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The BEST Substrate

kloe2008

kloe2008

Newbie Member...
I'm currently using Exo Terra "plantation soil" stuff, made from 'compressed coconut husk fibre'? It does hold humidity well and doesn't appear to have any downsides to it, but is this really the best substrate to use? What substrate are you experienced guys using? Thanks for any input =]
 
95% of corn snake owners use aspen for any snake over 4 months old. Easy to spot clean, cheap, and safe.
 
Stars said:
95% of corn snake owners use aspen for any snake over 4 months old. Easy to spot clean, cheap, and safe.
Click to expand...

Yep that's what I use. With nearly 300 snakes at any given time, there's never been an issue with it. :)
 
I use the crushed coconut husk also and I so far have to find any issue with it. If i need a low humidity tank it works, if i need a high humidity tank it works... just very useful all around.
 
I vote aspen, I have used coconut fiber before and found that one of my snakes was a burrower and often had it packed in its nostrils which concerned me, did not want to have it cause a respiratory infection. I then switched to aspen and it is far easier to clean, and soooo much cheaper.

You can easily see exactly where the snake has done their business and it dries up in to a nice neat clump of aspen shavings, very easy to remove. This then reduces the frequency of having to completely change out the substrate in the tank. As well I and get 8 cubic feet of shaved aspen for $15 and I had to pay the same amount for enough coconut fiber to do two 30 gallon long tanks once! The big bale of aspen I have had since May and have not even used 1/2 of it with 5 snakes in the house.
 
I also love aspen shavings for snake substrate. It is affordable, safe, easy to spot clean, allows for burrowing and is not bad to look at.
 
currently I am using Douglas Fur Shavings with Eucalyptus, from Zilla, since i have a snow it is sometimes hard to find her if she is buried but the Eucalyptus gives it a nice smell and she generally poops in the same spot.
 
Aspen here as well. Like Becky said, with the average numbers between 200 and 400 reptiles at any given time...it serves them all well.

I usually pick up several 4.38 cu ft bags of Harlen Teklad Laboratory Grade Aspen at the expos. I usually can pick it up for about $10 to $15 a bag!
 
Rave that is not safe for snakes...aromatic shavings are known to cause respiratory infections...both fur and Eucalyptus are not recommended at all. Just thought I would let you know. Even if the aroma seems to be very little keep in mind, your snake has only one lung, it is small and your snake is burrowing in it and sleeping right on/in it. Just thought I would let you know as I would hate for you to have something happen to your little buddy.
 
Here in the UK aspen is less easy to get hold of. I use bark chips bought from my local reptile shop, which has always been fine. The one drawback is that it comes with fly eggs that hatch when warmed, so it has to be baked before use to kill them.

However, it's a nice loose consistency and a 1-2 inch deep layer allows faeces to drain away from the snake so they're not sitting in it before I get a chance to spot-clean. It would also allow burrowing, although none of my current Corns have that habit.
 
My 8 cubic ft bags are from this company

Aspen Shavings
Kiln-Dried Hardwood Bedding
Vol 8 Cu. Ft. Compressed to 2.6 Cu Ft.

Nepco
NorthEastern Products Corp.
Warrensburg, NY
800.873.8233

www.rouville.com

Here in Saskatchewan Canada I pick it up at a feed store called Early's, but I gave you all the contact info and maybe you can find a place near you that carries it.
 
Apparently the website on the bag is for a bagging company that is in french so I would ignore that part.
 
I use Zilla Repti-bark. My snake's viv is a big display-viv and it looks quite nice in there.
It also works great for spot-cleaning throughout the month before changing and the humidity stays in the right range.
Downside? Out of the bag it has some dust, I shake it out on a screen. It's also more expensive than aspen.
I only have one viv to fill so it doesn't matter to me but if I had more I would probably use aspen. I buy it at reptile shows, even with admission it's cheaper than a store or the same price and I get to look at snakes and stuff.
 
I used aspen for years and then tried carefresh a while back. I personally like the carefresh better and have been using it ever since. From what I've seen, it has all the benefits of aspen, but is less dusty and less likely to stick to a mouse/get swallowed if a food item is dragged over it.
 
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