• Responding to email notices you receive.
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  • IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!! About the Google Adsense ads being displayed

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    Posted 08/15/2025
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    Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....

aspen

There are a couple of things to consider when deciding on which substrate to use, including cleaning and feeding habits. Particulate substrates (shredded or chipped aspen, mulch, etc) are great for spot cleaning...BUT you have to actually look for wetness or soiled areas, and check for odor.
If you feed in the cage, be aware that substrate can be ingested with the prey item and cause problems ranging from impaction to aspiration. (this is much less of a problem with dry defrost methods, since the particles don't actually cling to the prey...but it can still happen)
 
i wouldn't use shavings at all in my cage. i use repti-carpet, as this makes for an easy to clean substrate, without the risk of having an animal inhale or swallow shavings, hereby reducing the risk of some resperatory problems.
 
Repti-carpet is a common starting place with many new snake keepers...but few stick with it long term, particularly as they increase their collections. It does have its positive features, but it has at least an equal number of negatives. Ultimately, people tend to switch for convenience & expedience...which in this particular case means DISPOSABLE. Newspapers or indented paper are great; but for people that have a LOT of animals in rack systems - come cleaning time, its hard to beat the dump (or scoop), wipe, and fill of aspen (or similar substrates).

Personally, I still primarily use a combination of paper towels, newspaper, and indented paper...with particulate substrates used for some animals/species.
 
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