Nice Substrate vs Cleanup

I've always used the rolls of brown paper for substrate in my BPs pvc enclosure because humidity has always been high. While I realize this isn't the most attractive substrate, it makes cleanup a breeze. Lately I've been salivating at all these creatively designed enclosures w/ nice substrate, vegetation, rocks, limbs, etc... For those that have these, are they a pain to keep clean?

For instance today when I was leaving for work, I noticed my humidity was at 99% so I knew something was up. I opened up the enclosure and found a huge dump (along w/ a foul odor) which I was able to quickly remove and get on my way. If I had some nice substrate, I would imagine it would be way more time intensive plus I'm not sure if I would be able to completely get rid of the smell like I can w/ the paper substrate.

What's everyone's thoughts?

Actually I found the opposite. I was using the paper and the problem was the poop and P would go everywhere and soak the paper. using thick coco substrate or mulch, the waste and odor gets absorbed, and you just have to spot clean and be careful not to miss anything. I switch back to Coco fiber and I found the paper to be more nasty and less humidity and odor control.
Also the coco fiber encourages bio activity and composting of the waste.


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Just bake the fiber on very low heat to get the moisture down, if you are worried about high humidity


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by ckuhn003

I've always used the rolls of brown paper for substrate in my BPs pvc enclosure because humidity has always been high. While I realize this isn't the most attractive substrate, it makes cleanup a breeze. Lately I've been salivating at all these creatively designed enclosures w/ nice substrate, vegetation, rocks, limbs, etc... For those that have these, are they a pain to keep clean?

For instance today when I was leaving for work, I noticed my humidity was at 99% so I knew something was up. I opened up the enclosure and found a huge dump (along w/ a foul odor) which I was able to quickly remove and get on my way. If I had some nice substrate, I would imagine it would be way more time intensive plus I'm not sure if I would be able to completely get rid of the smell like I can w/ the paper substrate.

What's everyone's thoughts?

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What type of tank are you using and what size is it? 99% is crazy high, I would think. What is it normally? Are sure that's an accurate reading (not doubting you just having trouble with that number unless your BP peed on the probe).

I use paper substrate and usually have the opposite problem; keeping humidity up. In the winter I put two large bowls in my BP's and BCI's enclosures (6X2X1 boaphile tanks) to ensure humidity stays high.

I am not trying to give you a hard time at all. I just want to help figure that out.

If I had one tank, I might do something crazy creative and a display tank. However, I have 5 tanks to maintain, and that sounds like a lot more work. I also am immune suppressed (I had a kidney transplant) and so the cleaner the better.

Interested to hear your response ckuhn003. Maybe I should be doing something different too?

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Originally Posted by dakski

What type of tank are you using and what size is it? 99% is crazy high, I would think. What is it normally? Are sure that's an accurate reading (not doubting you just having trouble with that number unless your BP peed on the probe).

I use paper substrate and usually have the opposite problem; keeping humidity up. In the winter I put two large bowls in my BP's and BCI's enclosures (6X2X1 boaphile tanks) to ensure humidity stays high.

I am not trying to give you a hard time at all. I just want to help figure that out.

If I had one tank, I might do something crazy creative and a display tank. However, I have 5 tanks to maintain, and that sounds like a lot more work. I also am immune suppressed (I had a kidney transplant) and so the cleaner the better.

Interested to hear your response ckuhn003. Maybe I should be doing something different too?

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I have a PVC enclosure that I purchased at the local Repticon and an AP T-10 on the way. Usually the humidity is anywhere between 65-85% but I've noticed when he goes to the bathroom or splashes about in his water bowl, the hygrometer reading will peak at 99%. When I 1st setup my enclosure, I was using ReptiChip and I made the mistake of putting in what I thought was damp substrate and my humidity was constantly pegged at 99%. That's the main reason I switched to paper substrate. I also purchased a smaller water bowl which definitely helped to reduce the humidity.

Honestly, when it came to smell and mess I actually found paper to be the worst offender.

The snakes have quite a bit of liquid pee and it would soak all over the paper and sometimes the snake sat on that soaked paper. And the smell..ugh. While I check several times the day, sometimes they eliminate at night or when I'm not home. By the time I got to it I could smell it throughout the room. Since I do not have a dedicated "reptile room" this was a problem.

Esp. since it takes a while for that odor to dissipate after cleaning. (Even after wiping down the snake that sat on the soaked paper)

Aspen wasn't much better. While it soaked up more of the mess, it didn't do great with it, and it still smelled pretty bad. Plus I had to remove a LOT of the aspen to get the enclosure truly clean.

Right now I use Reptile Prime, a sort of coco substrate (not chunky like ReptiChip nor dusty or superfine). It actually works great! First of all, there is no more smell in the room. I have to open the enclosure to find a mess by sight, not by smell...lol. Not a problem for me, because I check daily. It also soaks up the mess very well, so it stays contained in a small area. What I do is move the clean substrate away from the soiled area, making sure all soiled stuff stays in one spot. I then scoop up the dirty substrate with paper towels. Then I wipe that area with a paper towel that I sprayed some F10 on, push the clean substrate back over the spot, done. If need be, add more clean substrate to the enclosure. Quick and easy.

I'm not going trough the substrate very fast, like I did with Aspen. I have had no need to do an entire "dump and clean" because its easy to clean thoroughly without contaminating the clean substrate. Always smells good and looks good. I'm sold on that stuff.

Orchid bark ( is it ReptiBark in the states ?).... everytime for me .

Looks lovely and natural , it's dark colour makes 99% of snakes look great , easy to spot-clean , holds as much or as little humidity / moisture as you need ..



Second choice would be ANYTHING other than that dreadful ASPEN stuff !!

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Orchid bark ( is it ReptiBark in the states ?).... everytime for me .

Looks lovely and natural , it's dark colour makes 99% of snakes look great , easy to spot-clean , holds as much or as little humidity / moisture as you need ..



Second choice would be ANYTHING other than that dreadful ASPEN stuff !!

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Question for you...

I have never used Orchid Bark but I've heard that it can "dis color" light/white snakes?? I know you have many pretty light colored snakes, so have you ever had such a problem ??
Orichid bark definitely looks beautiful!

From what I have personally found, in PVC enclosures ANYTHING other than paper or aspen will leave you with way too high of humidity levels (but I guess it depends on what your humidity level is to start with in the room). Aspen looks great but it has a tendency to make huge messes when you remove your snake especially.

When I used bark or aspen I always found myself scooping out 1/4 of the substrate that was soaked in pee/poo anyways and replacing it with new substrate all the time. My $0.02 is that I love indented kraft paper and will never go back to other substrates but it all depends on your own factors. :gj:

A have a PVC cage but still need to spray to maintain humidity using Reptile Prime (Northeast U.S).

I spot clean using sandwich size zip locks. I turn it inside-out and use it like a glove to collect soiled areas. Then I pull the mess through it so it is no longer inside-out, zip lock it up and toss in the garbage = EZ. I'm only doing a quarterly cage breakdown, disinfectant, and substrate replacement.

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Originally Posted by zina10

Question for you...

I have never used Orchid Bark but I've heard that it can "dis color" light/white snakes?? I know you have many pretty light colored snakes, so have you ever had such a problem ??
Orichid bark definitely looks beautiful!

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Na . It never discolours snakes ..

I sieve out any dust before using ..

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...64fc5800ac.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...16956b526e.jpg


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So I decided to ditch the brown paper substrate and use some old repti chip that I had stored in a large container. It was bone dry when I put it in the cage. I noticed my humidity jumped about 10% points higher to the mid 80s (one of the reasons I abandoned this substrate months ago). I added a second Accurite unit to measure the humidity and it's reading in the low 70s.

I've never really gotten a good answer on here about high humidity and maybe it's that nobody really knows. Bottom line, is there is no visible moisture or condensation in the enclosure and it's been higher then most people recommend since last year when I got my BP. I don't think it's an issue so I'm just putting it out there in case it is in fact a problem.

Also, by changing substrate, has anyone noticed any different reactions in their BPs behavior? I've heard changes in house keeping can impact feedings ,etc...

Ive had (temporarily) humidity in the 90%s for days With no issues. As long as the snake isnt physically wet, i think high humid air is good for ball pythons.
I aim for 55-70%. I would rather have high humidity than low. I only worry if the enclosure floor or the walls are literally wet from condensation or water bowl spills.

Also, I’ve switched substrate multiple times and the pythons don’t seem to care at all. My snakes are pretty “chill dudes” as long as the the temperatures are perfect. That is the one thing that they get pissed about, (temps being off). so ive made sure to perfectly tune my temps.

I also use newspaper material as substrate, but have recently been thinking about switching over to the coco fiber. I've heard from a seasoned snake keeper that the "best" way to go about using coco fiber/nice substrate is to "spot clean" when needed, and just remove affected substrate with waste on it and from the tank. Then, once a month, remove all of the substrate and throw it out, then put in new substrate. Personally, I think that this sounds easier to do.

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Originally Posted by Godzilla78

Ive had (temporarily) humidity in the 90%s for days With no issues. As long as the snake isnt physically wet, i think high humid air is good for ball pythons.
I aim for 55-70%. I would rather have high humidity than low. I only worry if the enclosure floor or the walls are literally wet from condensation or water bowl spills.

Also, I’ve switched substrate multiple times and the pythons don’t seem to care at all. My snakes are pretty “chill dudes” as long as the the temperatures are perfect. That is the one thing that they get pissed about, (temps being off). so ive made sure to perfectly tune my temps.

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I agree with you on this. The floors / walls have only been wet once and that's when the 1st time I put in the ReptiChip after spraying it down to break it apart (newbie mistake).

I noticed my BP was in his hot side hide tonight which I don't witness a lot that's why I wondered if it had something to do /w the substrate change.

How long have BP owners been using Reptiprime?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zina10

Honestly, when it came to smell and mess I actually found paper to be the worst offender.

The snakes have quite a bit of liquid pee and it would soak all over the paper and sometimes the snake sat on that soaked paper. And the smell..ugh. While I check several times the day, sometimes they eliminate at night or when I'm not home. By the time I got to it I could smell it throughout the room. Since I do not have a dedicated "reptile room" this was a problem.

Esp. since it takes a while for that odor to dissipate after cleaning. (Even after wiping down the snake that sat on the soaked paper)

Aspen wasn't much better. While it soaked up more of the mess, it didn't do great with it, and it still smelled pretty bad. Plus I had to remove a LOT of the aspen to get the enclosure truly clean.

Right now I use Reptile Prime, a sort of coco substrate (not chunky like ReptiChip nor dusty or superfine). It actually works great! First of all, there is no more smell in the room. I have to open the enclosure to find a mess by sight, not by smell...lol. Not a problem for me, because I check daily. It also soaks up the mess very well, so it stays contained in a small area. What I do is move the clean substrate away from the soiled area, making sure all soiled stuff stays in one spot. I then scoop up the dirty substrate with paper towels. Then I wipe that area with a paper towel that I sprayed some F10 on, push the clean substrate back over the spot, done. If need be, add more clean substrate to the enclosure. Quick and easy.

I'm not going trough the substrate very fast, like I did with Aspen. I have had no need to do an entire "dump and clean" because its easy to clean thoroughly without contaminating the clean substrate. Always smells good and looks good. I'm sold on that stuff.

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You detect no odor when using Reptiprime? I'm a long time Aspen user. Any cons to using Reptiprime or wish something was better about it? I'm debating on switching.

What about feeding on the reptile prime?? Is there any issues with that as far as impactions??

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Originally Posted by viper69

How long have BP owners been using Reptiprime?

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i have been using it for a year. I started when it was called herptopia and still on my original bag a year later. I love reptile prime.

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Originally Posted by L.West

What about feeding on the reptile prime?? Is there any issues with that as far as impactions??

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Never had an issue with it. My rats are mostly dry.

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Originally Posted by Sunnieskys

i have been using it for a year. I started when it was called herptopia and still on my original bag a year later. I love reptile prime.

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How’s the odor vs aspen? Aspen does an Ok job absorbing some odor, not great though.

Is it hard to notice when the snakes pee??

I smell pee with aspen. With reptile prime I smell absolutely nothing.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sunnieskys

I smell pee with aspen. With reptile prime I smell absolutely nothing.

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I’m sorry - I meant when they pee is it hard to notice WHERE they peed?

With Aspen it isn’t too hard for me, though you do have to clean around the area and end up removing some unsoiled aspen too.

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Originally Posted by viper69

I’m sorry - I meant when they pee is it hard to notice WHERE they peed?

With Aspen it isn’t too hard for me, though you do have to clean around the area and end up removing some unsoiled aspen too.

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You can see it. It is darker than the surrounding substrate.

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