Substrate for reptiles

PetSmart sells Kaytee brand aspen, right?? I used to use that for the few snakes I keep on aspen until I started using LM brand aspen. If you think the Kaytee stuff is low on dust, you should try the LM. I know it's not as common, but in my experience it has WAY LESS dust than the LM. Also, it's cut a little different and yields itself better to tunnelling.

Yes Petsmart sells it, but yes LM is better. I have looked araound here and can not find it. I do like the way LM is cut. But lately the Kaytee brand is being cut alot better than it was before. I live about 20 minutes from Pro Exotics and they sell a big 30 LB bag for $30, They open the store on Saturdays and I am going to check them out. Will let you you know what I think.

Tom Sierra

I just set up new enclosures for some of my monitors and at the recommendation of a friend used a mixture of coconut fiber and sand which is supposed to hold a good burrow. I had previously been using a mixture of soil and sand and found it dusty and it didn't hold a great burrow or much water.

I used two different products, Eco Earth, which I got locally, and Down to Earth, which is a potting product but which I got a case of from Bean Farm. After all was said and done they were fairly equivalent but the Down to Earth product broke up more easily and absorbed the water more quickly. The only odor that I noticed was something akin to wet soil.

Me and my fiance use "Lizard Litter" in our bearded dragon tanks. Its low impaction rated and it doesnt look bad either. it kinda looks like hamster bedding type material but its really safe to use I recommend it to anyone!

I know this thread has been around awhile. There hasn't been a post for over a year. Just wondering what the current thoughts were on substrates.

I have tried just about everything in the last thirty years, I keep going back to using bagged shavings. I buy "White Shavings" at the feed store, they are fir/hemlock shavings. I have also used Aspen, but I have gotten mites when I did..... coincidence??

I never use Cedar, afraid of the related issues.

I occasionally use pine, never had an issue. I have an aquaintence that has used Pine for over forty years on a large collection and he has never had a problem. I hear people talking about it, mostly out of hearsay. This is actual first hand knowledge, I have witnesses his collection for over thirty years myself.

Newspaper and Astro turf carpets don't work for me, too messy. The snakes burrow under them unless I tape it down and they get crap all over themselves. I change the shavings every 2-4 weeks depending on the need.

I house my snakes in sterilite tubs(bps). I can only use newspaper because with anything else I cannot control the humidity. With aspen the lowest I can get it is 85%. So newspaper works best for me because I can control the humidity with no problem, and I can see when the cage needs cleaning alot better than with usiing aspen

Sincerely,

Originally Posted by Seamus Haley

For me it depends on the animal being kept and where and why I'm keeping it...

The substrate we use is determined by the type of animal, age and requirements, etc..

All the babies get paper towels for substrate, the sub-adults and adult BPs get chipped Aspen from Harlan (Sani-Chips). The laboratory grade chips have almost no noticeable dust. We use blank newsprint paper and a misting system for the adult chondros. And cypress mulch for the BRB. All the cages are simple, all have a water dish, we place the water dish in such a position (usually near the back corner) that acts as a hide.