smelly enclosure?

[rebeccabecca]

I was using reptile carpet in my ball's enclosure and no matter what it smelled. When I check on him 2x a day the smell is really bad. i did change him to paper towels and have't had smell issues today so that's good. Has anyone else had the same experiance?

[kc261]

Reptile carpet is a great breeding ground for bacteria and other nasty stuff. You would have to change it for new ones frequently (every time you clean the cage) and/or clean it thoroughly and disinfect it before replacing it.

Paper towels are going to provide a much cleaner environment for your snake; you did good to change your substrate.

[JeffJ]

the carpet is a huge breeding ground for bacteria. stay away from it if you can.

[rebeccabecca]

I had two and would change them daily but that didn't work. Paper towels are cheap enough though.

[joshn6805]

check out the diy on the carbon air purifier. they do wonders for the smell if it bothers you that much.

[Slim]

check out the diy on the carbon air purifier. they do wonders for the smell if it bothers you that much.

The smell is caused by the bactieria in the reptile carpet, both alive and dead. The smell is there to tell you something. An air purifier won't fix the root of the problem. After making the switch to paper towel, it sounds like you discovered that on your own.

[joshn6805]

The smell is caused by the bactieria in the reptile carpet, both alive and dead. The smell is there to tell you something. An air purifier won't fix the root of the problem. After making the switch to paper towel, it sounds like you discovered that on your own.

yes this is true, the smell was sometimes god awful when i was using the turf. im debating to this moment on whether to switch back to aspen, im worried about one of my boys getting up under the paper towels on top of the uth, which is controlled by a thermostat set to 94 but i just don't like the idea of snake on hot glass.