Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I see alot of people use newpaper for the bottom of the cages. If I am using belly heat will it be a hot spot over heat? Since paper is thin. It seems that aspen can allow the snake to get closer or further from the heat.

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Ball Python
Jungle Carpet Python
Eastern King
Mexican Black King
Sonoran Gopher
Aberrent Cal King
Anduran Milk
Hypo Brooks
Amel Motley Corn
White Sided Bull
Striped Pacific Gopher
Axanthic Brooksi
Goini King

I love the smell of aspen shavings in the morning...lol

"To serve man..it's...it's a cookbook!"

Paper will not distribute heat linearly however neither will wood chips. The benefit of substrate is that the animal can burrow with a layer of substrate above the animal they will be insulated. Like whereing a jacket.

Incidently I use paper...the trick is making your hot spot large through proper heat source placement and cage construction.

Cheers
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Jeremy Payne
JB Reptile
Specializing in Boa Morph's

1.0 Snow "Kahl"
0.2 Triple Het Moonglow "Kahl"
0.1 Orange Tail Hypo Het Leopard
1.1 Double Het "Sharp" Snow
1.0 Ghost
0.1 Possible Super Hypo
0.1 DH Ghost
1.1 "Kahl" Albino
1.0 Hypomelenistic
1.3 Pastel Hypo
0.1 Suriname/Columbian cross
0.1 Anerthrystic

Right, you need to make sure the hot spot doesn't get too hot.

On top of the paper on the cage bottom, crumple some sheets up. Snakes and leopard geckos like to hide in the folds, and heat holds in there quite nicely. Plus the animals feel secure. Works great for crevice-dwelling, rock-dwelling and burrow-dwelling snakes like rosyboas and graybands.
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Mark