Coconut substrate opinions please

So about a year ago maybe a little more I switched substrate from different brands of coconut husk to paper towel. I was getting an insane amount of fungus gnats in my snake room. The snakes don't mind and I don't mind but they ended up in other areas of my house. The sinks and refrigerator. I tried pro coco and reptichip just whatever was available at the time. So I don't know if it was a specific brand that brought them or what.

Anyway now that the amount of animals in my collection is growing every year and I can't keep up with the paper as much as I'd like to I am going to switch back to a coconut husk.

Does anyone have a brand that they haven't had an issue with? Or do you have this issue and have a solution? Or am I doomed to gnats?

I have put down cups with dish soap and apple cider vinegar to catch them in the soap and drown them but that only slightly helped. Too paranoid to put any kind of fly strips anywhere near the snakes.

You could try adding springtails. I've had fungus gnats multiple times and springtails always fixed them. Just be sure to have a springtail culture so you can add the most springtails at once in the beginning (which I've found will prevent fungus gnats from breeding).
I've also seen the Katchy Indoor Insect Trap often used and I recently got one (and found it to be extremely useful).

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Originally Posted by sp0420

...Does anyone have a brand that they haven't had an issue with? Or do you have this issue and have a solution? Or am I doomed to gnats? ...

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Why not use those sticky fly traps that are just sticky stuff- nothing toxic. Read the fine print, I just did a quick search & found some (@ Walmart), but didn't read all the competing brands. Just one that's specifically for fruit flies & fungus gnats, indoor or outdoor use. I think it's not about the brand of substrate you use, but just being unlucky with pests waiting for your hospitality. ;) And some nice moist substrate...

I'm just paranoid to use anything sticky. I used masking tape for a long time to mark things like locks weights dates etc on tubs and learned the hard way snakes and sticky do not mix. Snakes fine but only took two seconds to catch a small tab of the tape and it was all over.

Cocoblox all day!!


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Originally Posted by sp0420

I'm just paranoid to use anything sticky. I used masking tape for a long time to mark things like locks weights dates etc on tubs and learned the hard way snakes and sticky do not mix. Snakes fine but only took two seconds to catch a small tab of the tape and it was all over.

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Oh no, you misunderstood me, NOT to use it IN the enclosure, but nearby, just outside. It never occurred to me that you'd think I meant to use it inside...sorry.

You can lure gnats away with a fruit peel or something, next to the sticky trap, OUTSIDE the enclosure, maybe next to the vent.

Or if you think they're coming from inside the bagged product, just open it ahead of time, like in the garage with the sticky trap above the open bag for a while.

I agree with you, :colbert: NO sticky stuff in any enclosure with the snakes, ever, lol.

Fake grass is what I have always used.

Easy to spot mess on, easy to clean and quick to change within the enclosures when spares are cut to size.

I have cleaned mine in the washing machine, but it can make bit of a mess of the machine so now opt for a shower head on the bath or even a pressure wash outside.

Inexpensive to replace when it eventually wears thin as well!

Cocoblox have worked very well for me. No fungus gnats, no wood mites. Very, very rarely get mold, and only if they make a huge mess from soaking and spilling tons of water and I didn't catch it fast enough to pull some of the wet chunks out to dry under better ventilation.

I do however get fungus gnats in my bedroom from my houseplants on occasion and apple cider vinegar with a drop of dawn in a jar seems to work pretty well.

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Originally Posted by Bleh

Fake grass is what I have always used.

Easy to spot mess on, easy to clean and quick to change within the enclosures when spares are cut to size.

I have cleaned mine in the washing machine, but it can make bit of a mess of the machine so now opt for a shower head on the bath or even a pressure wash outside.

Inexpensive to replace when it eventually wears thin as well!

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I use indoor-outdoor carpet for some snakes the same way- the kind without backing- sold in hardware/home improvement stores, usually sold by the foot, from big 12' wide rolls- not expensive, comes in nice colors, doesn't shed like "fake grass" does, & lasts pretty much forever without fading. Cuts to fit easily, as you said it's nice to have spares. Since it's re-usable, it's a very "green" option, & saves money, and doesn't need disposal- just washed. You might want to consider? I hand-wash mine in my laundry sink, after I scrape off the feces/urates into my flower garden (you could also use the bathtub, etc.) & a few shakes removes most of the rinse water- it can be re-used damp for added humidity. Snakes love having such good traction also.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

I use indoor-outdoor carpet for some snakes the same way- the kind without backing- sold in hardware/home improvement stores, usually sold by the foot, from big 12' wide rolls- not expensive, comes in nice colors, doesn't shed like "fake grass" does, & lasts pretty much forever without fading. Cuts to fit easily, as you said it's nice to have spares. Since it's re-usable, it's a very "green" option, & saves money, and doesn't need disposal- just washed. You might want to consider? I hand-wash mine in my laundry sink, after I scrape off the feces/urates into my flower garden (you could also use the bathtub, etc.) & a few shakes removes most of the rinse water- it can be re-used damp for added humidity. Snakes love having such good traction also.

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That's a great idea!

I use the vast majority of my cocoblox in the yard after it's had enough in the enclosure, the only part that really gets thrown out is the bits when spot cleaning. I wouldn't use them on food crops, but they work great for holding moisture into shrubs and whatnot. I'm sure with the right type of compost heap they could be used in the garden but I tend to be too forgetful to turn at the exact right time to get the perfect heat to kill everything and so I don't. I'm sure wild animals "go" in the garden but it's not going to be quite as concentrated as my substrate.

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Originally Posted by nikkubus

That's a great idea!

I use the vast majority of my cocoblox in the yard after it's had enough in the enclosure, the only part that really gets thrown out is the bits when spot cleaning. I wouldn't use them on food crops, but they work great for holding moisture into shrubs and whatnot. I'm sure with the right type of compost heap they could be used in the garden but I tend to be too forgetful to turn at the exact right time to get the perfect heat to kill everything and so I don't. I'm sure wild animals "go" in the garden but it's not going to be quite as concentrated as my substrate.

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Thanks. I've been using indoor-outdoor carpet for just some snakes for many years- the stuff never wears out, & doesn't fade even if you disinfect it with diluted bleach (-you just have to rinse a LOT & don't over-do it or you won't get the bleach fumes out).

And that's what I do too, with other substrate stuff that I use (moss or orchid bark)- just add it to plants in my yard. I grow organic tomatoes but I don't toss snake-poo where I garden for edibles- just as you said, for health reasons, it's not recommended to use anything like that (that's not completely composted already, or that comes from meat-eating animals, etc) just as a precaution.

I've had no luck with actual composting either, but I grow tomatoes in raised beds that I made "lasagna-garden" style: alternating layers of leaves + dirt + misc (veg/fruit scraps, egg shells, coffee grounds & tea). Essentially it's slow-composting that doesn't heat up or get turned. I also rescue earthworms after it rains & "invite" them in- they eat & break down the leaves too. Works pretty well, surprisingly. ;)

I like the fake turf idea. I'm probably going to try cocoblox that's the only brand I haven't tried yet. Also spring tales are an interesting idea to keep it under control. I know you didn't mean put fly strips in the tub but during cleaning/handling it would only take one second for them to touch that and that'd be it. I never thought using masking tape as a label would be an issue but man it happened so fast while putting a male back in his tub that I just don't want anything sticky in the snake room. Currently switching to a grease pencil to write on tubs and use magnets to write on and stick to the rack for names/hatch dates. By the way my mom used to take all my leftover coconut husk to use as ground cover for her plants and she loved it. Do you guys think that the fake turf would do a good enough job keeping the snakes off of their urine? When the bigger girls pee they really pee and that's the main reason for switching back. If I skip a day of spot cleaning I just don't want them sitting in urine. Currently have 25 extra tubs for my racks so I'm able to swap to a fresh tub and paper. But I'd like to spot for poop and just do a deep clean every couple weeks or once a month. Might go ahead and try that in a few tubs just to see and just swap for a clean tub and turf when needed.