Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Material:

Thinkness:

Dampness:

How often do you Change:

Thanks to everyone that fills out my poll.

Steve

Ok it is earier Thinkness is thickness hehehehe...

>>Material:Newspaper
>>
>>Thinkness:Several pages thick
>>
>>Dampness:Varies but often damp, clay flowerpots in cage are soaked once or twice a week and this keeps cage humid and paper is usually damp inside and under the flowerpot. If Flowerpot looks dry I pour water from waterbowl on substrate.
>>
>>How often do you Change:Once or twice a week. If kept very damp the newspaper will start to get mildew after 4 or 5 days.
>>
>>Thanks to everyone that fills out my poll.
>>
>>Steve

Material: Everyone over about 6 months has cypress mulch. The younger ones have paper towels and moss. I also use spaghnum moss hides in the 6 plus months ones and 1/2 the enclosure of the younger ones with no hides.

Thinkness: The mulch is 4 to 5 inches deep everywhere except directly under the water bowl where it is about an inch thick. The yearling size snakes don't have their mulch quite as deep. The ones on paper towels are on white bounty select a size 6 to 8 thicknesses. (Is that a real word?) They are the perfect size for shoeboxes. Half their enclosures is sphagnum moss 4 to 5 inches deep.

Dampness: Hard for me to define this one. The moss is soaked and wrung out under water to absorb it's full moisture absorbtion capacity, then the excess is poured or drained off and gently wrung out before placing it in the enclosure. The mulch is used as it comes and then warm water is poured on it to the point that there is no standing water under the mulch.

I always have condensation of the walls, and humidity never goes below 75%.

How often do you Change: I scoop out a area if it has urates or poop on it within a few hours. Sometimes it is the day after cleaning, but usually somewhere between 3 to 5 days after a meal. If the water is soiled I replace it within 1 to 2 hours of finding it(I can't usually do it immediately, but it is a high priority) . Everytime I feed I totally replace all the disposables in the enclosure. It would rarely go longer than 8 to 10 days. Since the younger ones are fed more often at my House of Creatures, they are cleaned accordingly.

After answering honestly, I feel like I should clean more! And there are definately easier ways to do this. I ordered my 2nd real cage today, and my methods may change considerably. I think alot of what one does depends on how well one intially set it up. (If only I knew then....).

Thanks to everyone that fills out my poll.

Steve