EcoEarth Substrate

[BeccaBurrr]

Hey guys and gals,

Recently, my reptifogger's fan went out, so I've been spraying my BP's tank to try to keep humidity up. I've been pretty unsuccessful in doing so though. These glass cages really aren't efficient and I wish I would have done some research on this before purchasing her a few months ago. The reptifogger was great until it pooped out on me. Both sheds she has had with me have been perfect and she has never refused a meal. Yesterday, I noticed that one of her eyes was slightly dimpled, so I knew she was dehydrated. I've read that the EcoEarth substrate is really good for holding humidity and doesn't need to be sprayed nearly as often. Does anybody use this substrate?
I plan on soaking her in warm water daily or every couple days until I can get a stable humidity level in her enclosure.

[BLM94]

To get my glass tank setup to 60% humidity, I covered 2/3 of the screen top with aluminum foil, and then put a towel over that. I also switched to a wider, flatter water bowl (more surface area) and moved it over so it's partially on top of the UTH for increased evaporation.
EcoEarth is pretty popular and widely used, so you could definitely go that route if you wanted to switch up your substrate. Depending on how much space you have in your enclosure, you could also make a humid hide and let the snake be the judge of when she needs more moisture.

[mustang91302]

i use eco earth for my tegu it works good it stay moist for a while

[Archimedes]

EcoEarth is pretty fabulous. I only have to mist once a day, twice if the house is dried out. I also have half of my screen-lid covered in plastic wrap and a layer of gaffer tape to keep it from tearing. The only complaint I have about it is that when I feed him, the substrate sticks to the prey and to him and makes him very uncomfortable when he's done eating, as it leaves him with a mouthful of substrate. He always works himself out, but it can also be easily averted if you don't already feed in his enclosure, I'm not sure what your particular feeding arrangement is.

[BeccaBurrr]

Thanks for the replies! I'll have to go get some today and try it out for myself. I've been covering part of the screen with just moist towels, but it seems people have more luck with plastic wrap or aluminum foil.

[Kaorte]

Here is my opinion on it: It is essentially dirt. Cleaning up dirt is a pain in the butt. It gets everywhere!

As far as loose substrates go, I much prefer cypress mulch.

[BlueMoonExotics]

It really depends on your setup as to how fast it dries out. I have crested geckos and frogs so I just happened to have Eco earth already when I got my first ball python. After using it for awhile though, I have to say that I'm looking into switching substrates. In her enclosure I have under tank heat as well as a heat emitter to keep ambient temps up and the substrate still dries out really quickly. Keep in mind that you have to stir up Eco earth or it gets moist on top and stays dry underneath. Also, as someone already stated, when feeding they do get a LOT of it in their mouth. Looks like she was trying to eat a brownie after she swallows her meal. Then she'll rub her face all over the glass and wood to try and get some of it out of her mouth. Eco Earth is good for some species but I just wouldn't recommend it for snakes. Just my opinion....

[BeccaBurrr]

After tinkering with the humidifier, I finally got the new fan to work and NOT sound like a motorcycle revving up. I'll keep the EcoEarth on the back burner for now. I usually use aspen or reptibark. I prefer the aspen just because it's a lot easier to spot clean for poo.

[Aztec4mia]

There are better humidifiers out there then the cheap repti-foggers. some of the commercial ones at wallgreens and such work great, hold more water and don't usually need to much modifying to work it into your enclosure. EcoEarth does a good job holding humidity but does get everywhere after when dry(which happens rather quickly over the hot spot) I use it for my Crestie since his cage stays a little more humd and there is no heat source but I used cypress mulch for my BP's and it doesn't really stick to the feeders(currently using paper towels for my rack).

Somthing I tried that worked pretty good was I got a sterilite container a couple inches high; about the dimensions of a sheet of paper L X W, and fill it with damp eco earth and sphagnum moss mixture then pour about a half inch of water in it and put it under/over the heat source. it usually lasts a few days before it starts to dry out and gives your snake a place to lay on thats not completely wet, baisically a moist hide without a top to boost humidity in the cage. draw back is they usually use it as a toilet and shed in it so your changing/cleaning it pretty often.