Substrate...

[project1]

I purchased some Repti-Bark with my new albino corn. Aswell as a book on the care of corns... well in the book it says as long as the shavings/bark isn't ceder it should be okay. Well repti-bark is fir and I was reading on kingsnakes forum that somebody said that Fir is toxic? Wouldn't the book say this if it were true? Anyway, the fir shavings look great, and my corn loved em before I took em out (after reading the post on kingsnake).. so right now I have fresh paper towl down for now. Will it be ok to put the fir shavings back in?

 

[Spitfire]

Repti-Bark is ok to use but I wouldn't. It soaks up moisture and increases the smell. Also it's harder to clean. I would just go with paper towels or aspen. Both are absorbent and easy to clean because they're disposable.

 

[project1]

I find that repti-bark isn't that hard to clean.... I've had a few different types of reptiles (i.e. beardies and leos)... none of them on any type of bark mind you...


Also... would shredded coco-nut work as a good substrate... sometimes called bed-a-beast.. or Echo Earth's Coco-Bark? It's fairly fine... kinda like dirt, but it clumps together, and doesn't smell? Anybody have any experience with it? It's also VERRY cheap you can buy like 3 bricks of it for $15 (can.) and one brick would FILL a 20 gallon tank. So if I could I have 2 bricks left and I would LOVE to use it...

 

[Spitfire]

Well if you don't mind cleaning it then go ahead with the Repti-Bark because you onjly have to buy it once and can save some money. I haven't had any experience with shredded coconut but what I use is paper towels and leave a patch of aspen for the snake to burrow in.

 

[CAV]

Repti-Bark is ok to use but I wouldn't. It soaks up moisture and increases the smell. Also it's harder to clean.

I'm going to have to disagree Sam. I love Repti-Bark, but it is cost prohibitive with a large collection.

1. It is on of the best odor controllers I've ever used and it is a dream to clean. (A plastic scooper or a spoon makes easy work of the job )

2. The pieces are big and more difficult to ingest than shredded aspen.

3. Moisture retention is better than aspen as well. If it gets dry, just spritz it with a spray bottle.

 

[Magic Kiwi]

Shredded coconut is an excellent substrate. It clumps nicely, looks good, etc. But it is very expensive when compared to other substrates. I personally use shredded Aspen. The corns love it as they can burrow around in it and make little tunnels for themselves etc. It's also much cheaper than some of the other options.

 

[Spitfire]

Repti-Bark is ok to use but I wouldn't. It soaks up moisture and increases the smell. Also it's harder to clean.

I'm probably thinking about a different substrate. Is Repti-Batk a mat or what? Ot is it just a regular substrate like aspen?

 

[leia]

I haven't heard of anyone else doing this, but I sometimes use the sheddings from a paper shredder. The one we have makes it into the little pieces, not the long strips.
It is basically free, because the snake just gets to poop on old bills and bank statements

However it is next to imposible to find the poo, you just have to replace all of it.
I usually use that or paper towels, depending on my mood. My snake seems to like both, because he can burrow in the paper shreddings, or hide under the paper towels.

I haven't tried any of the others though.

 

[project1]

Repti-Bark is a mulch... like they took fir trees and shredded the "puzzle" like bark off the sides of the tree...

http://www.savannah.fr/acatalog/Repti-Bark.jpg

that's what repti-bark looks like..

 

[Spitfire]

Yea, I was thinking of something else. I thought it was like a mat or somthing along those line. I just remember it had the name Repti in it.

 

[project1]

your thinking of repti-carpet ... I used it it's a pain in the ars... it looks bad too.

 

[Spitfire]

Yea, that's it.