The Best Substrate

[Gyre]

Hey, just wondering what types of substrate people are using. I've seen some pictures of enclosures, and I'm wondering, (though there's bound to be debate over this) what is the most practical, afordable and healthiest substrate?

Thanks a lot,
Hannah

[hjelte]

Zoo Med Laboratories, Inc. - Cage Substrates
This is what I use. I find it is very good in keeping odor to a minimum as well giving a nice contrast in an aestetic sense (did I spell that one right?) when viewing the snakes. Here in sweden it´s sold at an affordable price as well.

Chris

[Gyre]

Thank you, Chris. I'll have to take a look at the petstore.

[GarterGuy]

Yep you were right....here goes the debate! I acutally don't like the shredded aspen bedding.....I lost a western hognose (Heterodon nasicus nasicus) to an impaction from some accidentally ingested aspen. Personally I use the product called CareFresh....it's a recylced wood pulp product that is safe if ingested, cleans up really nice and allows the snakes to burrow. It's not as nice looking as a lot of the wood products (it's just kind of grey), but I actually use it on ALL my snakes...garters, kings, ect. I know Scott Felzer also uses it for his garters. I've heard some people say it's too dry, but I've NEVER had any shedding issues with my snakes and they all have complete sheds.
Roy

[Gyre]

Aha, I knew it.

I've seen some pictures of people with astro turf down. (This is something I have access to for free.) Anyone have any expierence with it?

Hannah

[Stefan-A]

Ordinary unfertilized garden peat. Safe to ingest and lets them burrow, pretty ok looking, tolerates a lot of moisture and is fairly mold resistant. And it's cheap, 3.40€ for a 65l bag. Any commercial substrate available costs 10 times as much. The drawback is that it's almost like sawdust when it dries out completely and is pretty much guaranteed to be ingested in small quantities, especially with fish and worms.

And I am looking for a better alternative, I was never completely happy with it. That it passes right through the snake is hard to outweigh, though. Never had any respiratory problems with it either.

[GarterGuy]

I used to have my first garter ( a VERY long time ago) on astroturf. Things to look out for is make sure that it's not treated with anything, like a fungicide, to keep mildew off of it and also make sure that any loose threads are trimmed off so they can't be accidentally ingested. I had my Manitoba Redsided (T.s.parietalis) on it for her whole 9.5yrs. and she did fine. It is kind of a pain to clean, and it's best to have spares to put in the tank while you're cleaning the other one. Also didn't like that she wasn't able to burrow in it, all my garters love burrowing through their substrate.
Roy

[Cazador]

Yep. I've had the same experience as Roy with the astroturf. There is a choice that pretty much has to be made when it comes to bedding. If you're going for the best hygene, paper towels and/or newspaper can't be beat, but they're kindof ugly compared to a natural substrate. Unfortunately, natural substrates are harder to thoroughly clean, but they make it very easy to remove the clumped feces that you can see. Uric acid crystals often filter down through them, though. The natural substrates are also great growth media for bacteria, fungi, and parasite eggs. The astroturf also allows waste products to sift down through it. You just have to be aware of their strengths and weaknesses and clean accordingly.

[abcat1993]

I used the Aspen Bedding hjelte recommended but didn't like how it looked so I switched over to some dark brown wood chips.

[CrazyHedgehog]

Hey, I started the info sheet on substrates,

http://www.thamnophis.com/caresheets...eet#Substrates

but didn't add astro turf or peat....any chance of adding your experiences to the info for all to see....?