Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Has anyone ever tried Forest Bed substrate by T-Rex? I was told it's ground up coconut bark. I like it a lot if you keep it slightly moist. The snake stays clean, it can burrow through it, and all defacations form an easy to remove clump (like with kitty litter). Then I read on this forum that keeping your snake in a moist enclosure is bad for their health. I started using the substrate dry but don't like it as much. It's really powdery and gets all over everything (snake, water, me). Just curious if any one was familiar with this substrate and/or had any comments on the problems associated with keeping the substrate moist.

You don't want to keep the substrate moist. All Corns need is a moist hide box. They will use it as they need to in order to shed properly. I use aspen shavings (not pine or cedar) and my guy burrows too. I put the moist hide box in when Motega's eyes turn blue. He uses it until he sheds and then goes back to his regular hiding spots. I just use an old margerine tub with a hole cut in the side. Then I add some water and put aspen shavings over the water pressing it down making sure the aspen is not just floating or that the water does not come above the level of the aspen. Put this in the middle of the enclosure. When you take the top off, there should be water droplets on it. Your snake should use it as he needs it. After shedding you can take it out.

1.0 Corn Snake "Motega"

if you want to tank to look pretty and you dig having lots of work to do sure use chippings.
newspaper is an efficient way to quickly remove mess, it stays dry and it has an anti-bacterial effect
sometimes mites appear in chippings so you're taking a risk