspen is not good?

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I have to agree with you about a lot of misinformation floating around the internet and even this forum. Keepers here use different substrates for different reasons. Some use newspaper or paper towels because they have a lot of animals or it's easier, some (like me) use coco husk because it hold humidity pretty well and others use things like Aspen or other substrate that they prefer for their own reasons.

With that said, I think most keepers will agree with me saying that besides spot cleaning, you should do a "deep clean" once a month. That means changing out ALL the bedding, disinfecting fake plants, hides and other extras that you might have in the terrarium. Also, after the bedding is taken out, you should disinfect the terrarium itself. This process will make it less likely for your BP to get scale rot and other disease.

Btw, the two things you shouldn't use is Pine and Cedar as it is toxic to snakes.

I use Orchid Bark. My wife and I spot check the cages in the morning and evening. After removing soiled bedding, I occasionally add new bark. But every 6 to eight weeks I discard everything and put in fresh. When I do a daily cleaning we thoroughly clean the localized area on the bottom of the cage to remove any urate or fecal matter that may be stuck. When it's time for a complete replacement I thoroughly clean the inside of the cages.

Ah! Cedar, I meant to say cedar not aspen. I was using aspen and it always looked very clean. Oh was I wrong. Did a deep clean today with the enclosure itself and all other extras in there. Took me a good two-three hours since it's such a large enclosure. I've also heard that bedding that holds humidity is prone to growing mold and possibly causing scale rot as well, any truth to any of that or is that all hogwash.


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Originally Posted by STROUSE90

Ah! Cedar, I meant to say cedar not aspen. I was using aspen and it always looked very clean. Oh was I wrong. Did a deep clean today with the enclosure itself and all other extras in there. Took me a good two-three hours since it's such a large enclosure. I've also heard that bedding that holds humidity is prone to growing mold and possibly causing scale rot as well, any truth to any of that or is that all hogwash. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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It depends on the humidity level and how wet you're keeping the substrate. If you're wetting your substrate to the point where it stays wet, then the answer is yes, that will cause a possibility of mold and scale rot. However, If you lightly mist the substrate and it has proper ventilation while keeping the humidity in your enclosure around 50-60%, then that's perfect. Does that make sense?

Makes perfect sense. Thanks!


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The only time I've had mold is with coconut, if you have a snake that likes to tip water dishes or bowls make sure to get rid of the wet stuff right away and you should be ok

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Originally Posted by STROUSE90

but my ball Lucy likes her ability to roam

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What you are basing this statement on?

I use paper in Steve's enclosure. Sometimes newspaper, generally those giant brown paper bags that you put leaf litter in. Can't spot clean as easily and you have to be more vigilant about things, but it's easier to deep clean and Steve doesn't manage to get some substrate in his mouth.
I believe we were using aspen up until Steve managed to get a few chips in his mouth while wrestling his dinner. He came out unharmed, but it certainly freaked the poor guy out. I don't know if it's a problem for other snakes or if mine is just klutzy, but for me it's much easier.

I use aspen bedding and in my warm hide I have a moss mat (artificial) which makes it very easy to clean if she defecates or urates on it.
I usually spot clean my tank because of the moss mat but I definitely clean it out completely once a month.

And im no expert but i disagree when people say to not have a big enclosure.
ok so parts of it may go unused but they dont have a limit in the wild to where they can go.
If your snakes happy let her be.

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Originally Posted by Slim

What you are basing this statement on?

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On the fact that she's over 3 feet and has always been pretty active. When I say she likes something of course I don't know, it's like someone saying their snake really likes their new log, chances are they don't even care. She's a big snake, I have a big enclosure. She eats normal, sheds normal, behaves great and has plenty of hiding spots.


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Regarding pine, Kiln Dried Pine is safe to use.


Excess roaming could be a sign of stress. General ball behavior is usually to hide.
They spend 90% of their time in the wild holed up in rodent burrows and termite mounds.
But if your snake is eating and shedding fine, I wouldn't worry too much...