Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I want something that looks better than newspaper, what is the best substrate for a ball python of any age? something that will not harm the snake, help with humidity, etc.

Thanks

You might want to try unprinted paper - either butcher (brown) or newsprint.

Third Eye

If you just have one or two in an aquarium - I'd use reptibark or cypress. If you're looking at more or a rack situation - I'd go with cypress or aspen. There are also cage liners - printless newsprint, etc. but I've always found these to be a pain in the @$$ to work with lots of people have good success with them tho.
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Tosha

"Nihil facimus sed id bene facimus"

10.35.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and gang)
1.0.0 Angolan Python (Anakin Skywalker)
0.0.1 Green Tree Python (Verdi - yeah I know but my kids love the book)
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Desert Tortoise (Pope John Paul aka JP )
2.2.1 Fish (1,2,3,4)
0.0.1 Lizard rescued from feline
0.0.0 frogs rescued from pool skimmer

so for a bin that you would use for a rack system, you think aspen or cypress would be better to use then like unprinted newspaper or printed?
im curious to know what you think cause i use unprinted newspaper, and sometimes when our snakes poop we have to clean it out right away cause in a days period it looks like the newspaper helps the poop to grow mold, and i do not like that.
i went with newspaper when i first put my snakes in their bins cause some people have told me that using a substrat like aspen can sometimes cause snakes to have a Resp Infection. i could kinda see how that happens... but id like to know what you think about the aspen.
thanks for reading and any advice
Ssam

-----
Under a dead ohio sky,
Eleven has been and will be waiting,
Defending his light,
And wondering...
Where the hell have I been?
Sleeping, lost, and numb.
So glad that I have found you.
I am wide awake and heading home.
TOOL

I think it's a personal choice - there are people who will tell you that newspaper is sooooo easy just pull it out and put down a new one. That wasn't my experience - we usually spotclean our tubs every morning - very easy to do with aspen just scoop out any mess and it's done, 9 times out of 10 this can be done without disturbing the snake or even taking the tub out of the rack. Thinking I was going to save $30 a month I switched over to newpaper to give it a try and I hated it my snakes weren't too keen on it either and after a month I was glad to be back to aspen. While using the newspaper I was having to pull 1/3 to 1/2 my tubs every day - pull out the snakes, dishes and hides and change out the newspaper - and it doesn't just lift out it's stuck to the bottom, sopping wet and falling apart, the snakes were sitting on wet newspaper half the night not worth it for me. As far as the aspen goes - I use the chipped stuff myself it contains less dust and is smaller so it's less likely to cause impaction or get lodged in the mouth and cause a festering wound. Not sure about whether or not it would cause RI - I know the shredded stuff has a bunch of dust in it - it makes me all sneezy so I guess it's possible but with as many people that do use it - it doesn't seem like a huge risk - but I don't personnally know.

OK that was a big ramble and I don't think I said much of anything - LOL - sorry - I hope it helped a little.
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Tosha

"Nihil facimus sed id bene facimus"

10.35.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and gang)
1.0.0 Angolan Python (Anakin Skywalker)
0.0.1 Green Tree Python (Verdi - yeah I know but my kids love the book)
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Desert Tortoise (Pope John Paul aka JP )
2.2.1 Fish (1,2,3,4)
0.0.1 Lizard rescued from feline
0.0.0 frogs rescued from pool skimmer

Does anyone have any experience with potting soil?
I used it for one of my wild caught females that had not eaten in 13 months, but started eating within a week on potting soil.

Rob Reiding.
Link

Well Im still testing this but so far the first two I tried potting soil under the cypress ate within a week, from mice to rats in 2 weeks. They hadnt ever eaten and I had them for over 8 months. The next 2 I tried did the same thing and just this weekend my friend brought one over that hadnt eaten for him since he had it. She took a mouse last night.

Im doing 10 more of my adult females not this weekend but next so Ill keep you posted. So far Ive had nothing but good luck with it.

Glad to hear someone else has good luck with potting soil. The discussions always seem to be about either Cypress Mulch, Aspen, or Paper. Potting soil holds moisture well, is easy to clean and the BP's all seem to like it.

Rob Reiding.
Link

Potting soil works great for the w/c balls - the only down side (and it kind of goes for cypress too) is that evertime you pull a snake out - it's covered in dirt. LOL - not really a big deal - much more important to have one eating than pretty looking. But since the dirt doesn't just fall off like aspen does it can be a bit of a drag to have to wash off your snakes everytime you want to play with them or take picts.

But thatsjust a pet peave of mine.
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Tosha

"Nihil facimus sed id bene facimus"

10.35.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and gang)
1.0.0 Angolan Python (Anakin Skywalker)
0.0.1 Green Tree Python (Verdi - yeah I know but my kids love the book)
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Desert Tortoise (Pope John Paul aka JP )
2.2.1 Fish (1,2,3,4)
0.0.1 Lizard rescued from feline
0.0.0 frogs rescued from pool skimmer

Having to clean them is kind of a downside of potting soil I agree, especially when the water bowl just went upside down...
On the other hand it has very few or no pieces that can get lodged in their mouths or get compacted in the intestines.

Rob Reiding.
Link

I just put a nice layer of cypress over the dirt. You cant see the dirt but you can smell it. Im not sure if its the smell that triggers them to feed but whatever it is its working.

As someone who uses a lot of potting soil every spring, I have looked for ways to use the old soil. this past year I have been trying it out with the rats, and so far it works better then anything I have tried.

As far as new potting soil for snakes, I did try it with a burm, about 5 years ago. Not to get her to eat, but just cause I thought it looked better. She seemed to like it, it did stick to her sometimes, and yes it could be a pain to clean off every time. But I would say it worked good.

But once I started to grow vegs every spring I started to learn more about potting soil. First, most of the off the shelf potting soils have bugs or eggs in them, perlite and vermiculite are VERY harmful to your lungs, it gets in and NEVER gets out, allways wear a mask when working with them!!!!!!!!!!!! I would think if's it's bad for us it will be bad for them.

There is a lot to learn, I've been into gardening for around 4 years now and I still learn something new about soil all the time.

I would say if you want to use it for your snakes make sure it has no perlite, or vermiculite in it, and bake it for about 15 mins at 350. It will kill off anything in it, but it wont smell to good when you do it. Once I started to bake my soil, my plants seemed to do better, and I had less pests.

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Please...
Keep an OPEN MIND, You'll be AMAZED...

no no thank you for replying. i think i want to give the aspen a shot.. can you tell me what brand that you use, cause theres different kinds of aspen and i dont know if i need to get a certain one?...
i know what you mean when you say you dont like your snakes being wet all night. one of our snakes sometimes tips over his water dish at night time. i think that sometimes when the snake's bin is wet or dirty, they dont like to eat..
and one more question. i always watch my snakes eat. 1 because the rats are alive and i just want to make sure they dont bite my snakes (bastards) and 2 just because its awsome to watch.. but would it be okay if my snakes ate their food on the aspen just as long as i keep an eye on them?
thank you again!
Ssam
-----
Under a dead ohio sky,
Eleven has been and will be waiting,
Defending his light,
And wondering...
Where the hell have I been?
Sleeping, lost, and numb.
So glad that I have found you.
I am wide awake and heading home.
TOOL

I use the Harlan Teklad chipped aspen (aka sani-chips). I don't think the brand really matters tho - this is just what my local feed store carries. I've also ordered from superior enterprises and they carry another brand (can't remember) but it works just as well. You can get aspen chipped, shredded or shaved.

As for your snakes eating on it - there are cases where a lot of ingestion causes digestive issues and there is always the possibility of particles getting stuck in the mouth and causing problems (sores) that way. Thousands of snakes get fed on the stuff every day - these accidents are rare occurances but they do happen. If you are really worried - feed in a separate container.
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Tosha

"Nihil facimus sed id bene facimus"

10.35.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and gang)
1.0.0 Angolan Python (Anakin Skywalker)
0.0.1 Green Tree Python (Verdi - yeah I know but my kids love the book)
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Desert Tortoise (Pope John Paul aka JP )
2.2.1 Fish (1,2,3,4)
0.0.1 Lizard rescued from feline
0.0.0 frogs rescued from pool skimmer

thank you tosha. i think once this roll of unprinted newspaper is finished ill give aspen a shot. basicly any kind or aspen is okay to put my snakes on?
Ssam
-----
Under a dead ohio sky,
Eleven has been and will be waiting,
Defending his light,
And wondering...
Where the hell have I been?
Sleeping, lost, and numb.
So glad that I have found you.
I am wide awake and heading home.
TOOL

n/p
-----
Under a dead ohio sky,
Eleven has been and will be waiting,
Defending his light,
And wondering...
Where the hell have I been?
Sleeping, lost, and numb.
So glad that I have found you.
I am wide awake and heading home.
TOOL

I've tried aspen for a while now and recently tried cypress and from my experience I like aspen much better.

Louie