Quote Originally Posted by Sauzo View Post
Imo the pros of a substrate outweigh the only con it has and its not like it happens every time you feed. Be aware though, i have talked to people who has kept their snakes on newspapers for years and they said the snakes started to take on a more flattened pancake look to them since they could never get grip with newspaper, they would flatten themselves out to create as much surface area to try and compensate. Now whether this is BS or not, I have heard it from a few guys. Snakes naturally dont live on a slick surface. It would be like you doing nothing but walking around on hardwood floors in socks. After years of it, i imagine you would lose some of your skills at walking on a solid non slip surface.
That makes sense and it's definitely something to consider and I also feel that the snakes would be much more comfortable on substrate. Smell hasn't been an issue for me, though. I check in on my snakes several times a day and the moment I notice urine or feces their tubs get washed out with dawn dish soap and get fresh newspaper immediately. In more messy situations (like when my Bloods set off poop bombs) the snakes will also get a bath before being returned to their fresh tubs. I have actually been planning on experimenting with artificial grass/astroturf. That seems like it would be ideal to me. It's relatively cheap and it seems like it would be easy to clean. I just want to see how many cleanings it will stand up to. Have you or anyone you know of ever used it, Sauzo?