cage carpet....bad idea?

[Garrett__16]

I am going to get a baby male corn snake and I am very excited and want to have an exceptionally nice home ready for him when he arrives. I have everything else figured out except whether I should put aspen bedding or cage carpet in there. I was kind of leaning towards cage carpet because it would be cheaper than continually buying aspen chips (which aren't sold anywhere near me) and it seems easier to clean. I have many accessories for my aquarium and I think my snake will be very busy with all of the climbing sticks and hides that I have provided for him. What do you think? I would appreciate anyone who can help me out.

[Simon]

To tell you the truth, I would say go for aspen. Yes it might not look as good as the cage carpet but trust me, you'll save yourself a whole lot more work. If you are going to get the cage carpet, I would advice you to get at least two of them for the tank. That is everytime the snake poops on it, you'll have to wash it. After washing it, you'll need to dry it. During that drying time, you might as well just put the second cage carpet in there, since waiting for the carpet to dry may take a long while.
If you didn't wait for the carpet to dry and just put it right in, mold and other bacteria may grow on the carpet.......which may cause problems to your snake later on.

For aspen bedding, it's not that expensive, really easy to clean up, doesn't look that bad in the enclosure and it's fun for them (They like burrowing in the aspen bedding)

So for my advice, I would say go for aspen bedding.

Good Luck and Happy Herping!

[kellyjones]

I agree with Simon. It is so much easier to pick out the small bit of soiled substrate that strip out the carpet. I think it looks just as good but that is my personal opinion

[jim]

i'm with those guys... ^^^^
go with the aspen, you'll be glad you did. the carpet has to be taken out at the bare minimum of once a week and even with that frequency you'd be surprised at what will be growing under it.... and oooooooohhh the smell..... NASTY!!!! LOL..... good luck... :) ---jim

[Dean]

I agree, don't go for cage carpet it really does stink, I am now on beach chip (no aspen in UK), and the smell is only there when the snake poops and it is really easy to remove a 2" square of chip than it is to remove the carpet and clean.

When I got the corn I couldn't believe the smell, but since I got the new viv and started using the chippings there is no smell.

Regards.

Dean.