I agree that you asked a good question. I think it's already been answered here, so I won't repeat it. I think people forget that not everyone lives on snake forums or have tons of friends with snakes. Most of the husbandry unfortunately comes from the pet store where the snake was bought. For the record the Barkers change out the aspen every 2-3 months with spot cleaning done regularly, so not everyone uses the same schedule. I switched to newspaper just recently and I love it. When someone poops it takes just a moment to change the paper.