Anybody use Diamond Soft?

Someone was selling Diamond Soft at the Taylor MI show and it looked pretty good. I just wanted to get a second opinion from people who use it it. It is definitely pleasing to the eye.

Never heard of it but I found this:

http://www.teklad.com/bedding/diamond.asp

Personally I'd rather go with one of the standards paper towels, newspaper/unprinted newspaper, cypress, aspen, etc. Over something new, but that's because I'd rather not see anything bad happen to my animals and would rather not experiment. However the substrate does look good, but as usual digestion is a concern.

It's also been bleached.

I don't use it but I wish I did...

I know Ben Renick uses it, or at least his snakes are on it in photos I've seen.

Brad Boa uses it. It looks nice, and I would probably use it had newspaper not be a price I like so much... free.

Diamond Soft isn't really new. It's produced by Harlan, one of the biggest suppliers of lab animal supplies. If Harlan says it's safe, then it's pretty safe to assume that it is. ;) The main reason you don't see Harlan products used more is because they generally don't sell to the public. I know when Connie got in contact with them about trying to buy some of their products they quoted us a minimum order of $1000. I would personally LOVE to get my hands on some diamond soft, although the times that I've been to the Taylor show I never noticed it. If this is something that is going to be regularly offered then I might just have to make the trip down there next month. Do you remember who was selling it?

I don't, but would like too. If I only had a few snakes, then I probably would.

Harlan is even getting stricter, from the guy I get my shredded aspen from he says they are making him buy an entire truck load of the stuff now instead of a few pallets.

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Originally Posted by m00kfu

I would personally LOVE to get my hands on some diamond soft, although the times that I've been to the Taylor show I never noticed it. If this is something that is going to be regularly offered then I might just have to make the trip down there next month. Do you remember who was selling it?

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Denise from Hooks Feeder Farm was selling it. I get my monthly supply of frozen rats from her and she is great to deal with. Their number is 419-265-5603. They are from Ohio, so they probably attend the cleveland and ohio shows. Saturday was the first time I have seen them selling diamond soft. It was $20 for a 20lb bag. With them it has been my experience that if you know you want something from them, call them a couple days in advance and they will have your order waiting for you. because they drive up from ohio, they tend to only load their truck with what they think they are going to sell. I love that she individually vacuum seals her rats, and they are always so clean :).

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Originally Posted by RKO

Brad Boa uses it. It looks nice, and I would probably use it had newspaper not be a price I like so much... free.

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I will ask Brad about it. I don't use newspaper because I don't have a newspaper subscription and it just looks terrible.

Denise is great to work with and she always seams to have product available...Call her to order ahead of the next show and try a bag of Diamond soft..I liked it but it is just too expensive for me...Shoot Brad Boa a email he uses it exclusively...and has for some time now...I know some breeders that mix it with aspen as well.:gj:

Kevin Stoltz

www.kmsreptiles.com

What is Diamond Soft, and what does it look like??? I've never heard of it.

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Originally Posted by 4theSNAKElady

What is Diamond Soft, and what does it look like??? I've never heard of it.

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http://www.teklad.com/bedding/diamond.asp

Man, that stuff is cool! It kinda looks like T-Rex's Desert Snow bedding. That's becoming even harder and harder to find.

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Originally Posted by 4theSNAKElady

Man, that stuff is cool! It kinda looks like T-Rex's Desert Snow bedding. That's becoming even harder and harder to find.

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I almost bought a bag of Desert Snow when I first got my BP but it was twice the cost of aspen. Looks quite similar as diamond-soft, maybe not as fine of particles, but same type of bleached pulp product. It would be very helpful for spot cleaning because it is so white. Yellow urine can be hard to find on the yellow/tan aspen.

www.reptilesupply.com still has the desert snow substrate. I don't know if it's worth it to pay for the cost plus shipping though.

Champ, I only buy it for my white snakes....:D Everybody else just gets plain ol' newpaper. And yes, it is very expensive!!! But aren't white snakes worth it? :P

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Originally Posted by 4theSNAKElady

Champ, I only buy it for my white snakes....:D Everybody else just gets plain ol' newpaper. And yes, it is very expensive!!! But aren't white snakes worth it? :P

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Aahhhh, so you're a substrate racist... :D

I can see how that would look really good though

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Originally Posted by 4theSNAKElady

Champ, I only buy it for my white snakes....:D Everybody else just gets plain ol' newpaper. And yes, it is very expensive!!! But aren't white snakes worth it? :P

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I was actually thinking of using it for my black snake. ;)

Its very much like desert snow. Its great for spot cleaning because the area that needs to be removed jumps out at you. I stopped using desert snow because it was too expensive, now I just use craft paper.

Can anyone comment on the dust it contains/produces? Is is completely dust-free? Or a little dust? A lot?

Not much dust, it does get packed down a bit though so you need to fluff it up every now and then to make sure you're not blocking your heat transfer.

Diamond soft was produce as a rodent bedding by Harlan. It's virtually dust free and highly absorbant to meet the needs of lab rodents.

WHat about the carefresh ultra? I've tried that too. It's all white, soft fluffy bedding. Not as expensive as Desert Snow, but I don't like it nearly as much.

Carefresh is extremely dusty, and from what I've heard, gets extra nasty when wet and molds in no time.

It does require frequent cleaning, and does produce some dust. However, for the white snakes I like to keep on a white bedding. So, for me it's worth the extra work even if it is a pain.