Is This Substrate Safe To Use?????????

I just bought a bp 2 days ago and i have his setup in a aquarium and the guy at the pet shop told me its ok to use exo terra's jungle earth. It has a lot of wood chips and the bag doesn't say what kind of wood is being used. I know there are some woods out there that are poisonous. I was wondering if any one uses this substrate? thanks

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Originally Posted by vr-mark

I just bought a bp 2 days ago and i have his setup in a aquarium and the guy at the pet shop told me its ok to use exo terra's jungle earth. It has a lot of wood chips and the bag doesn't say what kind of wood is being used. I know there are some woods out there that are poisonous. I was wondering if any one uses this substrate? thanks

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It is fine to use...the only thing to stay away from is Cedar (which shouldn't be used for any animal even your dogs bed :) )

The only thing I would look out for is the amount of humidity that the jungle earth is putting off (it can be very moist at first) it should be around 50% - 60% (except in shed then 60-70%)

Its fine I was recommended the same stuff, but im using aspen now. Im sure you had really high humidity levels for the first few days after installing it unless you planned ahead with it or soaked it to get rid of the dirt. I just found aspen to be easier to use. Jungle earth is pretty humid at first but after a couple weeks it dries out and its just not very consistent. I like the consistency with aspen because its always the same.

Well I tried to research this product for you but all I'm getting is "100% natural substrate"....geeze! natural what! :mad:

i searched all over the net and it didn't say any thing about it..actually i have very low humidity its about 41 :( and i cant get it to got higher..i have the gauge in the middle of the tank and its about half way up from the substrate. i know what the problem is.i have a screen top and its all open on top how can i get the humidity higher? and my mom only wants screen on top.shes scared hes going to get out.

If you've got one of those dial gauge thingies (usually circular in shape) from the pet store they are next to useless to get a correct reading.

O your gauge is too high up from the substrate. It should be as close as possible to the surface so you can get a reading on what the snake is feeling. I personally place mine directly on the surface.

ok thanks.. im going to try and lower it down closer to the substrate and see what happens. im going to be buying digital thermo and humidity in the next couple weeks

is it normal that he stays in his hide from yesterday after noon till now..i think hes scared but i just want to make sure its ok?

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Originally Posted by vr-mark

is it normal that he stays in his hide from yesterday after noon till now..i think hes scared but i just want to make sure its ok?

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Yes it is normal...Balls are shy just leave him alone (completely - don't even touch him) for a week. Then you can try feeding him. You also may notice he gets more active at night when he feels safer.

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Originally Posted by lord jackel

the only thing to stay away from is Cedar

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and pine :)

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Originally Posted by jamesw

and pine :)

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There is no proof that pine is an issue. Lots of talk (that gets spread as truth) but nothing proven.;) Keepers have been using pine (the #1 bedding sold todate) for decades without any hard proof that it causes problems.

pine oil is baaad new bears, my friends dumerils boa died from it,i guess the oil gets into their digestive tract and causes major problems, the things you learn along the way

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Originally Posted by jeffjr464

pine oil is baaad new bears, my friends dumerils boa died from it,i guess the oil gets into their digestive tract and causes major problems, the things you learn along the way

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Did he have a necropsy done to prove it was the pine oil and not just a piece of substrate or something else?

I am not trying to push anyone on pine (I don't use it) it just seems there is a lot of mis-information taken as fact floating around about pine. There are alot of the my (insert animal) died (or got sick) and because it was on pine it is the pines fault. While at the same time another animal didn't die on something else. One of those assumption + assumption = fact things.

It's not misinformation, it IS fact that the oils in pine and cedar WILL cause respiratory tract damage.

If the pine shavings are kiln-dried, it removed a good portion of the oils, but they are still not the best thing to use when it comes to bedding(it STINKS when wet..).

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

It's not misinformation, it IS fact that the oils in pine and cedar WILL cause respiratory tract damage.

If the pine shavings are kiln-dried, it removed a good portion of the oils, but they are still not the best thing to use when it comes to bedding(it STINKS when wet..).

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Really then things have changed recently...can you provide a link to this proof? I am curious to read it - I know that cedar has been proven but EVERYTHING I have read is inconclusive about pine as the phenols are not the same or at the same strength).

Thanks