Reptile & Amphibian Forums

what substrate do people with cali kings use? Anyone use that crushed walnut shell stuff? I was just curious. I've always used paper towels with my corn and it seems to work well.

the majority of the people with kings and milks use aspen shaving as a bedding. It is durable, cheap, and allows for burrowing (plus it contains no harmful oils that cedar does). A few people have mixed emotions with walnut shells. Some say that it can cause snakes stress, while others say it promotes fungal growth. I would go with aspen or care-fresh
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Zach Lim
Carnivorous Plant Grower and Herper
http://www.geocities.com/sf_snakes/index.html

It is almost impossible to spot clean and must be replaced after every turd is laid. It is way to expensive for that. It also might be ingested which might be a bad thing. I have recently switched to a new substrate method which I am really liking. One layer of paper towels on the bottom. A layer of aspen on top of that and then another layer of paper towels. Very easy to clean (just roll it up) and provides tons of places to hide which eliminates the need for a hide box. Also, aspen is incredibly cheap if you buy in large bales.
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International Snakes Meetup
International Herpetology Meetup

When I bought my kingsnake, the pet store said to use Reptibark (I believe that's what it is called). I think it's nice looking, but I don't want to replace it every 2-3 months, so I want to get large rock gravel instead so I could just rinse it off and keep it forever. I don't think that would be a problem, then again, I'm not sure, so someone correct me if I'm wrong!