Substrate

[Hollis_Steed]

When I first joined the forum last week I thought I read that a good substrate was the "carefresh" (or something close to that). I bought it and used it for my two new buddies. Then later I thought i read (it's always hard to keep track of where I read something and then go back and find it again) something about using the coconut husk substrate. I went a bought a bag of T-Rex Jungle Bed "premium blend forest substrate" and it seems so dusty! Then...in many of the photos that are shared online it looks like many of the snakes are on papertowels...! So...all in favor of the "carefresh" type RAISE YOUR HAND!...all in favor of the Coconut ype substrate RAISE YOUR HAND! and finally, all in favor of the paper towel method RAISE YOUR HAND!............................................. ....I'm sooooo confused!:D

[guidofatherof5]

I feel so left out. I used Aspen pellets.:D

[Hollis_Steed]

I think I saw a photo with your aspen pellets...I just didn't know what to call them LOL!:o

[infernalis]

I don't have enough hands....

However, I mix repti bark and eco earth for a nice looking funtional substrate on the cheap.

http://www.mypetforums.com/buck/substrate.jpg

[guidofatherof5]

I think I saw a photo with your aspen pellets...I just didn't know what to call them LOL!:o

I like the aspen pellet in that the snakes as a rule don't hide under them.
They absorb odors and indicate where they need to be cleaned out. If a snake were to swallow one it would fall apart and be passed out the other end. I'm also very lucky that they are produced 20 minutes away from me. Helps keep the cost down. Now if I could only get a rodent producer to move into the area.

[Hollis_Steed]

Wayne,
This bark looks so red. Is it a type of cedar? It looks like a good idea to just add some bark to my otherwise boring substrate. Thankks for the idea!



I don't have enough hands....

However, I mix repti bark and eco earth for a nice looking funtional substrate on the cheap.

http://www.mypetforums.com/buck/substrate.jpg

[Hollis_Steed]

Steve, that of course will lead me to another subject (finding a cheap supplier of rodents), but I'll save that for another post!



I like the aspen pellet in that the snakes as a rule don't hide under them.
They absorb odors and indicate where they need to be cleaned out. If a snake were to swallow one it would fall apart and be passed out the other end. I'm also very lucky that they are produced 20 minutes away from me. Helps keep the cost down. Now if I could only get a rodent producer to move into the area.

[ConcinusMan]

I personally use the forest mix because I like the natural look of it. It's very good substrate and NO there's no cedar. It's fir bark and coconut fiber. It's very good at keeping odor down for months.

DO NOT use it if you feed your snakes in their enclosures. If a piece of bark gets swallowed, it wouldn't be good. The coconut fiber generally is safe to swallow though.

[MasSalvaje]

I use paper towels. They are cheap, easy to clean, and not a complete eyesore like newspaper.

-Thomas

[Mommy2many]

I use shaved Aspen, I have used wood pellets, which do work awesome. I also have just tried carefresh in my squiggle tank but am not too sure of it. It seems to smell more when dirty. I think I'll stick to the aspen and wood pellets.

[ConcinusMan]

I like the way that the fir bark / coconut fiber mixture smells when it's fresh, and the fact that it keeps smelling that way after months of use. I just run it through a screen and pick out the ureates and poop now and then. Good stuff.

[infernalis]

and don't forget it's washable...

put it in a strainer (like you use for pasta) and run hot water through it.

[Hollis_Steed]

Ok, it seems like I'm probably ok to use the coconut forest blend, but I need to stop feeding them in it. I'll get a small plastic shoe box type of container and start feeding in there. Good Information from lots of Friendly People!

[infernalis]

Wal mart has nice totes for about $2 each, and they work great.

http://www.ssnakess.info/secret/melanistic.jpg

Mass feeding babies in the spring time....these smaller boxes are around 75 cents each.

http://www.ssnakess.info/critters/images/feed.jpg

[Hollis_Steed]

Thanks Wayne for the Walmart idea, I'll head that way tomorrow! I need to pick up some more night crawlers from their fishing dept. anyway.

[ConcinusMan]

Yup. I was just there yesterday and they had similar totes advertised as "water tight document containers". Very reasonable price, about $10 for a container big enough to house one 2 foot adult. Perfect for housing little escape artists because you are in control of any ventilation added.

[infernalis]

Just go to the aisle where all the poly totes are, the selection is varied.

The steralite products are very reasonably priced.

[Charis]

Of all that I've tried, I like the aspen or paper towels/newspaper the best. I hate the carefresh I bought, luckily just got a small bag of that. I've had reptile carpet & there are a few things I like about it but with the garters it really needs to be changed about every week & that gets a bit old. Might be better with snakes with a slower metabolism. I will have to try the jungle mix, I use it with the cresties & I like it in their cages.

[infernalis]

I wash my cage carpets over and over with hot water, they are reusable, but soil quick with garters. They sure do poop a lot.

[drache]

I've been using cage carpet for my garters, and have taken to picking fresh poops off with a piece of TP, to extend the time before it needs to get washed
I suspect other bedding really ought to get changed nearly as often as cage carpet - it's just not as obvious

[gregmonsta]

Carefresh and repti-carpet for me :D