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!

[guidofatherof5]

I feel so left out. I used Aspen pellets.

[Hollis_Steed]

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

[infernalis]

I don't have enough hands....

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

[guidofatherof5]

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

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.

[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.