New substrate!

[Freakzilla6942]

i went to get my snakes thier food today and while i was there I was browsing as usual when the "reptile pro" sales person came up. i happened to be near the substrate/beddings and he "recommended" something i should try..just wanted to know if anybody here uses, has used or know about this stuff..don't have to change me cages right now but if this stuff is good i'll switch when i do it's called "forest bark" from EXO-TERRA....anybody with any info on it let me know....to his credit the guy knew slightly more then i did abotu reptiles but then again i don't know if that is saying much LOL

[haroldo359]

i use cypress mulch for almost all my reptiles.

cedar will kill them.

[William]

I used the exo-terra forest bark for anoles so it should be fine for a snake.

[Gecko-Guy]

well, pine will too. Both of them give off harmful chemical fumes. If you are looking for a bedding from the store. Get bed-a-beast. it has many names, actually. It looks like a big brown brick. It expands when placed in water. They sell them 4 for 12$ or something. a quarter of each one can fill a 10 gallon tank. It holds humidity great and is made of coconut husk bedding. That and cypress mulch are the only two loose substrate that i use.

[dave_lp]

i use cell sorb, he has never had a problem with it, but i dont think it would be very comfortable if injested

[Freakzilla6942]

ok well i ain't sold on the stuff just always looking to get the best for my critters... I currently use a "grass" mat...found it's easy to clean,cut down on the possiblity of mites and looks good..

	Mites Mites, close relatives of fleas and ticks

[Gecko-Guy]

the bed a beast stuff does not contain mites guaranteed. Other stuff will. The bed- a-beast is compacted vaccuum packed coconut fibers that you have to soak in warm water for 20 minutes to use. The cypress mulch, on the other hand, has to be baked for a while to kill any mites it might harbor. The tradeoff is that the cypress mulch is dirt cheap.

	Mites Mites, close relatives of fleas and ticks

[faze]

Originally Posted by Gecko-Guy

the bed a beast stuff does not contain mites guaranteed. Other stuff will. The bed- a-beast is compacted vaccuum packed coconut fibers that you have to soak in warm water for 20 minutes to use. The cypress mulch, on the other hand, has to be baked for a while to kill any mites it might harbor. The tradeoff is that the cypress mulch is dirt cheap.

i've found mites in the bed a beast coconut fiber stuff gecko guy i'm with harold as for cypress mulch cheap and effective lowes and home depot are your friend lol

	Mites Mites, close relatives of fleas and ticks

[Gecko-Guy]

wow, i gotta start watching out for mites in that stuff. Never even considered it a possibility. Well, it doesn't really matter anyway cause im using paper towel now but i guess freakzilla should use cypress mulch then.

	Mites Mites, close relatives of fleas and ticks

[Sunn]

Any new animals stay on paper towels and get sprayed with Reptile Relief until I am satisfied all is fine.......then they stay the remainder of their quarantine time on newspaper as do all my snakes. You can't beat newspaper for economy.

I've used Bed A Beast to start dumeril babies and like it just fine.

I've used Aspen and like it just fine too but if you have to feed in the cage for any reason you have to be sure and put the food on something so they won't ingest any of the Aspen.

Newspaper is still my favorite.

[StevenLeeAugust]

freeze bed a beast first. it helps kill the mites

	Mites Mites, close relatives of fleas and ticks

[Freakzilla6942]

yeah mites are a pain..when i first started i was using pine...(bad advice) the baby red-tai i had (bad specimen to begin with) got really bad with them. went from pine to cedar....(more bad advice) then the breeder i was getting my iguanas from turned me on to this terra-carpet...it' been ok...i mean its fake plastic grass but it cleans good and mites won't live on it..but if i find a good natural bedding i'd love to switch..i think it would be better for the snakes...besides this disscussion and poll might help the newbies also....peace

P.S. the forest bark is made of fir..looked it up on the web

	Mites Mites, close relatives of fleas and ticks

[gibsonhtp]

i go with the paper towel's all the way, easy to clean out and cheap.

[bradwss4]

I love the aspen myself cause I kinda consider it like (snake) kitty litter, it's so easy to clean up. but is there another bedding that is like that yet they can eat on and not worry about them ingesting some of the bedding and causing harm to em?