Compressed coconut husk is the best option for ball pythons. Just depends on the brand you get. I have used Reptichip in the past but in my next deep clean I will be trying CocoBlox. CocoBlox is way chunkier with less dust and stringy bits. Reptichip may be better suited for lizards, but I will have to see how I like CocoBlox. What brand were you using? I know there's a few other popular ones out there.