Substrate

Hi all im new to this site... im a new owner of cornsnakes... I just started this week I have 2 corn snakes... my question is what kind of substrate should I use? I've gone to my pet stores around here and they keep telling me diffrent things... I think so they can get my money but I'm not sure... can someone help

I personally use aspen. Newspaper and paper towels are also used. Never use cedar and I don't recommend pine (just my personal opinion). I like aspen because it is absorbent and the feces can be scooped out easily. The snakes like it because they can burrow thru it making tunnels and hides. Hope this helps. I'm sure you will get some other responses that will help you make your decision.


Alicia

Agreeing with Alicia. Using aspen bedding is cheap and it's good for the snake too. As Alicia said newspaper and paper towl is used too. But then They don't look as good as using aspen bedding. I buy them in blukes and they are only around $25 dollars each and it last around 3 months. So I would say aspen is good!

Good luck and Happy Herping!

right now i have some bone sand??? it clumps good with the poop... but then ive heard that it keeps the humity low... does it really matter... i havent read anything about the bone sand being good or being bad in any of my cornsnake manuals or on any internet sit... where do i get aspen? and what does it look like?

Sand should be used for desert type herps and corns are not. The humidity is very important for corns. If the humidity is too low they will be uncomfortable, have trouble shedding and could become dehydrated. The dehydration is especially important to watch for in young/small corns. Aspen can be found in most pet shops small & large or most Wal Marts. You can also find it on line, I don't have any web sites in mind right now maybe someone who orders theirs on the net can point you to a source.
Hope you find some soon. For now tho I would put some newspaper down .

Alicia

BTW--they aren't Ball Pythons, that's for sure--but humidity will eventually get ya if you ignore it.

Sand can also be annoying when it gets caught between their ventral scales... they hate that.

You can get aspen via mail order (with cheap shipping) from Bush Herpetological Supply.

hmmm... speaking about ball pythons... I have a burmese python... what kind of substrate should i use for her??? aspen??? i have some cypruse forest wood stuff for her right now... but it looks like it has termites... these lil and i mean lil white bugs... and she seems to alwasy be in the water... i know it dont deal with our beloved cornsnakes... but i would really like to know about this... thanks Serpwidgets... i checked out all your sights... and i must say im very impressed...
corny...

Corny,
I'm guessing that your Burmese is still on the small side.
Basically the same rules apply. I like Aspen! it has no odor,very little dust and seems to last longer than everything else I've tried.
NO cedar! and to be safe I would leave the pine for the rodents. I have used cypress mulch--It's alot cheaper than aspen, but very dusty. When your Burmese gets to 10feet+, they can krap as much as my 80 pound dog. A couple pieces of out door carpet works very well. I cut a few pieces to fit the bottom of the cage and rotate them, wash them with the hose and make sure they dry completly. Good Luck!

Hi Corny, I read all of the post's on this site and I think just about everyone use's the aspen, it seem's to be the most popular and best for the snake. At the moment I'm just using paper towel's till she is bigger. But in the cornsnake manual by Kathy Love it say's that pine is toxic. Good luck with your corn's they are a brilliant snake.

Aspen is the way to go. You can use newspapers or paper towels for younger corns. But Im not stating anything new here am I?

-Kev