No substrate available, what else can I use?

[The Golem]

Was late getting home from work and pet store is closed. I've only ever used coconut husk, what can I use until tomorrow?

[Regius_049]

Just use paper towels, lots of people use those.

[PitOnTheProwl]

News paper, paper towels........

[paroxysm]

paper towels work great!

[Sauzo]

Cant just buy substrate tomorrow when the pet shop opens?

With that said, you can use paper towels or newspaper like others have said but don't be cheap, get the snake some real substrate when you can.

[The Golem]

Thanks, I'll try to explain to the little princess that it's just temporary.

[OneEyedFox]

My older sister has a lot of snakes, and she uses just newspaper because newspaper won't carry mites. I recommend that, paper towels, or coconut fiber (that's what I use). If you get anything like coconut fiber, make sure you buy it in the brick form. It can be a chore to break up (add water and do your best to break it into pieces, don't be afraid to get messy) but the bricks are a lot les likely to contain mites/mite eggs etc. that being said. There was a seed of an unknown plant in this last brick of CF I used for bedding and it's been growing like crazy, I have no clue what kind of plant it is but I'm not gonna take it out yet lol. You can also bake bedding in an oven to kill any possible mites, I haven't done that yet because I've been lucky. My sister only had a mite problem when she used the bags of already broken up CF. I just recommend being careful about what you buy and how it's packaged because mites are a pain in both the butt, and for your snake. Best of luck to you.

[Sauzo]

Well unless the substrate package is kept warm and humid, mites are most likely not going to lay eggs on it. Mites need a humid warm environment which is why snake cages are so great for them. Also mites are going to be more inclined to lay eggs somewhere dark and humid in the cage rather than in a cooler drier atmosphere. Also just order your substrate. I order ReptiChips and it takes about 5 days to get to me. No way snake mites are going to hitch a ride that long in dry, cold climates with no food. They will die before they get here.

[OneEyedFox]

Well unless the substrate package is kept warm and humid, mites are most likely not going to lay eggs on it. Mites need a humid warm environment which is why snake cages are so great for them. Also mites are going to be more inclined to lay eggs somewhere dark and humid in the cage rather than in a cooler drier atmosphere. Also just order your substrate. I order ReptiChips and it takes about 5 days to get to me. No way snake mites are going to hitch a ride that long in dry, cold climates with no food. They will die before they get here.

Thanks for the tip. Not my thread to pick up information, but I'll keep that stuff in mind when I run out of CF!

[Ba11er]

i use and love paper towels in my rack because its easily replaceable and when im checking the cages i can easily spot a bowel movement. As for mites hitchhiking on bricks of CF, i wonder if placing the bricks in the freezer would kill any possible eggs. I know that extreme cold kills a lot of parasites; A week in the freezer and a week or two to thaw should do it.