Zoo Med Repti Bark: Yay or nay?

[missmary]

I'm 75% finished with my oak enclosure for my cali king and bp (housed in two separate but stackable units) and am trying to decide what substrate to use. I've been using newspaper in their cages up until now, but after putting so much effort into their new custom display cage, I want something a little more aesthetically pleasing.

I was thinking about using Zoo Med Repti Bark. What have been your experiences with it?

Also, would it be advisable to use a substrate such as Repti Bark with my king snake? I know he needs a lower humidity than my bp and wanted to know just how much Repti Bark affects humidity. What would be some other good dark colored substrate alternatives for the king snake (coconut husk, Eco Earth, etc)? I do not find aspen to be all that pretty to look at (the lightness of it clashes horribly with the red mahogany color of their enclosure) and am hoping there's something else I can safely use

[jbean7916]

I used to use Repti Bark for my bp but quickly switched to EcoEarth for the humidity. Repti Bark IMO doesn't hold humidity well and is harder to clean up than the Eco Earth.

[musicalKeyes]

I'd get something nice and loose for your king. I've got my CalKing in a dirt mixture I bought that came in a bag at a reptile store nearby. The stuff in the blocks you soak would work too. They looooove digging, and Samson (my guy) makes full use of the five inches in his cage. BPs would probably be alright on it too, although I've got mine on aspen.

[missmary]

I'd get something nice and loose for your king. I've got my CalKing in a dirt mixture I bought that came in a bag at a reptile store nearby. The stuff in the blocks you soak would work too. They looooove digging, and Samson (my guy) makes full use of the five inches in his cage. BPs would probably be alright on it too, although I've got mine on aspen.

Do you mean Eco Earth? What is your humidity like with it?

Sorry for all of the humidity concerns, but the enclosures I will be using the substrate in are essentially 3/4" oak plywood boxes with a strip of pegboard along the back for ventilation. I am currently keeping my king snake in a glass terrarium with a screen lid which keeps his humidity between 40%-50% and am hoping to maintain similar levels in his new enclosure. High humidity levels would be bad for my little Philbert (my king)

[mrmertz]

The ongoing substrate question!

Okay, for what it is worth - very early on we used straight Repti-Bark, but we quickly found out (as already mentioned) that it's not very adept at holding any moisture at all. We then switched to an Eco-Earth/Repti-Bark combo, being a 50/50 mix. Living in the arid desert is no big deal for our AZ Kingsnake, but for the other guys from the tropics it is. With the "earth" mixed in we had to maintain a towel nearby since they would drag the dirt out with them on their bellies and we seemed to have to mist quite often still, but we liked the "natural look".

Still trying to find a good substrate for fairly even moisture content, we then switched to peat moss. A lot cheaper than either of the other two we were using by far, held humidity the best of the bunch. However, whatta mess each time they came out of their tanks. It would also get smeared up the sides of the glass inside, they would drag it into their water bowls, etc, etc.

Sooo, here we are where I would venture to say quite a few people are...aspen bedding.
It's natural, holds humidity pretty well, no dirt or soil to clean up after and the price is reasonable and not as expensive as Repti is or Eco. All the "boys" have it now and that looks like what we are staying with. Elvis, the AZ Kingsnake uses it too. He occasionally uses it for burying under as does our RTB which is constantly underneath it.

So I guess the choice is ultimately up to you and personal preference. Whe we get our new AP cages, aspen will be used in them as well. We buy it in a large bail since it's cheaper that way. Hope this helps!

Jeff

[4theSNAKElady]

Naaah. That stuff doesn't hold humidity worth a crap, and it's too expensive for the little bit you get. I've found something pretty kewl I'm tryin out. It's called "Kitty's Crumble" and it's mainly marketed as an all-natural cat litter. But it's made of 100% coconut fibers, and comes outta the bag moist. I think it's neat stuff. And much cheaper than that repti bark.

[zeke]

I dont have any kingsnakes so I'm not sure about thier setup.. But for the BP's I use aspen, it's cheap the bag I bought is 7000cu in and it cost me 15$ as for the humidity problem I have mad humid hides before and they helped alot..

To make one you need spagum moss ( go to home depot to get it not the pet stores ) use a tub-a-ware container with lid.. Cut a hole in the side of the container the same size as your BP's tight hide opening, make sure the edges are not sharp. remove the lid and fill with moss, wet the moss and get rid of excess water.. put the top back on and add it to you encloser.. Check the wetness of it daily.. Good luck


Cheers

[mommanessy247]

ive heard alot of nays on the repti bark. im gonna go with cypress mulch from home depot. i can get a 3 1/2' bag for less then $3. all i will have to do is bake it for a short time to kill any bugs & then let it cool off before putting it in the enclosure, of course.

[kitedemon]

I use Eco Earth / cyprus mix where I am the room humidly is very low sub 15% and cool. The mix adds texture and variation the humidly is 60% and I only need to mist once every 3 or 4 days.