Substrate Poll (More than 1OK)
I have been keeping boas but new acquisitions are definitely going to increase the workload in terms of making sure everything is clean. Here is a poll to see which substrates have worked best for you, and how often you monitor/clean/change the substrate.
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During most of the year, and for non-breeding animals, I use a product called Sani-Chips by Harland Teklad. They are a very small hardwood chip product. Defecations will "clump" much like cat litter. A full cage change is only necessary about every 3 to 4 months. Spot cleaning is very easy.
The only time I vary is with expectant females. The Sani-Chips get a little messy during birth. At those times, I switch to newspaper. |
If I just clicked on my answers, there would only be a couple of open boxes, lol. I use newspapers, mulch and aspen (not in the same cage, of course); and plan on trying the commercial paper lining. newspaper gets changed completely once soiled, aspen is spot cleaned as needed (completely changed periodically and/or as needed), cypress is spot cleaned or completely changed as needed (depending on who is in it). scrubbing/disinfection is done at intervals & when needed.
I gave up on cleaning cages/changing substrate just for the sake of doing it - every time I did that, the new stuff/clean cage was promptly soiled...so I got to do it all again. the exception is when I have had to treat for mites, then EVERYTHING gets scrubbed/disinfected weekly, treated every other week until well after I find no sign of the little buggers (sadly, I recently had to deal with that...happily, there has been no sign of them for 2 weeks so I only have 2 more to go.) |
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I just emailed Harlan Teklad to see if there is a local distributor for Sani-Chips, I did a search and it sounds like good stuff. Thanks, Mike, I never knew such a product existed.
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HH, Clean up is a breeze, the stuff seems to hold humidity well, spills are reasonably contained and thus far (6 months) I have not had any issues with ingestion. |
:smokin: thanks, shrap
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Water spills clump as well and can be easily removed. I do not feed within the enclosures, so ingestion is not a problem. But I could foresee issues (especially with frozen/thawed prey) as I'm sure the Sani-Chips would stick to the prey item.
I should clarify one thing - In smaller enclosures the frequency of cleaning will need to be increased. With the sweaterbox enclosures for the smaller animals, the Sani-Chips are replaced weekly. With the large Vision cages for the adult boas, I find that every 3 or 4 months is sufficient for complete change out (barring catastrophic water bowl athletics). |
we have been using this http://www.woodypet.com/pets.html for quite some time works great at absorbing turned water dishes and odors and have not had any problems with it
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For those who use loose litter (mulch, aspen, and the newer products mentioned) as opposed to lining or newspaper, how deep a layer do you put in your large enclosures? What about small enclosures/sweaterboxes?
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