Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have three 3' boas in a heated rack system, and was using newspaper but they would knock their water bowls over and make a big wet mess of their drawer. So i have decided to switch to aspen bedding (as well as the fact it provides comfort and maybe a little more security) and have not had much of a problem since. i pin the waterbowls between the aspen and the corner of the enclosure, and they havent knocked over a water bowl since..

Works fine the only problem is i have always been the newspaper type, so aspen is unfamiliar territory for me. When one of my boas would do their buisness i'd remover the snake, remove the newspaper, give the bin a wash down and i was done. With aspen if one deficates do i remove all the bedding from the entire bin? Or just the contaminated spot? And theirs know way of know where their urine is in that stuff. Im concerned about the aspen because of chance of mold and things of that nature. I would like to do the aspen thing but cannot afford to empty and re-fill a full bin of aspen every single week. (which i have been doing the past 2 weeks to stay on the safe side.) If thats the case i might just go back to newspaper and buy shallow bowls.

If anyone who uses aspen can give me a rule of thumb or share their weekly/monthly cleaning routine i'd appreciate it very very much.

Thanks everybody and congrats on all the monster looking animals out ther. I just got back into the hobby bout 2 years ago after about a decade of not owning one snake and damn have boas come a long way. And on a personal note if you happen reading this, mdc- your albinos are off the chain, their tails are to die for.

Here's something to rethink...
Your boas may have been too warm on the newspaper. That might be why they were constantly overturning their water bowels.
The aspen is probably just elevating and insulating them from too high a heat. I know my young boas get pretty stressed out if left at even 86 deg.F for any length of time. They prefer it closer to 82 deg.F. Of course, it could be some other environmental issue.
You might consider going back to newspaper and 1) lowering the temperature, 2) going to a more stable water bowl, 3) Provide water some of the time, but not continuosly.
Or, you could stick with the aspen if you decide you like it better.
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

I use aspen,I love it.Tried everything else won't go back.I spot clean my aspen for a period of time.When too much of the aspen starts to look discolored(used) you know to change it!Urates are white and hard,yes some liquid comes along with that.You can tell the area is obviously discolored where they've done their business.Changing all the aspen every time way expensive and no need to do that.I talked to a couple bigger breeders who used aspen.That's why I changed over 4 years ago.One West coast guy told me he uses his shop vac to spot clean his tubs.Said it's very efficient.I still use my hands and a paper towel.maybe this helps a little.This is how I do it others may have other opinions.It works great for me.jscrick mentioned temps make sure you watch that forsure.Lar M
Boas By Klevitz

I've been using aspen for over ten years. I like it, but recently
I started using care fresh for smaller cages. (Under 4 feet).

If you buy the largest bag its very cheap. I usually remove any
waste I see along with a chunk of the surrounding aspen as soon
as I spot it on a daily basis.

I usually add more aspen to the cages infrequently. The entire
cage gets cleaned about every month or 2 months.

I use those thick glossy paper ads kind of like a dish so that
the rats are not placed directly on the aspen.