I was using aspen shavings until my snake started to ingest it when it was eating. I switched over to paper towels and I wont go back. Paper towels is the way to go. 1) its absorbent 2) it doesnt have ink in it to dye your snake if it gets wet then sits on the paper 3) its still cheap and lasts a while. 4) super easy to clean
Paper towels for my snakes hands down.