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Substrate: Grass, Hay or other non wood substrates?

Felicia8278

Felicia8278

New member
Hi, I am a new member to the forum! I have a question about substrates. I am using aspen bedding, and really want to switch to something more green, something that could be composted. There is a big local market for hay and meadow grass. I'm thinking linoleum may be a better bet or would be complimented with the hay. Currently housing two hatchlings either sex and one adult corn snake, 1 cat and 9 rats :)
 
Hello, and welcome!

I'd avoid the hay, grass, etc. unless you take preventative measures to kill any random insects that might be living in it. And even then, you can't guarantee that there isn't pesticides in there that might be harmful to your animals. But again, that's just my opinion.

(Side note, I had a moment where I didn't realize which "green" you were talking about, and almost suggested colored aspen. :p )

As for the rats, I'm not as up to par on those as I would like to be, but I'm sure starsevol or ratsncorns to help you with them soon!
 
Welcome to the forum! I have used (and composted) newspaper and Yesterday's News -a recycled newspaper cat litter that makes an excellent, if heavy bedding -for years. I keep going back to aspen for adults though. I keep babies on paper towels, yearlings mostly on Carefresh, and adults on aspen these days. I have also used rabbit pellets, which are easy to compost, but also heavy for racks, and not great if water sloshes on any.
 
I does take a while to break down, but being wood it is certainly biodegradable.
 
I was wondering that as well-I use the coconut fiber from my frog viv around my plants, and was planning to do the same for the aspen for the snake.
 
I compost aspen, the shredded kinda breaks down pretty easy. Not the fastest break down, but it does not have the harsh oils of pine or cedar.
 
I used chopped barley straw for a couple of years and loved it, but I can't get the big bags locally now.
 

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Can corns use Coconut fiber? It's good for amphibians because it doesn't mold/mildew very quickly, and my flowers seem to like it as a mulch once the frogs are done with it. It turns to dirt pretty fast outside.
 
If it's the consistency of Coco-Fresh or similar, absolutely. Some of that coconut stuff is almost weightless though, and I think they'd spend all their time under it.
 
Thanks for all the feedback guys! There was so many posts it'll be hard to respond to all of you. But some of the questions I noticed I will answer.

My idea in this is to produce the best results for my snakes, and for the planet. I just think of how many plastic bags I fill with dirty bedding[lots of animals], how many plastic bags I buy my bedding in and can't find a second use for. Animal Life newspapers are great free resource I shred in a paper shredder and I use with the rats. Some websites have mentioned the ink is harmful for snakes, even soy inks. This is surprising to me, because rats are very sensitive but do fine with the newspaper. Any body know anything about this ink-based rumor?
Here's questions answered:
Why not compost aspen? You're not really supposed to compost wood because it just takes longer to break down. I guess some people here have tried composting it, and noticed it does take longer. To make a good compost, you need 3-4 things. Rotting things [preferably non-meat/dairy] and/or manure, and leaves and grass which are essential ingredients in the breakdown process. I was thinking meadow grass would be great to use for both the snakes and my compost which requires green grass. Plus won't the snake be pleased to be in a more natural environment? I know a lot of people seem to think the snakes don't care if they hide in a purchased molded plastic hide, or a cheap chinese food take out container, but I think it's more pleasing for both my eye and the snake's comfort to have a good place to hide.
Someone mentioned won't you worry about pesticides and bugs/parasites/diseases, I am actually more worried about the aspen I get from wal mart, as the only thing I can do to cure it is to put in the fridge, and most websites say 1 month frozen which is quite a bit of time and space in my tiny freezer :( It keeps the snake food warm though :p All of my outdoor items I cure in the oven before sharing them with my animals. The meadowgrass would be risky to cure but if I buy it from a local farm, find one who doesn't use chemicals i.e. "organic" I believe a lot of farmers cure the hay themselves. So it is safe for animal consumption.
Sorry for being so bizarre about my snakes and such, I am just a nature nut with the vision of creating a natural terrarium for my snake buddies [and rat friends too!]. I want it to look like you just stepped into a forest and there's a snake chilling on that log over there, lol. I keep all sorts of treasures I find outside on hikes like twisted brances, bark hides from fallen tree trunks, and willow branches from 4 big Willow Trees right around the corner from where I live. So the animals climb some different textures instead of just plastic or metal, which I am sure must get boring from time to time.
Felicia
 
I tried meadow hay when I could no longer get the chopped barley straw and found it really didn't deal with moisture at all. I now use Aubiose, it's made from shredded hemp fibres so it's a renewable resource and composts really easily
 
diamondlil said:
I tried meadow hay when I could no longer get the chopped barley straw and found it really didn't deal with moisture at all. I now use Aubiose, it's made from shredded hemp fibres so it's a renewable resource and composts really easily
Click to expand...

I'd like to try that. It's probably illegal in the US, knowing our arcane hemp laws.
 
elrojo said:
I'd like to try that. It's probably illegal in the US, knowing our arcane hemp laws.
Click to expand...
It's horse bedding, so I'd be surprised if you couldn't get it from feed stores. (It's the sort of hemp used in paper, for its fibres)
 
Yeah, it can't be grown in the US. Even hemp for rope mostly comes from Canada in this country. Not at all the same as marijuana, but illegal to grow in the United States in 2012.
 
You can probably find barley straw at a pond store...I guess I don't throw out a lot of cornsnake aspen. Just handfuls when I pick poop. You could easily toss that out in your yard and it would disappear into your grass. Or put it around the bases of trees or shrubs.
 
As a corn snake and horse mom, I can honestly say I would never use hay. Maybe the bagged straw like diamondlil uses is better. Hay can be *really* dusty and it's not uncommon to find junk or dead animals in them from when they were bailed, thankfully it doesn't happen often but still it does.
 
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