Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just reseaved one of those NJ Northern pines. Very cool critter.
Any sugjestions on substrate material.
I have a long 20 with half, small, smooth gravel, with a couple of small rocks. The other half is part moss, and part aspen shavings, with a small bonsi tree.
So far he looks like a digger. He's already trying to uproot the bonzi. I wonder if a container of loose potting soil placed in the cage would be worth while (lots of perlite, and vermiculite). I know the plate on his nose aint for looks.
Thanks

Just use shredded Aspen for the whole cage. In my experience it's the best for Pits. Place a couple of inches and watch him tunnel throught it, he'll love the stuff.

Congrats on getting your pine.

My opinion is to use shredded aspen for the whole cage. It's easy for the pines to burrow in, it holds their tunnels, there's little worry of them coming to harm if they swallow a bit, it's inexpensive, and it's really easy for you to clean up.

I used cypress mulch previously and, although I like the look of it, it's a lot dustier than the aspen and has larger pieces that could be harmful if swallowed.

I'd avoid using soil... potential there for health hazards.

I picked up some cypress mulch today. I put some in a small pot, and covered it with some moss. He tore up the potted plant I had in there, so he sould like the cypress. I have aspen in there now, but not very deep. I'll add some more to give room to burrow.
Thanks for the advice.
Is there a current production publication that deals exclusively with pines, bulls, and gophers?

With my pine I use Melaleuca mulch, its close to cypress but comes in small pieces that are not as sharp.

My pine seems to enjoy the substrate, and the tunnels hold up very well. I haven't tried aspen, as I thought it would detract from my setup. Melaleuca is not that expensive, and I was told from a expert that runs a reptile center that it was all he uses for most of his colubrids, especially his pines.

I recommend some hides as well, perhaps not as necessary as they are expert diggers but my pine uses his.

Good luck with your pine, they are very rewarding snakes.