Best substrate?

What do you guys think would be the best substrate for a juvie bp?

It's up to you. A lot of people use aspen and a lot of people use newspaper or kraft paper or a combination of both.

I really liked Desert Snow when I used it. Its main drawback was that it was expensive compared to the alternatives out there. I do remember another thread where someone called it something else and said they were buying in bulk, can't recall what thread but it was a picture thread. Its a white substrate that made spot cleaning very easy; you always knew when something was soiled and it clumped well.

Edit: Heres an old picture of my tank set up with the substrate.
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...o/100_0478.jpg

I use aspen and I like it. Being that Furio is in a tank though humidity was a little tricky to maintain at first.

the best substrate for a newbee owner is what ever strikes their fancy....

After a some time tho, most end up switching to newspaper or aspen. I believe newspaper is hands down the easiest option... and it is also FREE!!!!

I use paper i go to UHAUL get 180 pages of unprinted paper for 8$ lasts me a couple months very easy to clean ext. but its what you want to do. :gj:

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Originally Posted by Drew87

I use paper i go to UHAUL get 180 pages of unprinted paper for 8$ lasts me a couple months very easy to clean ext. but its what you want to do. :gj:

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Same thing I use. It has lasted me forever.

I think im going to go with paper for right now, and see how i like it i have a couple questions

1) How old should the paper(newspaper) be?

2) How do you keep it from moving?

3) What kinda papers do you guys use?

I use Kraft paper and Kara turned us on to this place a bit ago: http://www.packagingsupplies.com/kraft-paper.html. Excellent prices even with the shipping :gj:

can i use paper towels?

You bet!! :D

well paper towels IT IS!!

I use astro turff from the home depot. You can get 3 ft x 6ft for about $3.00. ( they have diff colors) I cut out several pieces that fit the bottom of the tank and when my Ball makes a mess I just roll out the old and roll in the new. Its extremely clean and easy. Looks great also.

wait the paper towls wont catch on fire will they?

If your UTH is controlled by a reliable thermostat then the paper will not catch fire. The temps would not get to a level that would be hot enough to start one.

I personally have found that the best type of substrate depends on your husbandry needs as well as what works for you. In a tank I really liked cypress, as well as coconut bark and reptibark. They kept humidity up as well as made the tank look pretty.

Now that I have tubs I am currently using aspen. But I did start out with newspaper and that worked well also. I just kind of like the look of aspen a bit better. Although i would like to try a desert snow type of substrate, maybe when I am out of aspen.

We have used both bark and apsen and like both. Recently, we bought a huge bag of exo-terra bark. I just wish I knew the free offer that came with it...lots and lots of free mites and a free (through the roof) humidity-booster. A few hours after putting the bark in the tank, Foster was in her water dish with hundreds (no joke!) of dead mites and the humidity was in the 90% neighborhood! This may have been an isolated problem with this exo-terra bark but I know I won't buy it again! And, before I forget, PAM works wonders and is worth every penny!

I have used newspaper, reptibark, cypress, aspen, and brown packing paper. I have one bp in a tank and one in a RBI cage which as far as humidity is concerned, is like a tall CB-30 tub.

These are my thoughts on each:

Newspaper: cheap, easy to clean but imo not so good in the tank as it doesn't add to the humidity. Also, you can't spot clean and will have to change substrate every week.(one of my snakes is a biter, so this was a problem.

Reptibark:Looks nice, doesn't usually stick to food items, adds to humidity. I really liked it for my tank but got too humid in rbi cage. Doesn't clump to poop that well and would recommend putting one sheet of newspaper underneath in case snake like to burrow.

Cypress: Kind of messy for my liking, shoots up humidity if you don't bake it first. try to find 3x milled cypress if you can. I only could find 2x milled which had some big pieces in it.

Aspen:This is really good if humidity is not really a problem. I have heard that this stuff can mold if you spray it too often. Worked great in RBI cage(I will be switching back to it). In tank not so good on its own but when mixed with repti-bark, it work out well.

Brown packing paper: I got a 30"x20' roll at staples for about $4. I think it looks better than newspaper and is a little more absorbant. Overall it has the same problems as newspaper though.

Recommendations:
If you rather spot clean every week go with aspen, repti-bark, or a mixture of the two. Just remember to put something underneath it.

If you are a neat freak and feel the need to do a full tank cleaning every weak go with newspaper or the brown packing paper.

I just switched to paper towels and really like it. But I can only use paper towels in the summer.

During the winter i use repti-bark and this coconut stuff (unsure of name). I use this because in the winter it is very hard to keep the humidity up.

Both seem to have its advantages. But I prefer the paper towel.. im a bit of a neat freak lol .. and i find it easier to clean their cages.

After reading this I think I've decided to stick with cypress for humidity reasons. But can you buy the cypress from a garden store? or does it need to be special pet stuff? I've also read somewhere about baking it to get rid of mites and whatever else is in there. How long and at what temp are you supposed to do that? Does baking it mess with its effect on humidity?

I use care fresh, you can find it in the rodent bedding section at pet stores... I buy the huge bags, and I wait for them to go on sale, I have bought them for $15 for the huge bag before... It holds humidity well, you can spot clean.

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Originally Posted by TanyaL

We have used both bark and apsen and like both. Recently, we bought a huge bag of exo-terra bark. I just wish I knew the free offer that came with it...lots and lots of free mites and a free (through the roof) humidity-booster. A few hours after putting the bark in the tank, Foster was in her water dish with hundreds (no joke!) of dead mites and the humidity was in the 90% neighborhood! This may have been an isolated problem with this exo-terra bark but I know I won't buy it again! And, before I forget, PAM works wonders and is worth every penny!

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I got mites too .. and trying to find the source I was stumped. I used the barck for about a week before switching to aspen, and a couple weeks after he started sitting in his water bowl. I don't know where he got them, but I was super pissed and sad. I was and still am A new BP owner so I was scrambling as to what I had to do to get rid of them .. it sucked so bad.

Maybe the bark? Maybe the Vet? MAYBE ME!??!?! Whatever .. they are gone now *crosses fingers*

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Drew87

I use paper i go to UHAUL get 180 pages of unprinted paper for 8$ lasts me a couple months very easy to clean ext. but its what you want to do. :gj:

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What do you mean you go to UHAUL? The moving company? Sorry if thats a dumb question.