Poll For Substrate!!!!!

[ssmith_1187]

Aspen for the aesthetics and burrowing characteristics.

Regards,
Steve

 

[Sunny-Delight]

who says snakes can't burrow under newspaper? mine do

 

[eddie1920]

My vote goes for newspaper i get it free its easy and clean and fast.

 

[Okeetee_Corn_Snakes]

Hmm, I thought aspen would be #1 on here. I use nothing else but aspen. Cheap, easy to clean and always available. (however my rat snake is on coconut mulch because I cannot get the aspen to retain enough miosture for him. I want him back on aspen though.)

 

[Esfa]

i have no idea what aspen is lol

but i use this like sawdust stuff. haha, techical term, that is.

 

[suecornish]

Okay. Now I am totally confused. :bird:

We are using cypress mulch because that is what our two adults snake's prior owner used. I worry about them getting splinters when they eat although Konig (6yo banded king) inhales his food and it doesn't get a chance to hit the ground and here lately Smokey (8yo Snow corn) has gone an a hunger strike and refuses mice (which is okay because Konig will eat what Smokey won't and Smokey's prior owner was feeding them once a month and my husband has been feeding him twice a week). :-offtopic

But I use plain paper towels for Gaia who is about 5-6 months old.

I don't like the way the mulch looks and I am thinking about putting the aspin in Gaia's tank.

So I guess the choice of what to use is really based on what the snake is happy with and what the owner buys. :crazy02:

 

[MegF.]

Cypress mulch is perfectly fine to use. I use it with my Green tree pythons because it handles high humidity well. Feeding should not be done on substrate that can be ingested. Take the snake out and feed in a seperate box or tub. Feeding twice a week is too often unless it's a small baby. Then every 4-5 days is o.k. I would try to feed your non-feeder first and then if they don't want it, give it to the feeder. Overfeeding is as bad as underfeeding. Once a week to 10 days is more than sufficient.

 

[suecornish]

Cypress mulch is perfectly fine to use. I use it with my Green tree pythons because it handles high humidity well. Feeding should not be done on substrate that can be ingested. Take the snake out and feed in a seperate box or tub. Feeding twice a week is too often unless it's a small baby. Then every 4-5 days is o.k. I would try to feed your non-feeder first and then if they don't want it, give it to the feeder. Overfeeding is as bad as underfeeding. Once a week to 10 days is more than sufficient.

Do you know how hard it is for a husband to listen to a wife. :shrugs: He stopped overfeeding our female Lab when she stated to limp and I stated that I would have to take her to the vet to see if she had hip displasia because she was so heavy and putting too much weight on the hip joint.

When we got the adult snakes, their prior owner was feeding them once a month. To me once a week should be enough but Kevin said they were too skinny. When Smokey refused to eat this second time I reminded Kevin that Smokey last ate four days ago and probably was not hungry; and, being smarter than a king snake, was not hungry. (Hope Konig didn't hear that.)

I take care of the baby, Gaia. I feed her two pinkies every 5 to 7 days and she is doing fine. He said he has "hands off" on Gaia because she is mine so I know she won't be overfeed.

I just don't like the way cypress looks and the snakes can't burrow in it. I was thinking aspen would be better for the adults for that reason and for Gaia because she is still small, 16" (haven't weighted her yet).
:crazy02:

 

[Droptines]

I say if the substrate is too packed or solid for the snakes to burrow in, then just provide a few more hides.I am using the coco nut bark, but I'm thinking of changing to something smoother,,"dirt like".Maybe even mix the two together.I like the fact that my snake can't get right down on the glass,next to the heat pad.

 

[tbtusk]

Well I use Zoo-Med Eco Earth, which is coconut fiber. It is really fine, and I like it because it looks very natural, like dirt. It's great for burrowing and cheaper than aspen where I am. I admit it isn't great at absorbing smell, but then again I never really notice anything and haven't tried aspen for comparison, so who knows. It holds moisture very well when sprayed, and I need that as my house is very dry. I don't think it gets too moist though, as most of the water from spraying is gone after a day and a half to 2 days.

As far as I'm concerned there isn't a down side to the stuff.

 

[Emanon]

NEWSPAPER!!!!! At least during breeding season... cheap, clean, and easy!!!

 

[suecornish]

NEWSPAPER!!!!! At least during breeding season... cheap, clean, and easy!!!

Isn't the ink on newspaper harmfull? :shrugs:

 

[Jeffery_charles]

beddin

Aspen is cheap and easy to maintane, it seems to hold in moisture but not really. If u want somewhat cheap but good for burrowing use the Shredded Coconut Fibre expandable substract. This is by far the best, nicest, and realistic bedding to get. The snakes can borrow very easily it hold a great amount of moisture, and it looks real like u take a pc of nature and place it in a tank. For breeders aspen or newspaper makes sense but if u have a snake as a pet use what I suggested. Trust me I know what Im talkin about.

 

[Midnght]

considering I'm not a breeder. I use crushed english walnut shells with repti calci sand mixed in. a 75/25 ratio

 

[Kilala]

I voted for newspaper. It's absorbent and cheap. actually, it's free, since i steal giant piles of it from my neighbors on recycling day, lol!

 

[NightNea]

I vote and uses normal paper towels. My guy seems to prefer it as he used to have a bowl with bark in it(which he avoided like the plague so it got removed lol ). I might try Aspen though; when I can find a store in Stockholm that sell decent aspen that is ^^;

 

[BezilsGirl]

I typically use Aspen, but wanted to check if this was ok From Zilla, "Douglas Fir Shavings with Eucalyptus" I was using the Cypress from them (when the aspen was out at the petstore) and really liked it, but I think they stopped making it because I can't find it ANYWHERE. The package for this says ok for snakes but I wanted to ask people who would know because manufactors can put down any rubbish, which doesn't mean its true.
http://www.reptiledirect.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1085

 

[Corny Noob]

I can't properly vote in this poll cause I'm currently using aspen with newspaper.
But I have a **** load of carefresh that I need to use too.

 

[diamondlil]

I typically use Aspen, but wanted to check if this was ok From Zilla, "Douglas Fir Shavings with Eucalyptus" I was using the Cypress from them (when the aspen was out at the petstore) and really liked it, but I think they stopped making it because I can't find it ANYWHERE. The package for this says ok for snakes but I wanted to ask people who would know because manufactors can put down any rubbish, which doesn't mean its true.
http://www.reptiledirect.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1085

Volatile oils-> sick snake! I'd imagine eucalyptus and fir would be one of the worst possible combos

 

[Demondes]

I voted for aspen as I use it now, but I'm planning to change it to peat mixed with aspen when I move my snakes to new vivs.