Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 8 month leopard and he has been on alphalpha pellets, but they are so dusty and I think might be an alergy problem in the house.

Anyone used corncob as substrate?

From Melissa Kaplan's website (http://www.anapsid.org/substrates2.html):

"Corn Cob Litter
Along with the risk of impaction and injury due to accidental ingestion or uptake, corn cob can abrade the mouth of reptiles setting up ideal conditions for mouth rot (ulcerative stomatitis) to start. Pieces may also become lodged in the glottis of smaller reptiles and cause death by asphyxiation. Bacterial and fungal growths resulting from cob wetted by food, water, urates, and feces are common with corn cob and may cause illness or skin infections in the reptiles."

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I have small leopards and have used a newspaper/butcher paper, but found it aggravating to constantly throw out slightly soiled paper in an attempt to keep the enclosure clean. The enclosure is by Vision. I then decided to keep them on the bare floor of the enclosure. Now when they defecate/urinate I do a quick spot clean instead of completely tearing out everything. The floor surface provides adequate traction.

One drawback is that this is a very dry setup. There is no substrate to retain moisture, and nothing for the tortoises to bury into to help them retain moisture. To counter this almost complete lack of humidity I provide a water bowl for drinking and to raise ambient humidity. I also soak the torts a couple times a week. Their food also contains a fair amount of moisture. They eat fresh weeds from the yard, soaked Mazuri/hay mix and a few grocery greens.

Personally, I wouldn't use it but I know many people who do without a problem. I've asked many a vet about the risk of ingesting the stuff and I've yet to find one that has had a case where this bedding caused any ingestion problems.
The main reason I don't like it is that when it gets wet it molds real fast.
Ed

Used a few times in my birds cages (admittedly they wet things up a wee bit more) But ditched it fast. It molds real easy. Not worth the risk.