Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've been reading so many opinions on which ones to use. I currently use paper towel as its economic for me and its easy to swap out. What are the potential pittfalls of paper towel besides horrible humidity levels? - bacteria perhaps?

But I'd like to try other ones to raise the humidity but it seems like all the other types ( paper towel aside) is a give and a take!!!

Which is best?
I've narrowed it down to the following:

1. Paper towel ( is this good to use forever? - humidity sucks)
2. Cage carpet ( how to clean and sterilize?)
3. Aspen bedding ( gets caught in the mouth when feeding?)
4. Newspaper ( ink is bad isnt it?)

I'm looking for practical use, not flash. I need something that cleans easily, keeps humidity and wont cause impaction/ mouth injuries while feeding.

I have fed on aspen before and never had a problem. Humidity sucks but there are other ways to control that. Do you have a screen top? Cover 3/4 of it and use a large water dish.

Coco soft is great for humidity. I just hate preparing it.

I use T Rex's Desert snow. Best thing ever IMO.
-----
"What are you afraid of? What ever it is, it's here. That and things your little irrational mind couldn't even dream of."

I personally have been using newspaper for the last 10 years with my snakes (just started keeping balls in the last year). I have used aspen, yesterday's news, and carefresh at one time or another though. I'm a big fan of newspaper for a few reasons. For one, I don't have to worry about them getting any substrate on their food that could possibly cause an impaction. Second, it's easy to spot stuff like poop or mites. It also makes cages easy to clean...just fold up the old, disinfect, place new. The best thing I like about newspaper is that it's cheap. Actually that last one probably isn't fair to the other substrates since I get my newspaper free (wife's sister works for the local newspaper), but I bet if you were to ask a few people you could too. And thus far I've not had any issues with the ink.

Hope it helps,
Dan
-----
1.0.0 Snow Corn - RIP
0.1.0 Normal Corn Snake
1.0.0 Amelanistic Corn Snake
1.1.0 Black Racers
0.1.0 Normal Ball Python
1.0.0 Pastel Ball Python
1.0.0 Red Eared Slider

i love cypress mulch. i have used it for years it holds humidity up great i do not really use it much any more due to cost to change out all my snakes it would cost me around $60-$80.00 so i started using aspen but with aspen i get some bad sheds i also use newspaper. i have concidered polacing a big order of cypress but cant aford it and im in OR so home depot and lowes does not carry 100% cypress but over on the east cost they do
-----
reed at www.ReedsDragons.com & www.KillerEnclosures.com

I've used newspaper, Carefresh, and aspen with my python and newspaper is probably the best bet. Most newspapers use soy based inks for printing these days and if you aren't sure, you can always call your local newspaper to check. Carefresh does keep the humidity high but due to the kind of caging my snake is in, it can get rather damp and I'd be worried about mold. I used aspen for maybe a month or so but threw it out after it gave my poor snake mites. (I got him out one day to see tiny aspen-colored things crawling all over his face.) Each keeper has their own preference however, and you can always try each of them to see which suits you and your snake(s) best.

paper...fast cheap easy and they won't eat it

cypress...kept moist for open topped raxx

aspen for most raxx and most uses

...I use newspaper for kids and aspen for most adults....

.....cypress for the open topped like said and dump water in them by the quart
.
.
-----
.....................................
...JY

.

I think paper towel is the best substrate to use. Never had problems not enough humidity using it. I just mist the paper towel where it will be over the heating pad, put the warm side hide half over that damp paper towel. The heat causes the hide to become a moist hide. I only do this around shedding time. All other times, I just mist the cage once in awhile or use a large water dish.

All my snakes are kept in sterlite or rubbermaid containers with a few holes on the sides for ventilation. This keeps the humidity in the cage and the heat. Only time I have bad sheds is in the winter and when I forget to mist the cage while they are in their shed cycle. My apartment humidity is practically non existent during the winter. (about 10%). Thus need to mist the cages more during the winter.

I don't like newspaper at all. It is not absorbent enough and waste material just gets smeared all over the cage. The ink turns everything black and I really hate the smell of the ink. i know I could get newspaper free or for very little (I could just raid the paper recycle bins in the apartment parking garage as I don't buy newspapers anymore, I read news on the web instead). I also hate having black fingerprints all over the lids of my cages, the shelf, the wall and anywhere else I happen to touch accidentally after putting in clean paper.

Thus, unprinted paper towel works best. Its far more absorbent...and its not really that expensive. I can by 12 jumbo rolls of no name brand paper towel which lasts me a month (and it lines a gargoyle gecko cage, bearded dragon, 2 blue tongue skink cages and 13 snake cages) and I use roll for my everyday kitchen needs. A 12 roll pack lasts me for a month.
-----
PHLdyPayne

I think you should consider coconut husk (goes by a few commercial names, such as Eco Earth). It's cheaper than bark (more expensive than aspen and paper) and holds humidity almost as well as cypress. It's also sanitary, as its easy to spot clean and resistant to mold. Supposedly it's also ingestible, though I feed separately.

Personally, I have something against paper (especially newspaper). It seems like a substrate that caters more to humans for its convenience than to snakes. No offense to anyone who uses paper, I know it's popular- just not my thing.

Cage carpet stinks, literally. It can't be spot cleaned.

I don't get why aspen is so popular. It just doesn't absorb, and urates don't soak into it fast enough, and then it smells. It also doesn't hold humidity very well. Seems overrated to me, maybe I tried a bad brand or something.

I like cypress but I avoid it because it's ecologically unwise. I know, now I sound like a whiner. The other barks are good, but not cheap.

Can you elaborate on why cypress is ecologically unwise. I hadn't heard that before. Thanks.

I feel this site: http://www.saveourcypress.org/ makes a compelling argument.

When I was researching substrates, I started asking different breeders about the pros and cons of each. Since then I've tried many and developed my own opinions. Here is my summary. Hope it helps.

1. newspaper - Pros: cheapest, easiest to see if substrate needs cleaning, easy to replace. Cons: it's ugly, doesn't hold humidity, the minute water is spilled or urine is released the paper must be changed - this can happen daily, sometimes the newsprint rubs off on the snake (not a health problem, just makes the snake dirty looking) and many times the snake gets under the paper (that's OK for hiding purposes) so you can't see him.

2. Mulch - Pros: relatively cheap at your local garden store, holds humidity very well, looks nice, and you may only need to change the part of the substrate that's dirty. Cons: hard to tell if substrate needs cleaning, may have bugs (not harmful to snakes that I've heard), heavy to lift large quantities, and when changing a large # of tubs you have big bags of "trash."

3. Carefresh - Pros: just the ticket if you're going for a different look (it's available in grey, white, pink, blue and purple), usually easy to see if substrate needs changing, only need to change the part of the substrate that's dirty. Cons: Very expensive and can sometimes be difficult to find in large quantities.

4. Sani chips - Pros: very absorbent, need only change the part of the substrate that's dirty, and holds humidity pretty well. Cons: very tiny pieces, pretty expensive but a little does go a long way, hard to find, gets all over the place (the pieces almost seem to float in the air) and hard to vacuum up.

5. Aspen - Pros: very absorbent, need only change the part of the substrate that's dirty, easy to see if substrate needs cleaning, snakes like to burrow in it, relatively inexpensive, easily available at any pet store, and holds humidity well. Cons: pieces stick to socks and towels and are very difficult to remove, wet aspen usually molds, some don't like the idea that some small pieces may be ingested with the prey (I've never had a problem with this), and the size of pieces and the "cut" vary widely.
-----
Alice Cobb
Florida Reptile Room

We use newpaper for all of our snakes. The ink in not an issue, the only thing it does is makes Ivories or Lucys a little black in areas Other then that it is easy cheap and the snakes are happy with it.
Paper towels work well to but are much more exspensive and they are alot thinner making them soil easier.

Cypress works well but I have found in the past it holds too much moisture for our racks and molds with time.

Aspen works well also but it too can mold and dosent hold too much moisture. Also aspen contains wood lice which are not harmfull to the snakes but are rather annoying in my opinion.

Just my opinions but we have used newspaper for over 6years after using other beddings, it works the best for us.

Good luck
Kim
N.A.R.C
WWW.NORTHAMERICANREPTILECONNECTION.COM