Reptichip

[OhhWatALoser]

Hi BP.net gang, glad that I found this thread. I'm JT, the owner of Reptichip LLC and On the Ball Pythons. Would like to take a second to clear up any misconceptions and to answer any questions that you may have about Reptichip. More information can be found on our FAQs page at our website (I won't attach a link here, as we want to be cognizant and respectful of anything that could be perceived as advertising...but for interested parties, it's very easy to find).

Actually I have questions about that page http://www.reptichip.com/faqs.html, given you deleting my facebook comments asking these questions, I didn't think you wanted to answer them. Specifically this image:


You claim cypress does not absorb odor, which I think it has been pretty well accepted that it does. Even my own personal test when I was a new keeper trying different beddings proved it to myself. Odors are still at bay long after the cypress smell is gone. You also claim that it doesn't have longevity between cleanings, can I ask again how you define this? By my definition it has great longevity between cleanings. I would also like to know how you can verify that the cypress we buy is not organic? I mean this wood supposedly comes from these old wetlands, about as organic as it gets imo.

while we are at it, what are the other coconut based products that do not absorb odor? Given coconut is known to naturally have odor absorbing properties.

First and foremost the advantage over cypress: We ceased using cypress due to the rampant destruction of wetland habitats. 68% of the US wetland habitat has been destroyed since 1970 due to the deforestation that occurs to produce cypress products and mulch. A cypress tree takes 40 years to grow to size...so there is no such thing as a sustainable cypress product. We moved to chipped coconut (of the absolute highest quality) which is a sustainable and renewable resource. Here are a few articles for those that are interested in learning more about wetland habitat destruction caused by the cypress logging industry:

http://digitalcommons.butler.edu/cgi...=facsch_papers

http://www.dogwoodalliance.org/2015/...tland-forests/

sustainability is something else that needs to be defined if you are going to claim there no such thing as a sustainable cypress product.

Having bred ball pythons for over 10 years, I've used the gamut of substrates (aspen, newspaper, liners, cypress, different types of coconut, etc..). What we've found is that Reptichip has superior absorption and odor control qualities that far exceed those of triple milled cypress. You can see customer reviews of the difference here.

As for the quality and location that we source our coconut: just like any natural product, there is a wide variety of qualities of raw product. Sri Lanka is widely regarded as having the highest quality of coconut available (a fact that we confirmed here during 9 months of testing). Beyond that, we source from specific locations of inland Sri Lanka where the coconut is not exposed to the salt that is found in coastal coconut products. From the plantations, coconut then goes to our manufacturer where it is highly washed to remove remaining salt, minerals, and tannins that can be found in other products. From there it goes to processing where the coconut is chipped, inspected, pressed, and packaged. Some people assume that because the size of different brand of coconut blocks are similar, they all must be from the same manufacturer or source...this is not the case. The reason that the blocks are similarly sized is that there are only a handful of molds that will fit the German machinery that most manufacturers use to compress the coconut. So far I've seen coconut from Sri Lanka, India, Cambodia, and Vietnam all use the same sizes to compress their product. The quality of the product that is inside the packaging is what matters to us here.

There are many differences between the manufacture of Reptichip and other agricultural based coconut products; the main being that we've invested the time (and money) into ensuring that our manufacturers know and understand that our customers have significantly higher standards than the horticultural industry when it comes to the care and health of their animals. We implement this through our QA/QC at the manufacturer, and here at Reptichip main.

I'm happy to answer any questions that you may have here or in private. My contact information is on every block of Reptichip as well, to include my personal cell phone number, so please fee free to reach out to me at any time. I appreciate the opportunity to share a little more about Reptichip...thanks BP.net!

JT
512-828-2545

instead of just asserting that it is the best and highest quality, perhaps explain what "high standard" means? Why is the low amounts of salt minerals and tannins bad?

I guess my problem is I read your whole faq and actually know very little about your product and currently find parts of it out right false. You assert a lot of things without explaining or backing up the claims. I could be a future customer, but I don't appreciate the infomercial sales pitch then ignored when I ask for real info and clarification. I currently use cypress in my collection and one big benefit I see over reptichip is it doesn't have to be prepped at all, goes from bag to tub instantly. I see on your facebook showing pouring water into a tub of cypress showing it is a mess when you do so, all I can think is why would you do that? it doesn't need it. Comes off at the very least as gimiky to me. I don't want to come off as attacking you, but this is combination of my questions and a few other people's when it has got brought up in conversation. Naturally I want to do what makes the most sense for me and my animals, so besides the debatable deforestation, why should we switch to something that is more work? Genuinely interested in your reply.