Ok, I use newspaper because it's here and that makes it free. No I don't have thousands of dollars in snakes, but until I see something showing that a snake caught something from newspaper it's the route I will take. I think with anything there will be some germs on it. Just an example would be some of the products women use, everyone thinks they are sanitary, but news flash they are not. Bacteria is everywhere and it's just part of the balance. If something gets out of balance that's when issues arise. This is just my thought on it, not trying to burn bridges, just what I currently think on the topic.