Which is the best substrate for a BP?

Please feel free to add comments or backup why you feel one is better than the rest or what benefits one has........

I have used crushed walnut shells in the past and I HIGHLY don't recommend it. One it is so hard to keep a nice humidity up with it and in the end it can be quite dangerous in the end for you pet.

Not for snakes but I used this other bedding that looked just like mulch...I didn't care for it. But I do know other people that love the stuff.

I use Coconut husk "eco earth" and I really like it. Very good with keeping the humidity very good if you have a glass tank. (My opinion anyways) Plus it is very cheap. I can get 3 compressed bricks for $6 dollars.

Newspaper and kraft paper all the way. I do use aspen with the Hognose as he likes to think he's hiding :)

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

Newspaper and kraft paper all the way.

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ditto.

Newspaper with Aspen on top for me.

Guess I should have added newspaper in the poll its winning and ain't an option LOL! I totally forgot about it!

Newspaper for me as well. I tried that repti-sand with my first ball, and I'm amazed she didn't get impacted. She did end up with a prolapse due to dehydration, not sure how much the sand contributed to that.
Once I got her on newspaper, though, she pooped out sand for a looooong time. Evil stuff. :mad:

Newspaper for all my bp's!

reason...WAY easier to maintain!

:rockon:

Sand...*shivers*

I use this stuff called 'Equine Fresh' and I'm not really sure what it could be compared to exactly. It works very well, though! I don't like the R-Bark because I have heard too many stories of snakes trying to eat it, for some reason. ^.-

We use peat moss and grinded-to-dirt-form bark and it works excellent, here is a pic of Chester's tub and what the substrate looks like;

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y66...7/S3700032.jpg

Any relatively dry substrate that makes frequent, complete cleanings as simple as possible for the keeper is the best for a BP.

Over the last 25+ years I've kept ball pythons on every substrate you can imagine and they don't care ... keeping their enclosures dry and clean is the most important thing to consider as a primary step towards good ball python husbandry.

-adam

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Originally Posted by KittyJ

We use peat moss and grinded-to-dirt-form bark and it works excellent, here is a pic of Chester's tub and what the substrate looks like;

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y66...7/S3700032.jpg

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WOW!!! Nice reduced BP!! Are you in Washington state or DC?? I'll be there in the morning. Leave the snake at the front door at 9am and I'll .... uh, borrow him!! :D

We've been using Care Fresh bedding. It looks like huge flakes of snow. But it's white, very absorbent, hold humidity well, and is easy to spot clean. We like it! I just looks a little weird.

Thanks for the replies anymore? So Far newspaper seems to have it!

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Originally Posted by randomdaydream

Sand...*shivers*

I use this stuff called 'Equine Fresh' and I'm not really sure what it could be compared to exactly. It works very well, though! I don't like the R-Bark because I have heard too many stories of snakes trying to eat it, for some reason. ^.-

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Equine Fresh is a compressed pine pellet. Much like Woody Pet and some others. Very good for small animals as it absorbs the ammonia in urine and turns to sawdust so you know when it needs to be replaced.

For me its unprinted newspaper. Once you get past a few snakes its all about ease of cleaning.

kittyj, i noticed you have greenery in your tank. i want some to make the tank look better and create more places to hide. do you buy the plants and stuff, or do u just go rip them outto the garden. cheers.

I've used newspaper, mulch, carefresh, sani chips, and aspen over the last few years. Here's my thoughts, for what they're worth:


1. newspaper - Pros: cheapest, easiest to see if substrate needs cleaning, easy to replace, great to use if you have a mite problem because you can see the little buggers. Cons: it's ugly, doesn't hold humidity, the minute water is spilled or urine is released the paper must be changed - this can happen daily, sometimes the newsprint rubs off on the snake (not a health problem, just makes the snake dirty looking) and many times the snake gets under the paper (that's OK for hiding purposes) so you can't see him.

2. Mulch - Pros: relatively cheap at your local garden store, holds humidity very well, looks nice, and you may only need to change the part of the substrate that's dirty. Cons: hard to tell if substrate needs cleaning, may have bugs (not harmful to snakes that I've heard), heavy to lift large quantities, and when changing a large # of tubs you have big bags of "trash."

3. Carefresh - Pros: just the ticket if you're going for a different look (it's available in grey, white, pink, blue and purple), usually easy to see if substrate needs changing, only need to change the part of the substrate that's dirty. Cons: Very expensive and can sometimes be difficult to find in large quantities.

4. Sani chips - Pros: very absorbent, need only change the part of the substrate that's dirty, and holds humidity pretty well. Cons: very tiny pieces, pretty expensive but a little does go a long way, hard to find, gets all over the place (the pieces almost seem to float in the air) and hard to vacuum up.

5. Aspen - Pros: very absorbent, need only change the part of the substrate that's dirty, easy to see if substrate needs cleaning, snakes like to burrow in it, relatively inexpensive, easily available at any pet store, and holds humidity well. Cons: pieces stick to socks and towels and are very difficult to remove, some don't like the idea that some small pieces may be ingested with the prey (I've never had a problem with this), and the size of pieces and the "cut" vary widely.

Any body want to add to the pros and cons?

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Originally Posted by Alice

I've used newspaper, mulch, carefresh, sani chips, and aspen over the last few years. Here's my thoughts, for what they're worth:


1. newspaper - Pros: cheapest, easiest to see if substrate needs cleaning, easy to replace, great to use if you have a mite problem because you can see the little buggers. Cons: it's ugly, doesn't hold humidity, the minute water is spilled or urine is released the paper must be changed - this can happen daily, sometimes the newsprint rubs off on the snake (not a health problem, just makes the snake dirty looking) and many times the snake gets under the paper (that's OK for hiding purposes) so you can't see him.

2. Mulch - Pros: relatively cheap at your local garden store, holds humidity very well, looks nice, and you may only need to change the part of the substrate that's dirty. Cons: hard to tell if substrate needs cleaning, may have bugs (not harmful to snakes that I've heard), heavy to lift large quantities, and when changing a large # of tubs you have big bags of "trash."

3. Carefresh - Pros: just the ticket if you're going for a different look (it's available in grey, white, pink, blue and purple), usually easy to see if substrate needs changing, only need to change the part of the substrate that's dirty. Cons: Very expensive and can sometimes be difficult to find in large quantities.

4. Sani chips - Pros: very absorbent, need only change the part of the substrate that's dirty, and holds humidity pretty well. Cons: very tiny pieces, pretty expensive but a little does go a long way, hard to find, gets all over the place (the pieces almost seem to float in the air) and hard to vacuum up.

5. Aspen - Pros: very absorbent, need only change the part of the substrate that's dirty, easy to see if substrate needs cleaning, snakes like to burrow in it, relatively inexpensive, easily available at any pet store, and holds humidity well. Cons: pieces stick to socks and towels and are very difficult to remove, some don't like the idea that some small pieces may be ingested with the prey (I've never had a problem with this), and the size of pieces and the "cut" vary widely.

Any body want to add to the pros and cons?

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Great post!! :rockon:

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Originally Posted by blueapplepaste

Newspaper with Aspen on top for me.

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Ditto. It seems that my BP likes the aspen as cushion. Whenever he digs deep enough to reach the news paper, he goes to the cool side where the aspen is stacked. Until I pack up the warm side with re-dig-able aspen again, he will move back to the warm side and start digging again...

And no it's not because it's too hot, rawr. He just likes the cushion!!! :D

I use paper towelling (sp?) I can order in large rolls from my work , so quite lucky in that respect . Brill' to use .

I use Newspaper as well. It's free, steril, and easy to clean out with!

For my glass tank I use the blocks of coconut husk, but for temporary housing in a plastic tub (big mess with my apt so needed something easier to move her with) I've been using paper towels. Possibly thinking of using the tub until she gets bigger as its smaller and she might feel more "secure".

There is no 'best' substrate for a bp in my opinion. There are good and bad ones. All of the sand or repti-sands are terrible and anything dusty is dangerous.

Aspen is very effective and common amongst breeders and keepers alike. I have been using paper towels and aspen on top of newspaper for my boa.. in case of burrowing. My KSB gets a special desert reptile crushed walnut shell mix to burrow in.. it's not dusty and a lot thicker than sand.
When I get my rack in, I'm thinking about buying a bulk load of aspen and using that instead. I find it useful for spot cleaning and nicer on the animals (more natural almost).
I personally find it a bit easier to clean than newspaper or papertowels.. but thats just me.

I have tried SO many different substrates its pretty ridiculous :)

I have used....

Diamond Soft
Carefresh
Aspen * always come back to it*
Shredded Coconut
Coco Bark
Paper
and Another that i forget the name of, small paper balls, sort of like carefresh, but more like Diamond Soft.

Aspen is it. Its easy to clean, easy to dump and holds humidity well, but absorbs the best too. Ill keep trying new things but im betting anything, aspen is going to be the best to work with. :gj:

Because we have a viv and wanted the natural look we used repti-bark...until the unadvertised free mite special...then we switched to Aspen.

This subject has been beat to death. Try searching for answers first.

Newspaper in all my tubs;)

Here's an old thread about cell sorb. I saw it at Daytona last year,but I have not heard much about it since.

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ight=cell+sorb

none of the above. Newspaper is in my opinion the simplest and more importantly the best for the snake. It makes a truely clean enviroment possible....

Newspaper, its free and very easy to clean up. :cool:

I use Aspen and LOVE IT. Its veryyyy easy to clean and spot-cleaning is obviously just about as simple as it gets. I supose that if I didn't use Aspen though I would probably be using either newspaper/paper towel and thats probably the best choice for racks unless you would rather spot-clean more often than change the paper.

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ight=substrate

^ HUGE thread :gj:

you missed out good ol' newspaper in the poll! or are we talking naturalistic setups?

I'm new to keeping snakes but so far have used the green reptile carpet they sell in the pet store - any comments on this product.

I recently went to Lowes and bought some thin outdoor like carpeting - the same texture and thickness of the Reptile Carpet - will this be okay. I made sure there was no rubber backing of any kind.

Your thoughts.

Paper here. If I were to use anything else, it would be the coconut fiber. I'm allergic to aspen, so it's completely out of the question. The paper is easy to obtain, but the coconut fiber is always "in stock" here for fish food cultures, so I wouldn't have a problem using it.