ReptiChip vs. Reptile Prime Size Comparison

[Charles8088]

The way I see it in a nutshell. Coco fiber such as eco earth or reptile prime is great for bedding, humidity and waste absorption, but it is costly, and for keepers with multiple snakes, paper substrate will always be the most economic and simple solution.

Curiosity... are you using paper towels? or deli or newspaper rolls?

[Sauzo]

The way I see it in a nutshell. Coco fiber such as eco earth or reptile prime is great for bedding, humidity and waste absorption, but it is costly, and for keepers with multiple snakes, paper substrate will always be the most economic and simple solution.

I refuse to use paper. It provides next to no grip and whether it is BS or not, i have heard in boas, it can cause pancaking where after years of being on nothing but a slippery gripless floor, they flatten themselves to try and create the most contact area they can. After years, their body kind of gets set to being like that instead of the nice tall bread shape.

But anyways, I dont mind spending on good substrate. I was spending like $100 every 2 months on substrate for my snakes when i was buying the 24 qt bags of Zoo Med aspen. The kicker for me is the Reptile Prime would be $210 every couple months lol.

And coco fiber isnt costly really. Look at Eco Earth, Reptichips, Pro Coco and other stuff. It is the exact same stuff as Reptile Prime but a fraction of the cost and more than a fraction of the shipping. I cant really comment on the Reptile Prime as i havent gotten my bag yet but just looking at the speel and listening to Brian talk about it, it almost sounds like he is just trying to milk it for cash. But anyways, enough of my 'thoughts' on it.

ReptiChips has worked fine for my snakes and so has aspen which i will probably just stick to but like i said, i do like to try different substrates so i can get an idea of all the stuff. That is mostly what i am trying to get to although i did kind of get side tracked with his the lack of easily available contacting and the crazy shipping price method which i still cant wrap my head around lol.

And Eco Earth sucks. The stuff is either too wet or too dry which makes it dusty. Also if you let it dry out, it acts like cypress and doesnt want to reabsorb water very readily. And with it being like coffee grounds, it gets in the pits and mouth of snakes burrowing. That's why i hate the stuff. Now the only down side to ReptiChips is it is a little on the big side to me which allows my big boas to bury their pisses as they push their tail under the stuff to piss. Also being how big the pieces are, it allows liquid to kind of drain to the floor. Aspen is the happy median to it as it packs down enough to catch liquids, doesnt get stuck in pits or mouths unless eaten of course and doesnt stay wet so wont build up bacteria or cause skin issues for the snake from sitting on wet/damp substrate 24/7. The Reptile Prime seems to be a nice median between the coco stuff.

[Sauzo]

Curiosity... are you using paper towels? or deli or newspaper rolls?

If you are looking for a paper substrate, my advice is https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail...Flute-24-x-250

I know a bunch of boa breeders who use the stuff and say its good. You just put the corrugated/riffled side up so the boas can still get grip and the piss settles in the bottom of the riffles so the snake isnt sitting in the piss.

And the part i liked the best is the snake doesnt get substrate in its mouth. I use cardboard to feed all my snakes on but they love to drag their food around

[zina10]

Just want to point out, I definitely did not buy Reptile Prime because of Brian. While I have no real opinion on him in one way or another, the way he promotes some things is a little over the top for my taste.

I liked the stuff back when it was Herptopia. Price has always been the same, since then. Brian getting involved didn't change the price, yet.

However, the deal on Amazon makes it the cheapest I've ever seen so far.

I can only hope that Brian taking over the whole thing isn't going to back fire in some way and make the product either worse or more expensive.

Btw. I would dearly love to find a "no name" product that is like that stuff, but I have found nothing like it, and I have tried hard !!! Even if you took ReptiChip and pushed it through a shredder to make the chunks a bit smaller, it would still not be the same. I can only hope that this stuff stays available, that Brian doesn't change it or mess it up and that the prices don't go up. Its just so much better then anything else I've used.

If anyone finds it under a "no name" brand , please share

[Sauzo]

Just want to point out, I definitely did not buy Reptile Prime because of Brian. While I have no real opinion on him in one way or another, the way he promotes some things is a little over the top for my taste.

I liked the stuff back when it was Herptopia. Price has always been the same, since then. Brian getting involved didn't change the price, yet.

However, the deal on Amazon makes it the cheapest I've ever seen so far.

I can only hope that Brian taking over the whole thing isn't going to back fire in some way and make the product either worse or more expensive.

Btw. I would dearly love to find a "no name" product that is like that stuff, but I have found nothing like it, and I have tried hard !!! Even if you took ReptiChip and pushed it through a shredder to make the chunks a bit smaller, it would still not be the same. I can only hope that this stuff stays available, that Brian doesn't change it or mess it up and that the prices don't go up. Its just so much better then anything else I've used.

If anyone finds it under a "no name" brand , please share

What i meant to say lol. I too feel Brian is 'overhyping' it to sell it since he actually has stakes in it.

And i cant comment on the product itself as i have not tried it yet but it does sound good and from the pics i have seen, it looks pretty good but like i said and not sure if i said it clearly, I am not sure if the stuff will be worth the price difference vs something like ReptiChips. I mean for comparison, $200 would get me 10 blocks which each block is WAY more than 24 qts. I could probably do all my cages 3 times with that much. By comparison, $200 gets me 10 bags of the Rpetile Prime which would do all my cages once.

And i just looked and freakin Reptichips is out of stock lol. I cant even order a few blocks for Caesar. Time to start swearing lol.

I'm probably ranting but how you put it is how i feel Zina. I probably didnt word it right and sounded like a jerk haha.

[zina10]

Nah, you don't sound like a jerk, LOL !!!

I was very frustrated with the price as well. I don't mind paying for something that works well (I'm OCD and it makes my life so much easier..) but I do expect something like combined shipping etc.

I completely agree that financially it ONLY makes sense if one doesn't have a large number of animals or a bunch of retics, LOL.

That's why I like to point out the good aspects of it. Because to some, the positives may outweigh the negatives, it helps people make up their mind.

To me, personally, the positive aspects outweigh the price, esp. since I only have 6 animals right now. But even if I added 6 more, I would probably stick with it. I always like to get everything "perfect". Whether that is at the barn with the horse, or at home with the animals or around the house or yard. It drives me crazy when there are things that make life harder or make it take longer to get something done.

But if someone has 50 animals, they may rather deal with the smelly paper, then the price of having something cut down on the smell. To me, having my snakes one room over from where I sleep, having no more yucky smell is very important to me.

Its all about weighing pro's and con's and one's own priorities. I used Aspen for 7 years !!!! And was reasonably happy with it. But now I would rather not go back to it. I went through a lot more and some bags were unbelievably dusty. Paper is completely out of the question for me, but it may be perfect for others.

I think the best part about threads like this is that people that are on the fence or want to try new stuff can get some ideas about a product and it can help with the decision whether to give it a try or not.

So while we may not all agree, we are probably all very helpful to someone out there

[zina10]

edited to say: I know you get a special deal on ReptiChip, but if you need just a block to tie you over, they do sell it on Amazon. Even without prime, but its $25.95 / free shipping. Not sure what you paid. Its in stock, too.

[Sauzo]

edited to say: I know you get a special deal on ReptiChip, but if you need just a block to tie you over, they do sell it on Amazon. Even without prime, but its $25.95 / free shipping. Not sure what you paid. Its in stock, too.

Nice. Might have to do that. I sent Reptichip an email asking when they might get it back in stock. Also priced 10 bags of Zoo Med Cypress as i think it is time for a change for everyone lol. I like changing up the substrate type every 4-5 changes as it gives me something new to look at it. And for the most part, the snakes seem to get some form of enrichment from it as they investigate it, dig in it and overall look fairly curious. Then after a few weeks, they are no longer excited and sit there again wondering when dinner is coming haha.

And the price is almost the same as Reptile Prime but with free shipping which means 10 24 qt bags would run me $135.

And dont get a retic if you want everything perfect haha. They are the masters at ruining what you made perfect in record time. I used to try and get Caesars cage all nice and pretty. Then within a day, he would have it wrecked haha. Now i dont usually even bother fixing his stuff. i just push him aside when i have to clean a poop or piss and he is sitting on it. We have our shoving matches if its the day as he wants to sleep and i want clean the giant turd he is sleeping on or next to lol.

[zina10]

Nice. Might have to do that. I sent Reptichip an email asking when they might get it back in stock. Also priced 10 bags of Zoo Med Cypress as i think it is time for a change for everyone lol. I like changing up the substrate type every 4-5 changes as it gives me something new to look at it. And for the most part, the snakes seem to get some form of enrichment from it as they investigate it, dig in it and overall look fairly curious. Then after a few weeks, they are no longer excited and sit there again wondering when dinner is coming haha.

And the price is almost the same as Reptile Prime but with free shipping which means 10 24 qt bags would run me $135.

And dont get a retic if you want everything perfect haha. They are the masters at ruining what you made perfect in record time. I used to try and get Caesars cage all nice and pretty. Then within a day, he would have it wrecked haha. Now i dont usually even bother fixing his stuff. i just push him aside when i have to clean a poop or piss and he is sitting on it. We have our shoving matches if its the day as he wants to sleep and i want clean the giant turd he is sleeping on or next to lol.

I do appreciate a nice and perfect cage, but even Ball Pythons like to wreck everything! LOL

What I mean is that I'm a stickler in making things easier and more practical. I have nice latches at the barn that close the gate behind me if I simply nudge it closed. I have a ton of shelves and hooks to keep things organized. Whenever I have to take care of my friends horse her setup drives me crazy. It takes me way longer simply because she uses chains with hooks and snaps and nothing is real practical. It makes doing those chores take so much longer.

At home, I enjoy that cleaning the cages is now so quick and effortless. I can keep it spotless and smelling fresh quickly and without going through a lot of substrate. Before I used to drag a garbage lined waste basket with me while cleaning cages, filling it with soiled, stinky or wet aspen. (lets not talk about smell, ew)

I like things that make work and chores easier and more time efficient.

Geez, I'm having the hardest time explaining myself, perhaps if I typed it out in German it may come across better, haha.

[zina10]

I used to have these display cages with plants and decorations. As the Ball Pythons got bigger, they just completely re-arranged everything as soon as they would get hungry and started roaming. I would get up and the cage would look like a natural disaster passed through.

All plants flat as pancakes and even ripped. Hides in different places then they used to be. Decorations moved or pushed over. Water dumped. Mission accomplished..

With my large male I keep it pretty, but simple. He only has 3 things. A large hide that looks natural and nice, but is actually a plastic planter. With a nice rock on top that he likes to put his head on. A big corner shelf, removable (built it) that has one plant hot glued to it. He likes to flatten that plant of course. And a naturalistic looking water bowl. So while his cage looks pretty cool, its easy to clean. You only have to remove those 3 things (and the snake) and then put it back. Plus he can't do much re-arranging, as much as he tries.