Substrate. A comparison of the different substrates in use f

[herpkingdom]

There are many, many choices for what you are going to use to line the floor of your reptile's enclosure. Some are good, some are not so good, and some will just plain harm your snake. Here I will go over some of the most used substrates to cover their good points and their bad points.

PAPER PRODUCTS:
There are several paper products out there for lining your cage floors with. I, personally, use rolls of 30 lb. Kraft paper. This product is highly absorbent, mold resistant, and has an indented surface that makes it easier for your snake to move. It is made from recycled materials, totally free of inks and dyes, and is 100% biodegradable. There are two places you can get them, the first is from the actual manufacturer at Uline.com, and second from a distributor at .DCL- Disposable Cage Liners Regular old newspaper is a cheap alternative for lining your snake cage, although I don't find it nearly absorbent as the Kraft paper. Many people use it to line their cages and use nothing else. It's easy, economical, and convenient.

ASTROTURF:
Astroturf makes a good substrate, but is has its bad points too. First it is easy to put in, no folding like newspaper. Just cut it to size and you're done. Second, it looks great! There is nothing like Astroturf in a cage to brighten it up and make it look marvelous.
Now to the drawbacks of using Astroturf. Although is it easy to install and looks great, it is very difficult to keep clean. Once a snake has deficated on it, it must be removed and sprayed down, sanitized and dried out. This means you are going to need more than just one piece for each cage. It allows for the growth of mold in your cage by allowing the water to get underneath it and not to dry out. It is not cheap to buy enough for two pieces for all of your cages. And after a while the edges you cut which are now unfinished, start to fray and bits start to come off which may end up inside your snake and cause health issues in the future.

WOOD SHAVINGS, MULCHES, AND CHIPS:
While some of these products are great, some good there are several that are not to be used at all in any reptile of amphibian enclosure. These are Cedar, any kind, shavings, chips, or other. The oils from cedar can cause illness and eventually death of your snake. Any type of conifer tree shavings, like pine, are not good for the same reasons. The oils in these shavings are harmful to your snake.
Alternative to these "bad" wood products are Aspen shavings and cypress mulch. Aspen shavings are light in color like the pine shavings, but without the oils that are harmful. It is a fine shaving that is good for most small to medium size snakes. It allows for the snake to burrow and is absorbent. It is sold in pet stores all over the country for just this use. Cypress mulch is the other alternative to cedar. It is a dark wood mulch that is larger in size than Aspen. This is good for your larger snakes as Apsen tends to get in between the belly scales of large snakes and cause irritation that can lead to infection. Cypress mulch can be found in any large plant nursery, Home Depot, or Lowe's. It is less expensive than Apsen and comes in large bags. As it is not made for the pet industry, it is best to prepare cypress mulch by baking it in your oven for 30 minutes at 200 degrees. This will rid it of any little critters that have found their way into the bag.

SAND AND GRAVEL:
I do not recommend using gravel or sand for any snake, with the exception of sand boas and a few other desert dwelling species. Not many snakes are equipped to prevent the fine particles of sand getting into their nostrils and heat pits. Not to mention under their belly scales where it will cause irritation that can lead to an infection. The same can be said for gravel. Some other points against using gravel is the fact that it is very time consuming to clean every week, and is too expensive just to throw it out after one use. Basically I use child play sand bought at any local Home Depot or Lowes. After I sift out any large rocks and other debris, I rinse it our several times then bake it for 30 minutes at 200 degrees. This insures it being as clean as possible. I, myself, do not use sand for any snake. I use it mainly for Bearded Dragons, Leopard Geckos, and other desert dwelling lizards. But I have seen it used for Sand Boas and a few other species of snake

Someone pointed out another substrate that I missed, and as soon as it was mentioned I remembered seeing it in the pet store that same day. I plan on purchasing this and putting it through the same usage that the other substrates go through, then report back here. It is a product called cage carpet. Green carpet like material, that is not astroturk, but a felt-like material. It is supposed to be abled to be washed in the washer and re-used numerous times without fraying and falling apart. But I cannot honestly state that until I do it.

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Jim Dixon
<a href="http://www.herpkingdom.com"></a>

[Sunn]

Thanks Jim.....good points to all.

I did try the cage carpet long ago with some small snakes, ball pythons and I didn't like how
hard it was to scrub. You can get it clean, I just doubt a washing machine would do it although I didn't try. I hand wash most things with a scrub brush, detergentin my old fashioned laundry tub...rinse and air dry.

I also found Bed A Beast missing from your list. It was recommended to me for my Dumeril neonates so they could burrow.....essential to them as babies. I haven't used it but I believe Julius or Morti has.....can't remember who for sure.

Once again.....thanks for the low downs for all to share.


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[LdyDrgn]

I tried Eco-Earth which is the same as Bed-a-Beast. It got into my snakes mouth causing mouthrot. Aspen also has a tendency to get into the mouths of larger boas causing the same problem.

Jim, you may want to mention that cypress in the large bags can only be found in the Eastern states. They don't carry it out west because it costs too much to ship (it IS an eastern tree, after all [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]). Anyone out there wanting cypress will have to buy Zoo-Med Forest Floor.

_________________
Click on Kuroneko to see my album

[Bry]

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font class="pn-sub">Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT class="pn-sub"><BLOCKQUOTE> Jim, you may want to mention that cypress in the large bags can only be found in the Eastern states. They don't carry it out west because it costs too much to ship (it IS an eastern tree, after all [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]). Anyone out there wanting cypress will have to buy Zoo-Med Forest Floor. </BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>

I don't know about California, but I have seen cypress mulch sold in large bags in Colorado.

Bry
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[natas]

This should be setup as a article in our caresheet section. Any admins willing to copy this and create a article for it? Be sure to give credit where due.

I would take it on but I am still moving the site lol [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]
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[JuliusSqueezer]

A good alternative to cypress if the gardening centers in your area don't have it is Eucalyptus mulch. It looks really nice too and is an equal substrate to cypress.
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[captainmorgan]

but what's the best bedding that matches a boas normal surroundings? like if i was to catch a columbian redtail, what would I be walking on?? like grass or whatever? thanks.
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[JonnyB]

well that was very informative thank you
I use newspaper in the snake tanks it is very easy to see when they do their business pluss it is cheap and easy to get

I use a Cal-sand with the berdie.

A mixture of reptile moss and reptile bark for the H2O
those seen to work great for keeping his humidity up pluss crickets can and are breeding in there everyonce and a while I can see a pin head hopping around
The moss and the bark I think are from pet med not exactly cheap but they work great for me [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]
Thanx for the 411 jim
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[Stormyva]

Jonny... you may want to switch to regular, cheap, play sand for the beardies. The calci-sand and walnut shell have sharp edges and tend to clump which can cause impaction or other internal problems for the beardies. Not to mention the play sand is about $3.00 for a 50LB bag at Home Depot. Wait until they are at least 6 mnths to a year old though before putting them on anything other than cage carpet, paper towel, or newspaper as baby beardies tend to ingest more substrate than juveys and adults.
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[Bry]

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font class="pn-sub">Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT class="pn-sub"><BLOCKQUOTE>Jim, you may want to mention that cypress in the large bags can only be found in the Eastern states. They don't carry it out west because it costs too much to ship (it IS an eastern tree, after all ). Anyone out there wanting cypress will have to buy Zoo-Med Forest Floor.</BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>

Just wanted to comment on this. I did find a herp shop out here in Denver that sells 3 cubic foot bags of cypress mulch. Unfortunately, it costs $30 because they have to get it shipped out here. So, I did a little bit of searching. Unfortunately, most of the mulches I can find are cedar. However, I went to a mom and pop garden store that has been around for as long as I can remember. They have a huge pile of aspen mulch in the back that you basically just scoop into a large bag, and it costs $2 per cubic foot. A tad more expensive than the cypress mulch back east, but not a bad price at all. Lowe's and Home Depot out here only carry cedar mulch, but I'm sure there are some mom and pop garden shops that sell aspen mulch. They don't carry eucalyptus mulch around here, but perhaps they do in other western states.

Bry
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