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Whatsbest SUBSTRAIT?????
- Thread starter Alex Dew
- Start date
Rachel
Vet nurse in training!
Currently, I use paper towels for one snake and hemp bedding for the others. I have also used wood chip and shredded newspaper for all my snakes when I started out.
*Paper towels:
PROS- cheap, easy to clean out, easy to notice when your snake has poo'd, won't cause problems with snake ingesting it.
CONS- not very aesthetically pleasing!
*Newspaper:
PROS- pretty much same as paper towels but if shredded your snake can burrow easier. Also, you are doing your bit by recycling!
CONS- some people metioned problems with the ink running (or maybe it was problems if the snake ingested it??) and also not very nice to look at.
*wood chip:
PROS- Looks nice, easily available from reptile shops or hardware shops, allows snake some degree of burrowing if its deep.
CONS- well I simply didn't like it. The brand I got was very 'chunky' and didn't feel as if it would be 'comfy' for my snakes. Problems with ingestion if you feed your snake in the tank. Harder to spot clean (cant see the poos as well)
*Hemp:
PROS- by far the best substrate I've used. Its relatively cheap, makes for great burrows for my snakes and is not 'chunky' like the wood chip. Kind of like bark mulch, I think
Also seems to keep smell to a minimum and is quite absorbant!
CONS- not as easy to clean out (spot clean) and again, you couldn't feed in the tank if you use this.
That's all I've used, and pretty much all thats available to me anyway. I think I remember someone saying that pine shavings are a big no no because they are poisonous? Can't remember that well because it isn't available up here so I didn't take much notice...
HTH anyway!
*Paper towels:
PROS- cheap, easy to clean out, easy to notice when your snake has poo'd, won't cause problems with snake ingesting it.
CONS- not very aesthetically pleasing!
*Newspaper:
PROS- pretty much same as paper towels but if shredded your snake can burrow easier. Also, you are doing your bit by recycling!
CONS- some people metioned problems with the ink running (or maybe it was problems if the snake ingested it??) and also not very nice to look at.
*wood chip:
PROS- Looks nice, easily available from reptile shops or hardware shops, allows snake some degree of burrowing if its deep.
CONS- well I simply didn't like it. The brand I got was very 'chunky' and didn't feel as if it would be 'comfy' for my snakes. Problems with ingestion if you feed your snake in the tank. Harder to spot clean (cant see the poos as well)
*Hemp:
PROS- by far the best substrate I've used. Its relatively cheap, makes for great burrows for my snakes and is not 'chunky' like the wood chip. Kind of like bark mulch, I think
Also seems to keep smell to a minimum and is quite absorbant!
CONS- not as easy to clean out (spot clean) and again, you couldn't feed in the tank if you use this.
That's all I've used, and pretty much all thats available to me anyway. I think I remember someone saying that pine shavings are a big no no because they are poisonous? Can't remember that well because it isn't available up here so I didn't take much notice...
HTH anyway!
13mur 6
Junior Researcher, MSKCC
Well depends what you think is ideal.
Paper towel kicks rump in terms of easy to clean, cheap and readily available. But towels don't look too nice and you need to clean the tank every time you snakes poo.
Aspen is nice in that the snakes can burrow, you don't have to clean every time your snakes poo, and looks nice. But aspen might cause impaction in small snakes, and you can't really keep track of pooing or what it looks like, or you can even miss a regurge since aspen soaks up moisture so quickly.
Astroturf is very nice looking stuff, but it's a hassle to clean, since it is sort of like a piece of carpet, and you need multiple pieces for swapping out when your snake goes on it. Also expensive.
Carefresh absorbs moisture like nothing out there, but it can also dry out your snake's skin. Similar to aspen but more expensive.
Newspaper works like paper towel minus the absorbative capabilities. It's free, and it works. I guess the con is that your tank stinks real bad if your snake goes, and some of the ink can rub off on your snake, but I think almost all newspapers use non-toxic soy based ink.
Oh yeah, stay away from pine and cedar, or any other oily softwoods. Quite toxic.
-Lemur 6
Paper towel kicks rump in terms of easy to clean, cheap and readily available. But towels don't look too nice and you need to clean the tank every time you snakes poo.
Aspen is nice in that the snakes can burrow, you don't have to clean every time your snakes poo, and looks nice. But aspen might cause impaction in small snakes, and you can't really keep track of pooing or what it looks like, or you can even miss a regurge since aspen soaks up moisture so quickly.
Astroturf is very nice looking stuff, but it's a hassle to clean, since it is sort of like a piece of carpet, and you need multiple pieces for swapping out when your snake goes on it. Also expensive.
Carefresh absorbs moisture like nothing out there, but it can also dry out your snake's skin. Similar to aspen but more expensive.
Newspaper works like paper towel minus the absorbative capabilities. It's free, and it works. I guess the con is that your tank stinks real bad if your snake goes, and some of the ink can rub off on your snake, but I think almost all newspapers use non-toxic soy based ink.
Oh yeah, stay away from pine and cedar, or any other oily softwoods. Quite toxic.
-Lemur 6