Substrate for reptiles

I know that cedar is deadly for certain reptiles. Can the same be said for a pine substrate?
Mark

I feel its important to use what is safest and easiest to keep clean for the particular species you are keeping captive.
Just because it looks pretty is not a reason I would use a certain substrate.



Reptiles Reign Webring -
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Depends on the animal and where it's going.

1. Production. The "nursery" uses mostly paper towels (bearded dragons) due to their small size at this age and ease of cleaning.

2. Display for sale. These reptiles are kept on appropriate material for the species (sand for dragons, bark for boas, coconut fiber for various species) in set ups that are easy to keep clean and will display the animals fully for the customers.

3. Personal collection. I've been getting into naturalistic displays lately. Building them is half the fun. These are more elaborate set ups where animal display is not as important as being a "slice" of their natural habitat (which hides most reptiles). Again, I'll adjust substrate for the species and the effect I am going for.

For years I used newspaper taped on the edges to they couldn't get underneath and make a mess. Recently I've used Pine shavings. Neat and easy to keep clean. I have been considering trying indoor outdoor carpet scraps or the cage carpets I have seen advertised. Does any of you have experience in using any of the "cage carpet" types of materials. Seems to me that if they can be washed easily that it would make the feeding process a little easier?? Shavings in the mouth etc.

I've used the carpet and found it to be a basically satisfactory substrate. It looks decent, a lot better than newspaper, and doesn't have any inherent drawbacks as long as you aren't using the plastic astroturf stuff.
It does need to be cleaned though rather than just disposed of, so this adds a little labor to the job.
You'll want two pieces for every cage to facilitate cleaning.

Just don't go buy the official ZooMed cage carpet, or any of the other "reptile carpets" on the market, they are obscene ripoffs.
At Lowe's they carry the same carpet on 8 foot long bolts and you can buy it by the foot for a fraction of what the pre packaged carpets cost then cut it to fit.
You'll want the indoor/outdoor made of close weave fabric with the thin rubber backing. The fabric is soft and non abrasive and the rubber keeps the carpet from coming apart over time.

I only have a couple of snakes and they are for display in my home. Both of them are set up in homemade wood & glass cages with branches made out of dowel rods (which were stained to match the stain of the cage), fake plants, a dark colored water bowl (so as to not be visibly distracting), cork bark as hiding for the snake who might want such, and shredded coconut substrate. I have fluorescent lighting and heat panels, as they worked great both for light/heat and for the fixtures being practically invisible from outside the cages. I intend to get misting systems at some point rather then hand spraying - not as "decor", just as a convenience for me, the hand spraying is hellish for aggravating carpal tunnel.

The setups aren't what I consider elaborate, but they are very functional and look quite nice. They were designed by me and built by my husband with only two ideas in mind - they had to house the snakes appropriately and they should fit into the decor of the house. I also managed to set up the inside as to be generally attractive while still keeping the main attraction the snake itself.

There are a couple of lizards that I would like to own, but I know that cages that I would want to set up make them prohibitively expensive (though the lizards themselves are fairly inexpensive). Someday . . .

Originally Posted by jdg

I intend to get misting systems at some point rather then hand spraying - not as "decor", just as a convenience for me, the hand spraying is hellish for aggravating carpal tunnel.

When I had a lot of misting to do I used one of the pressure type garden sprayers. You fill the can and pump it up, then spray using the wand, not hard on the wrists and inexpensive.
An automated misting system is still the easiest, but the garden sprayer is a fine alternative for small collections and at 10 bucks or so, a whole lot less money.

i like to use newspaper on most things its quicker to clean and highly unlikely to be ingested. for my colubrids i like aspen , they seem to appreciate digging and hiding in it.and for my higher humidity herps i like cypress mulch.also use easily cleaned perches and hides. and to those who said they use pine i thought that was bad for reptiles, not quite cedar but bad nonetheless.
____________________________
we better not risk another frontal attack, that rabbit is dynamite

This poll definitely looks like you should select more than one item, but it's only set up to allow you to select one option.
Skipped this, figured the author will fix it.
Obviously you can use newspapers AND a soaking bowl... <g>

I like to use Aspen, I have used paper but was not happy. To me Aspen is easier to clean. I get mine now at Petsmart, the big bag is $12.99. Also very little dust.


Tom Sierra