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.

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.)

Originally Posted by Mike Greathouse

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.

Mike, I've heard of, but never tried that stuff...how is it with moderate-high humidity? do water spills get absorbed readily without it becoming a huge mess? Any problems with it being ingested?

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.

Originally Posted by Mike Greathouse

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.

My set up is almost identical. I too use the Sani-Chips except when expecting. Only I do a thorough enlcosure cleaning and sterilizing every 2 months. That is just me though since I feed live and do so inside their enclosures.


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.

thanks, shrap

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

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?