Breaking Down............

Well a good Snake friend came out to Lost Wages (Las Vegas) for a visit. I promised I wouldn't spend the whole time talking about BP's, yeah right lol.
Well in our talks about all things snake, one thing hit my like a ton of bricks. He said that he thought keeping BP's on paper was really cruel. I keep all my BP's on white butchers paper, it's easy and fairly cheap( about 30 bucks for a roll that has lasted me way over a year) and it most of all keeps everything so clean and orderly. Well the way he explained it made alot of sense. It is softer and well I know I wouldn't want to lay on the hard floor all day and night lol. So I'm breaking down and switching over to Santichips because I like it better that just shreaded aspen. I will keep you all updated on how it goes. We all know how anal I am when it comes to the order in which my snake room is lol.

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Originally Posted by Royal Morphz

I know I wouldn't want to lay on the hard floor all day and night lol.

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Ahhhh, but you are not a snake! ;) We can't place human needs on an animal with different basics needs than ourselves or desires. :)

I'm sure that the snake does not care one whit about paper or looking for something softer to lay on.

However, there's nothing wrong with trying something new - as long as your snakes are well cared for! :D

Thanks Robin that is a good point. To all fairness to Tom he wasn't saying I was being cruel he just was saying he didn't like using paper. He gave me a valid enough argument that obviously sway my anal mind lol.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Ahhhh, but you are not a snake! ;) We can't place human needs on an animal with different basics needs than ourselves or desires. :)

I'm sure that the snake does not care one whit about paper or looking for something softer to lay on.

However, there's nothing wrong with trying something new - as long as your snakes are well cared for! :D

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I completely agree with Robin :) I've kept my snakes on Painter's paper (basically unprinted newspaper) and Aspen (what I keep them on now) and I've had no behavior changes between the two. In fact the only reason I do aspen is cause of humidity and it's easier to clean for me.

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Originally Posted by Royal Morphz

So I'm breaking down and switching over to Santichips because I like it better that just shredded aspen.

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What are Santichips??? I have never heard of this. Enlighten me please?

I have used aspen & newspaper (which I didn't care for). Now I use paper towels (which I'm not too thrilled with the look of), and would like to find something else. So, I need details. :D

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Originally Posted by STORMS

What are Santichips??? I have never heard of this. Enlighten me please?

I have used aspen & newspaper (which I didn't care for). Now I use paper towels (which I'm not too thrilled with the look of), and would like to find something else. So, I need details. :D

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Sanichips...

Chipped aspen.

I keep mine on reptibark which looks just like dirt. I figure since we pulled these guys out of their natural habitats and put them in tubs the least I can to is try to make their habitat as accurate as possible.

Thanks to the Lady(ohh) with all the answers ;)

Is it safe to assume, if I didn't care for shredded aspen - I probably won't much care for the chipped stuff?

Maybe it's time to give coco fiber a whirl... :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by zackw419

I keep mine on reptibark which looks just like dirt. I figure since we pulled these guys out of their natural habitats and put them in tubs the least I can to is try to make their habitat as accurate as possible.

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They don't know the difference. As long as they have food, water, accurate humidity, temperatures as well as a sense of being "safe" they're satisfied. Ball Pythons aren't like dogs or cats, they don't like to roll around in the dirt just cause :P

I like Paper..........I thought about switching, due to the noise, but I cant. I cant stand the mess of everything else. Its somuch easier to just get a new piece of paper than it is to spot clean a turd in the corner.

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Originally Posted by Patrick Long

I like Paper..........I thought about switching, due to the noise, but I cant. I cant stand the mess of everything else. Its somuch easier to just get a new piece of paper than it is to spot clean a turd in the corner.

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I agree, also I think that paper is great because it is easy to keep the enclosure clean and sanitary. IMO, spot cleaning can be unsanitary, because you may not clean the entire spot(s).

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Originally Posted by Patrick Long

I like Paper..........I thought about switching, due to the noise, but I cant. I cant stand the mess of everything else. Its somuch easier to just get a new piece of paper than it is to spot clean a turd in the corner.

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See Pat hit it on the nose. I'm not saying I'm the biggest neat freak but I like the ease of just grabbing another tub spray the tub with a bit of water (to stick the paper in place), put in a new sheet of paper, and and transfer snake and new hide and water bowl. No dust and no wood mites.

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Originally Posted by Royal Morphz

See Pat hit it on the nose. I'm not saying I'm the biggest neat freak but I like the ease of just grabbing another tub spray the tub with a bit of water (to stick the paper in place), put in a new sheet of paper, and and transfer snake and new hide and water bowl. No dust and no wood mites.

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That's exactly why I use paper - when they defectate - it's truly clean each time I change the "substrate". I never like spot cleaning and knowing that there was still dirty substrate until I did a full cleaning. I also didn't like all the aspen on my carpet either. ;)

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Originally Posted by rabernet

That's exactly why I use paper - when they defectate - it's truly clean each time I change the "substrate". I never like spot cleaning and knowing that there was still dirty substrate until I did a full cleaning. I also didn't like all the aspen on my carpet either. ;)

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Yes Robin, Liza didn't like the idea either although she leaves the snake room to me she still goes in on a daily basis and she is more of a neat freak than me

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Originally Posted by LadyOhh

Sanichips...

Chipped aspen.

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Heather is that the same substrate that is sometimes called "lab chips" I think???? I remember seeing something at a breeders that I think I remember being called "labratory" chips or something to that effect.

I currently use paper on the BP's, aspen or an aspen/cypress mulch combo for the colubrid and the boa's. While I like paper for it's easy of cleaning I don't care for how it has no real absorption so if the snake spills it's dish 2 seconds after I close the tub, it's sitting in a puddle basically. Paper just doesn't wick anything away temporarily. I've been searching for other options before I return to aspen most likely (snake room floor is hardwood and there's feeders in there, so I'm always sweeping anyways).

I don't know... even using human logic the change doesn't make sense...

would you rather sleep in a nice soft bed full of your own feces and urine? or would you rather sleep on a hard bed that you know is clean all the time?

I would never change from newspaper. I have tried every substrate under the sun, and NOTHING compares to newspaper.

hmmm...I would have to agree with the paper towel people here, cuz I use aspen and my snakes bury themselves down to the plastic of the tub anyway. I think as long as what there lying on is warm, clean, and they are fed regularly BP's are as happy as a pig in mud! I tried using paper towel, but my one snake is quite active sometimes and when I wake up every morning he re-decorates it. He spills the water dish, kicks up the papertowel everywhere lol. I just found that aspen stays clean as long as you spot clean daily, and I like the absorbancy. Does anyone else have issues with snakes redecorating when using papertowel/newspaper?

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Originally Posted by dsmalex97

hmmm...I would have to agree with the paper towel people here, cuz I use aspen and my snakes bury themselves down to the plastic of the tub anyway. I think as long as what there lying on is warm, clean, and they are fed regularly BP's are as happy as a pig in s***! I tried using paper towel, but my one snake is quite active sometimes and when I wake up every morning he re-decorates it. He spills the water dish, kicks up the papertowel everywhere lol. I just found that aspen stays clean as long as you spot clean daily, and I like the absorbancy. Does anyone else have issues with snakes redecorating when using papertowel/newspaper?

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I started out using paper towels (which i really liked) except that a few of mine would trash their nice clean tub minutes after a cleaning. Now i'm actually using a paper shredder and using shredded paper as a substrate. Seems to work well and can't really be rearanged as easily. Gets rid of all those old bills and stuff I would want shredded anyways. They can burrow around in it, and you can spot clean it as well. Has anyone else tried this??? hope this helps

the shredding of the papers is way to much work for too little return. It is a pain, and messy. Keep it simple!

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Heather is that the same substrate that is sometimes called "lab chips" I think???? I remember seeing something at a breeders that I think I remember being called "labratory" chips or something to that effect.

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Yes, ma'am.

I use this stuff, it absorbs wastes well and last me a loooong time. I used to use paper towels but between cleaning and substrate it was becoming quite costly. I was a little concerned when I first got it because it appeared a little rough but I didn't notice any irritation on the bellies of the snakes after a couple weeks so I've been using it since. I also want to try out the non-intented version to see which one is better.

http://www.uline.com/BL_1961/Indented-Kraft-Paper

I love it when you find one thing when you are looking for another. Like spraying the tub before you put the paper in! Thanks Tim.

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Originally Posted by Spaniard

I use this stuff, it absorbs wastes well and last me a loooong time. I used to use paper towels but between cleaning and substrate it was becoming quite costly. I was a little concerned when I first got it because it appeared a little rough but I didn't notice any irritation on the bellies of the snakes after a couple weeks so I've been using it since. I also want to try out the non-intented version to see which one is better.

http://www.uline.com/BL_1961/Indented-Kraft-Paper

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I used to use that for all of my snakes, and still do for my large female boa, but have since switched to newsprint. Newsprint is cheaper, quicker, and works well.

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Originally Posted by Wh00h0069

I used to use that for all of my snakes, and still do for my large female boa, but have since switched to newsprint. Newsprint is cheaper, quicker, and works well.

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Hey Eddie where do you get your unprinted newspaper?