Caesar progression thread.

[Sauzo]

How is it on odor reduction? Reptichip seems to have upped their price a tad...

Well, I haven't used it long enough to really know but since it is the same stuff as ReptiChips, i'm going to say its decent as ReptiChips worked pretty good except for when Caesar would drop death turds. Nothing on earth could mask those odors. Even Caesar would be pushing with all his might to get out of the cage after one of those lol.

[Sauzo]

Looks great.

I use a combo of that or close to it with Ecoearth mixed in or Ecoearth and cypress sometimes I use all 3 with some moss.

I don't change out substrate too often. I spot clean and most of the snake waste is fairly benign if you miss a spot or two it dries and degrades into the substrate.

It is actually good to have a certain amount of bacteria in the cage. It is healthy for the snake and the ecosystem within the cage.

A pure, and completely sterilized environment doesn't let your animal develop or build up any natural immunities.

NOTE there is a fine line between some healthy, natural cage bacteria and a dripping wet, mold ridden cage.

I typically do total substrate changes twice a year. Most of my animals either don't eat in the winter at all or slow down a great deal.

Hopefully nobody is spending too much $$ changing this stuff out too frequently.

The cages look really nice man.

Thanks. Well the nice stuff with this is it's only like $12 total per block. Cheaper if you buy it more in bulk. I only ordered 4 blocks to test it and so far, so good. 1 block is enough to do the 3 T10s so $12 a month for substrate is decent in my book. I mean heck their food cost per month is around $110 a month. I need to get a chest freezer lol.

The baby boas, BP and dumeril's are kept on Zoo Med aspen for now as the stuff is fluffy, soft and the baby boas LOVE it. Gina and Rango dig little tunnels in it and poke their heads out here and there lol. The aspen I change out probably every 1.5 months though as they don't destroy their substrate as bad as the bigger boas and especially Caesar do.

I've always changed out substrates fairly frequently though. I don't like the idea of my snakes or lizards crawling around in pee or poop juice soaked stuff. Just me. I tend to treat my pets like kings and queens lol.

[jmcrook]

Well, I haven't used it long enough to really know but since it is the same stuff as ReptiChips, i'm going to say its decent as ReptiChips worked pretty good except for when Caesar would drop death turds. Nothing on earth could mask those odors. Even Caesar would be pushing with all his might to get out of the cage after one of those lol.

lol that's how I can tell Phyllis has a mess for me to clean up too. Drops a deuce and then destroys the cage haha


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[Sauzo]

Well Caesar broke something else lol. I found his temp/humidity gauge at the bottom of his water bowl lol. I had it in the far corner on his shelf last night. I guess he pushed it across the shelf and then right into his water bowl. First he gets himself stuck in his silk vine and now he breaks his temp/humidity gauge.....he is a brat when he wants dinner lol.

[Gio]

I've always changed out substrates fairly frequently though. I don't like the idea of my snakes or lizards crawling around in pee or poop juice soaked stuff.

I don't have my animals crawl around in waste either. I simply spot clean the area, scoop it out, clean the bottom cage floor and replace the scooped substrate with new stuff. In a sense I'm changing a lot more substrate than it seems because each new addition replaces the old stuff. Its still healthy to have a certain amount of bacteria, not waste in the cage. What I'm getting at is people don't need to go nuts. I don't think your system is overly frequent, it is a bit more than I change it out, but it doesn't go overboard. The newsprint business is another story. That crap is almost a daily changeout with retics.


Obviously there are times when "spot cleaning" turns into one quarter of the cage though. My animals are fairly efficient with digestion and elimination so I'm not plagued by messy cages too often. Wallace makes it easy he dumps out and pees in his water bowel, which requires immediate attention. He seems to do this shortly after I change his water. I find it irritating, but its better than using me for a toilet like he has in the past.

I just ordered my 6 footer and I know it will take a bag or two of substrate to fill it. Wallace is going to have a palace when I'm done with it. I'm totally stoked that it is 2 feet tall, I won't own a cage from here on out that isn't 2 feet tall or taller for the types of snakes I keep. Unless I get a blood python LOL!

I was quoted an unbelievable deal IMO.

I furnished my coastal's cage with the repti-chips a few days ago. That stuff smells pretty good I must say, its borderline strong smelling.

[Sauzo]

Who did you order from? AP?

And if Caesar went in his water bowl, it would be a lot easier. He pisses all over in his cage. So kind of hard to spot clean as half the time I cant even see it unless he leaves urates with it. And obviously the poop is easy to spot lol. The boas usually go about 1.5 months inbetween changings unless they soil it a lot. The retic though is a just a piss machine. I mean remember, you feed yours every 2 weeks and he's a decent size smaller that Caesar and eats smaller meals. Caesar is over 6' and eats pretty much a large rat a week. His poops are as big as Rosey who is 7' but the catch is, Rosey poops like once or twice a month, Caesar poops at least 3 times a month if not more.

Yeah this Plant IT stuff is pretty much the same as Reptichips but half the price. The only real difference like I mentioned is this stuff isn't as uniform in size as Reptichips and seems lighter in color although that might just be me.

And now for the Caesar seal of approval

[BR8080]

First he gets himself stuck in his silk vine and now he breaks his temp/humidity gauge.....he is a brat when he wants dinner lol.

How did you affix your vine so it wouldn't get pushed around as much or did you just lay it on the shelf? I'm headed to Michael's and Joanne Fabric to look at their non-chain style vines.

[Sauzo]

How did you affix your vine so it wouldn't get pushed around as much or did you just lay it on the shelf? I'm headed to Michael's and Joanne Fabric to look at their non-chain style vines.

I used plastic zip ties to secure them to the side and middle vents on the AP cages. just buy some green ones and they will blend in. Just put the locking part of the zip tie on the outside of the cage so you can loosen and remove it when you need to clean the cage. and be sure to buy the non chain style silk vines lol.

[Gio]

Good deal on the chips. I like various types of substrate so switching it up is cool. My cage is from Ed. No need to change a great setup here. Double cage. 72" x 30" x 24". I was quoted a deal with shipping below the cost of an AP cage stand alone without shipping. I personally like HDPE plastic much more than PVC for many reasons. However if AP had reasonable pricing for the size I wanted I would have entertained the idea of something different for no other reason than to have something different.

I can enjoy seeing your APs. It's always nice to see how other folks set up and I like your methods.

My new cage will be jaw dropping when I'm done. Wallace will have a plethora of options. And a much bigger water bowel since that's where he uses the restroom LOL.

6 foot with the demensions I have is going to look huge. My wife will flip out. Not a good flip either lol.

Let us know what you find at Michaels. I may check it out.

[Sauzo]

Good deal on the chips. I like various types of substrate so switching it up is cool. My cage is from Ed. No need to change a great setup here. Double cage. 72" x 30" x 24". I was quoted a deal with shipping below the cost of an AP cage stand alone without shipping. I personally like HDPE plastic much more than PVC for many reasons. However if AP had reasonable pricing for the size I wanted I would have entertained the idea of something different for no other reason than to have something different.

I can enjoy seeing your APs. It's always nice to see how other folks set up and I like your methods.

My new cage will be jaw dropping when I'm done. Wallace will have a plethora of options. And a much bigger water bowel since that's where he uses the restroom LOL.

6 foot with the demensions I have is going to look huge. My wife will flip out. Not a good flip either lol.

Let us know what you find at Michaels. I may check it out.

Nice. Was hoping you were getting the Monster Cage as I wanted to here a review from someone who has one. I already know what Ed's cages are like lol. Honestly the HDPE just didn't do it for me. Nothing I wanted to stick to it ever did and the stuff I didn't want to stick to it did like Rosey's urate. The bottom of the cage has stains I couldn't remove unless I sanded them. And foil tape wouldn't stick to the stuff so you couldn't use heat tape. And for me the breaking point was how much the cages shift and move even when assembled. He labeled it 'living plastic' but I label it thinner material and not as rigid of construction as AP. That's why I like the AP cages, they are sturdy. You pick one up and there is no flex or shift. I mean to get my 4x2 Pro-Line's door to line up, I had to shim 3 pieces of cardboard under the rear right corner of the cage. And that was when it was new. But anyways, if they work for you, then awesome. I'm sure Wallace will love the 6' and you do set up nice natural set ups.