New substrate?

[ConcinusMan]

Hemp bedding is a horrible nightmare. That's what I keep hearing from snake keepers.

[gregmonsta]

Quick report. Started using this - ECOBED CARDBOARD BEDDING (22 KG)
last week.

• The majority of the cardboard pieces are a good size and therefore ingestion risks are minimal. Does not stay stuck to food easily and falls off as soon as it reaches the mouth if it does.
• My boys are still happily able to burrow through it.
• Spot-cleaning is fantastic!!! Urates/fecal matter shows up brilliantly. Moisture is sucked out by the cardboard and the affected pieces are a breeze to spot/remove.
• Absolutely no dust.
• Excellent value for money!!! The bag is massive and will last the rest of the year for sure. Not bad for £13 delivered.

This is here in Britain but I'm 100% certain you'll find similar products in other countries. This is used in (was developed for) stables for horses first and foremost so that might help any search efforts

Thought I'd update this -

I've been using it for a good while now and will be sticking with it for the foreseeable future. I'm not even halfway through the bag yet. (This thread goes back a good few months).

[Finacard]

I just came across this thread. We produce and supply Finacard cardboard substrate which is used succesfully for many small animal such as guinea pigs, hamsters, degus, rabbits etc etc. The main advantage is that it is very absorbent and virtually dust free.

We do not have any experience with using Finacard for reptiles.

If any one would like to give it a go, I will happily supply some Finacard foc. Just e mail me.

I suspect that it will work well where the enviornment is not moist.

[chris-uk]

Time to resurrect an old thread.

I've switched five of my vivs over to using Repticard (Repti-Card Maxibale) and my first impressions are favourable. It's the same stuff that Greg was looking at from Finacard earlier in the thread, but it looks like the company have branded it up as a reptile bedding after getting good feedback and realising that there was an untapped market.

I like the look of it, it looks like leaf litter.
The snakes seem to like it and don't have problems burrowing in it (my normal checkered is burrowed somewhere and I have no idea where she is, the albino is easier to spot).
Spot cleaning seems to be easy, urates are easy to spot. The only trouble is that there's some bits of white card (certainly less than 1% of the whole volume) which can lead to false positives on the "Ah, someone's peed".
I'd be more confident that the card isn't going to make it into a mouth compared to aspen. The card is varied size but most pieces are big enough that they will fall off before getting into a mouth.
It's economical. A 17kg bale of card should last me for a while.

I'm not sure how often it will need changing, or how it will cope with damp from spilled water. But these aren't huge concerns and time will answer these questions.


Here's one of my infernalis on the Repticard, I think it looks quite nice.

TSI - on repticard - 27 Feb 2013.jpg
(Click to enlarge the photo)

[Selkielass]

This appears similar for the u.s. market.
AirLite Animal Bedding Manufacturer's Cooperative Inc Horse, Equine and small animal bedding

[chris-uk]

So after six months of using Repticard I'm moving away from it. I still have about a quarter of a bag but I won't be using it.
I don't change my substrate every week (closer to monthly for a full change) but I do spot clean daily. The trouble I'm finding with Repticard is that it stays damp and then starts to smell in my big girls viv. Part of this is the amount of urine the bigger girls produce, but the other contribution is that the three girls like to slither in and out of their water making the card damp.

Damp card makes for smelly card fairly quickly, plus the card doesn't have a smell of its own like the wood-based substrates so the smell is more obvious.

So, after considering other options I've got a 12.5kg bag of Lignocel. I went for it because it is similar to the aspen I used before the repticard but has been processed in a way that makes it softer and it doesn't have sharp fragments - which means it's safer to feed on. I'll see how we get on with it, but having switched three vivs over to use it I'm liking it. Spot cleaning is easier because the crap is easier to see. Time will tell how it holds the damp.

[CrazyHedgehog]

ooooh, this looks promising, I did a search to look at it and found a review on rfuk.
Lignocel as substrate - A Review - CaptiveBred Reptile Forums, Reptile Classified, Forum

[chris-uk]

Yep, people that use it are generally happy with it. I have a few months before I'll know how good it is myself.

[gregmonsta]

I've stopped using cardboard in my main enclosures too. When using card that had been sitting for a while the slightest wetness caused a bloom of fungal growth.
I've had a preliminary 3 months with cocopeat now. Will properly comment on this substrate at a later date too.

[chris-uk]

The perennial search for the ideal substrate. There is no perfect substrate, but I'm learning that it's a case of working out which substrate has the fewest negatives.
I'll probably continue to use cardboard with some of my smaller garters, they don't get it so wet (and I have the remains of a bag to use up or bin).