Substrates, your opinion

[Lucille]

I recently purchased a few new boas and now have 9 (and other snakes too) and am seeking ways to improve and streamline my snake husbandry skills. Here is a poll to see which substrates YOU like; feel free to comment and tell why you do or do not like certain substrates.

[Alika]

I still like newspaper. It's cheap, easy to clean, dry (less chance of fungus and mold buildup) and there's no chance of digestive blockage or impaction from accidentally ingested substrate.

We use particulate substrates at work because they look nicer, but it makes complete bedding changes a pain in the you-know-what, and I'm always worried about accidental ingestion.

Not that I have tons and tons of experience in herpeculture or anything... I know some snakes like to burrow, but I've seen that problem solved by adding a container full of burrowing substrate, which is easier to manage.

[ball python chick]

i mostly use aspen bedding now its easier to clean than carpet.it cuts down the cleaning time and you dont have to strip accessories out of the tank along with the snakes every time you need to clean,but i think carpet looks more attractive.

[knight45]

for balls, new paper is fine. however i like to use cypress and hemlock.
pros - it looks nice, hold humidty well, is easy to spot clean, allows for burrowing, is resistant to mold and fungas.
cons - it is hard to control uth's,(the sankes move the sibstarte around so sometime when its thin, the tem is too high, and too thick, too low.) is a pain in the butt to do a big cleaning, and can get costly if you have alot of herps.

i am sure alot of very smart, experenced keepers will tell you other wise but my boa and bull are allways burried in their substrate, and i think that they would not be better with out it. i ALLWAYS feed outside of enclousres, so impactation is not a problem.

	Under Tank Heater Under Tank Heater

[Dbutton]

For me it is a seasonal thing. During the off (non-breeding) season I use news paper. It is very efficient and cheap, but during the breeding season I like cypress mulch. It holds humidity well which lends to the morning mistings that my female gets during that time. It is also mold and mildew resistant which makes it especially good for high humidity applications. And best of all it is bug free 99.99999999999% of the time.
And while the females are gravid I like to use aspen. They like to burrow in it and it is nice and clean since they aren't defecating so clean up isn't a problem and when the babies are born it is very absorbent and helps to dry them off.

David

[pathfinder36]

I'm a paper towel or butcher paper fan myself. Don't get me wrong, there are a few mulches or loose type substrates out there that are very good as well. I just prefer paper substrates for a varitey of reasons if at all possible. It all depends on the snake.

[haroldo359]

i like cypress. 90+% of my reptiles are on cypress. the exceptions are...

uromastyx on sand.

bci 7' or more are on newspaper. that is so i can feed them in cage and not have to wrestle them into a feeding tote.

	Boa Constrictor Imperator Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator). Most common is the Colombian Boa.

[Jesustheherper]

Astro carpet is what I use, holds moderate moisture and easyer to clean then sand and others also less replacing.

[buck2003]

I chose newspaper, though comercial paper roll was 2nd.

[rachel132002]

I use newspaper just because of it being easy to clean, absorbant and cost efficient and it also makes feeding lot easier if the snakes are on their own which in my case they are as you just chuck the mouse in the tank and leave the snake to it, no having to move the snake into feeding tub then back into viv etc.

Rach

[TheOtherAndy]

I use paper pulp for most of my small cages. It looks nicer, is probably (gasp) more comfortable for my snakes, absorbs liquid (be it waste or sprayed water) like a champ, and is easy to store. I've had baby snakes accidentally eat a piece of it with no ill effects, and I'm sure it's safe for larger ones. It actually compacts pretty well, so even thats a rarity. The only downside is that it's a little more expensive. I use it for my mouse colony, so I have to buy it anyway. I also wouldn't keep lizards on the stuff.

I do use newspaper for my big pythons, but I don't like to look at it, they can't use it for anything ('burrowing' or digging out under hides), and when they crap it invariably soaks a huge portion cage bottom, which they then have to sit on until I notice. It is cheap. yay. If I even dreamed about keeping a lizard on newspaper, I'd wake up and smack myself.

The best substrate I've used is partially decomposed leaf litter. It looks nice, is safe if ingested, smells nice, holds humidity, lets the animals do their thing, and if left intact the beneficial bacteria in it will help break down and neutralize the ammonia and nitrates in waste while keeping 'bad' bacteria in check. The downside is that it's a lot of work to get. A lot. I've also only used it for monitors, but I'm going to try it with said large pythons this year. Super-duper for lizards of appropriate needs.

And cypress mulch...I know it's not a popular opinion, but imo, that stuff is garbage. I might as well keep my animals on towels and broken glass. I've tried 3 different grades of it and they all left me baffled as to how this stuff is so popular. I can't decide if I hate it more with snakes or lizards. Tough call there.

But this is all just my 2 cents, everyone is entitled to use whatever floats their boat.

	In My Opinon IMO = In My Opinion and IMHO = In My Honest Opinion

[keller346]

I use a mix of shreaded newspaper and Aspen. 50/50 on each side and my RTB likes the paper more and the King likes aspen. Both are set up the same way and stay on seperate sides. I even tried to swap the sides that had the paper and he stayed on that side while the king did the same as well. so I leave it up to them to choose what they want...lol