Reptile Carpet

[Alex24]

I was thinking of switching my Ball Python's tank over to reptile carpet, I am currently using Cypress Mulch. What are you guys thoughts on this?

[Reptile King]

I am currently using indor/outdoor carpet from Lowe's and I am really happy with it. I am using the soft kind not the green shaggy stuff. It is cheap and a breeze to clean. It is soft to the touch so I figure it is soft for my ball python.

I got the minimum length (can't remember the exact dimensions) and there was enough to cut four pieces for her tank. In all it cost me around $5.

[SpiderBP]

I had tried the actual "reptile carpet" a few years ago...and I had a few pieces of it, so when one got dirty...I could replace it with a clean one, and wash the dirty one.

Here's the problem I ran into. (This was just with the actual "Reptile Carpet")
After washing it, and letting it dry. It shrunk. And when you try to stretch it...it loses it's nice shape and doesn't fit in the tank like it should. I thought that maybe I used to warm of water. So with my 3rd piece...I used colder water. Same problem.

If you go this way....I would do like Reptile King suggested, and get the indoor/outdoor from a hardware store, and NOT get the "Reptile Carpet" type stuff.

[Kaorte]

Reptile carpet will get nasty pretty quickly. Even if you clean it with bleach you will still be able to smell the poo and pee and all the bacteria growing along with it.

If I were you I would just stick to cypress mulch, aspen, newspaper, or my personal favorite: paper towels.

Re-usable substrate is just not a good idea in my book.

[adam_degel]

coconut husk (NOT the type you soak in water first)

[j_h_smith]

Reptile carpet or indoor/outdoor carpet will stink in a very short time. If you're looking for something cheap, go with newspaper. If you want something that will hide the smell a little use, aspen. Of course proper enclosure care is the key to odor control.

Good Luck!
Jim Smith