Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everybody,

I am in the process of setting up good looking terrariums for my snakes that I can display and would like to switch from Aspen (which I am currently using) to the Zoomed Repti Bark substrate. I've looked around for different products and the Zoomed is the one that I liked due to functionality and looks. I definitely believe the looks are much nicer with the bark rather than the aspen.

My cages are the T-10s from Animal Plastics which I received recently and I will be adding fake plants and branches in the cages along with realistic looking water bowls and hide boxes.

So my question is: has anybody used this substrate before and what are your comments? Does it give out too much humidity? Is it easy to spot clean? Does it need frequent changing? Does it smell? Most importantly, do the animals like it?

Please note that I'm looking for answers based on experience (or the experience of someone you know) rather than academic answers.

By the way, I have 3 snakes; a normal BCI, a Dumeril's boa and a Ball Python that I will be setting up and I'm in it as a hobby, not as a business.

Thank you.
-----
1.0.0 Dumerils Boa
1.0.0 Royal Python
1.0.0 Boa Constrictor Imperator

Edited on October 7, 2009 at 14:21:58 by PHGinger.

Personally, I don't like Reptibark. It isn't very absorbent and leads to bigger messes and I've found it has a tendency to mold much quicker than aspen. Its somewhat more difficult to tell where a snake has made a mess and therefore more difficult to clean efficiently. I've also found that over time, it starts to stink a bit. Aspen is also a much better burrowing substrate in my opinion.

I have used it, and personally don't recommend it, but your experience with it may be different.

Let me clarify, it probably doesn't mold faster than aspen, but I don't count on aspen to maintain humidity, I use humid hides for anything I keep on aspen to avoid the mold, I didn't do that when I used reptibark for a short time.