Corrugated Wrap as substrate! Your opinion is highly appreciated!

[rubberduck]

Hi guys,

I've been through some older threads regarding using corrugated wrap as substrate. I kinda like the look, and heard that snakes don't freak out (actually rather enjoy the grip they have on it). My only hesitation ist the frequent changing. I've been using eco earth for a long time in my plastic cages with great humidity and only need to do a complete change once every 2 months. But not being able to remove everything my snakes bowels leave on the substrate made me look into alternatives.

Is using paper worth the hassle of changing it every time it gets soiled? Also being aware that it's gonna drop my RH significantly, can you light spray it or is there a problem with mold?

For those of you who use paper in plastic cages...do you clean disinfect cages/tubs every time you change the paper?

Thank you in advance for your input

[rubberduck]

And do you think standard corrugated wrap could be unhealthy for a ball python?

I found a roll which is like 20 euros with shipping (like 23 USD or so). 100 changes for 23 dollars sounds great.

[hungba]

I used a roll before going to aspen.

Advantages:

Much more absorbent then newspaper. No more snakes swimming in pee.

Looks better in my tubs the brief moment I open them.

All the advantages of newspaper (no chance of ingestion thus temporarily alleviating my OCD symptoms. Complete clean everytime except for the urates stuck in the corner of the tub that I will deal with "tommorow" for the past week etc.)

Disadvantages:

Need to cut it to fit.

Storage of the huge uncut roll (sorry) takes up a lot of space.

Ironically, it seems to give LESS traction for my snakes. When I used it, a lot of snakes would miss their strikes because they slid backwards when striking. Yes I had the corrugated side up. No idea why, especially since others used it and reported that it gives the snakes better traction. Perhaps there are different grades of smoothness in corrugated wrap etc?

Pain in the butt buying it. The shops near me don't stock it, because apparently everyone uses bubble wrap nowadays (for its intended purpose, NOT substrate!)

Conclusion:

Many people like it, but for me, I much prefer aspen.

[rubberduck]

Thanks a lot for your input.

I have a lot of space and don't mind cutting a bunch of changes ahead. But i should really try out what you said about the traction...maybe it has to do with the snake not being 100% in touch with the surface? (just speculating there)

i kinda hate newspaper and paper looks not so good in plastic cages. Again it's only my preference. If i had tubs i would surely go for paper. I'm feeling you on aspen, but i really wanna move away from substrates (either wood or coco) for the above mentioned reasons.

[hungba]

So try it. If you don't like it you can always change back.

It's not that bad but it isn't going to be as easy to clean as you think it is. It's certainly better than newspaper for absorbing wastes though.