Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Coconut husk (eco earth, bed-a-beast, etc.) is cheap, ultra absorbent, highly reistant to mold, allows for some burrowing, is digestable... and its even attractive. I cannot come up with another substrate that fits ALL those criteria.

So why isn't it more popular? Why are people using aspen and newspaper when this stuff is superior?

I'm with you there, The bricks are small, cheap to ship and reconstitute into a ton of substrate.

However, it becomes dusty if not kept moist, and some people don't wish to be bothered with daily misting.

I like to mix it with repti bark for some added texture, both retain humidity well.

Great stuff, when used correctly.
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Regards,
Wayne A. Harvey
Dances With Reptiles
Thamfriends

1.0.0 Ball Python - Python regius "Cain" Rescued from a crack house
0.1.9 Eastern MilkSnake WC "Carmella" adult super sweet temperment (Eggs all hatched!)
1.3.13 Storeria dekayi - Brown Snakes Casper, Xena, Athena, Copper, Sharon & Kids
0.1.0 Thamnophis cyrtopsis Easter Black Neck Garter "MoJo"
0.2.0 Thamnophis ordinoides - Northwestern Gartersnake(Blue Phase)
1.1.0. Thamnophis elegans vagrans Wandering Garter
2.2.0 Thamnophis Sirtalis - Florida Blue stripe Garter
2.1.0 Thamnophis sirtalis - eastern Garters
0.0.1 Thamnophis HybridAlbino Checkered Normal eastern"Mutt"
2.0.0 Thamnophis sirtalis - eastern Garters (xtreme orange phase)
1.1.0 Thamnophis RADIX - Snow Het
0.1.0 Thamnophis RADIX - Christmas Albino
0.0.1 Thamnophis sirtalis - Red Phase Eastern Garter red and white stripes
0.0.1 Thamnophis butleriButler's Garter Snake
0.0.4 Thamnophis proximus orariusCoastal Ribbons
0.0.7 Thamnophis sirtalis - Eastern Garter babies 7/11/08
0.0.7 Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis HET Anerythristic Scott Felzer stock.
0.1.0 Thamnophis sirtalis Eastern Snow "Snowflake"
0.0.1 Thamnophis sirtalis infernalis California Red Sided (R.I.P. little guy)
1.0.0 Thamnophis pickeringi - Puget Sound Garter "Sky" (adult, Sky blue)
0.0.1 Nerodia sipedon - Water Snake - "Aqua" adult WC Pink eater!
0.0.1 Amelanistic Corn Snake "CY" Sub-adult CB
1.0.0. Pueblan Milk snake "Oreo" adult CB
1.0.0. ASIAN GREEN SNAKE 3' WC Cyclophiops major"Limon"
0.0.1. Savannah Monitor "CHOMPER" Getting Huge!
1.1.3. Green Anole "Crystal" & "Chris"
0.1.0 Oscar (Astronotus ocellatus) - "Peach" (A Monitor with fins)
1.0.0. K9 "ACE" Black Cockapoo
0.2.0. Feline"Felix"(R.I.P. 4/27/08) "Kaja" & "Silver"
2.1.0. calico RATS
??.??.?? Mice - Feeder farm - Crickets / fish / Giant roaches
More herps than I could ever list out back on the land.

For ground-dwelling, ground-moisture-loving animals like milksnakes and kingsnakes, it is a fantastic substrate and is hard to beat from a functional view. (And if you mix a little sand in it, it holds shapes better and drains better.) IMO, for baby kings/milks, it is the best substrate for reducing moisture loss from the snake. Mountain kings thrive in it. It conducts heat too quite nicely.

For thicker-skinned species like gophersnakes and ratsnakes, it is fine but not necessary. With those snakes, a less "dirty" substrate is just easier for the keeper.

I have found that with the cage setup a certain way, newspaper can make on of the best non-soil substrates. It can hold some humidity and allow for a continuous hide area as the snakes go under it. Awesome for rosyboas for example; they like the contact of the paper on their backs as they hide and wait to ambush the next thawed rat happening by.

People use the the other substrates because they are easier to manage - i.e. do not stick to everything. That is why aspen is so popular. Aspen isn't the best substrate necessarily in all cases; it is however reasonably functional, not as messy and has been proven safe, so keepers use it.
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Mark

I also was a big believer in this stuff but found a couple of problems.

1. It is very messy. When wet it sticks to everything and ends up everywhere. When dry it ends up everywhere.
2. It is very absorbent. That's what makes it hold moisture so well. However, if you let it begin to dry out it makes a tremendous dessicant and can dehydrate animals.

I only use it on a couple of animals anymore and I have to tend to it daily (i.e. rehydrate it).

If you buy it in bulk from LLL reptiles, it is dirt cheap (no pun intended!).

Chris
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

I have noticed its messy, but that doesn't bother me.

The dehydration issue is interesting, I hadn't thought of that. I keep it pretty consistently hydrated, but it's good to be aware of.

The first reply makes an interesting point about skin differences. I happen to keep a ball python and a mexican black kingsnake. Both are suited quite well for it. Since switching to it, I've had the best sheds I've ever seen. Still, I guess the lesson is that, there is no "one size fits all" when it comes to substrates.

Which option do you use? Which one is best?

Coconut Husk FIBER:

Coconut Husk SHREDDED CHIPS:

Coconut Husk CHIPS

I'm using the shredded chips, specifically the bed-a-beast brand. I've never seen those other two before.