substrate

[MichDrDoLittle]

What is the Best substrate??? My Local Now it All Pet Store says Crushed Walnut shell is the only thing to use. But most everything i read says use news paper.. So anyone with info Thanks


jim

[Doug]

Re: substrate

HI,
The problem with some pet stores is they are so full of snake mites that your substrate can have a few when you bring it home.
I ve been using plain old newspaper for the past couple of years and really like it, avoid the advertisements that have color.
The favorite subrate among many boa breeders is aspen, when you see clutches of babies with their placenta's they are usally in a cage with that aspen.
good luck and welcome to the forum
doug

[XzyluM]

Re: substrate

Aspen is nice and easy to clean, but can be messy. I have switched to using Cypress Mulch. It's very natural looking, holds humidity well and does not mold or rot.

[Damian]

Re: substrate

i used to use aspen religiously,i have been using cypruss mulch now for a few months and it is great. easy to clean, holds humidity better than any other substrate i have used, and is cheap.

[Red]

Re: substrate

Aspen, cypress mulch, news paper, care fresh, and coconut bark... These are the acceptble one for the most part... I use a combo of aspen and new's paper... Thinking of going back to news paper for all of the cages though..
Eric aka...red
P.s. If you find a news paper that is printed with soy inks then the color is not toxic to the snakes....

[SaKSTa]

Re: substrate

newspaper here

[ClayEnglish]

Re: substrate

Pet stores are big on the walnut shell substrate because it is quite possibly the easiest to "spot" clean. Therefore they can get away with as little maintainence as possible.

However, I think it is bad for boas... Like sand products it is very fine and easily ingested (even if accidental) especially if the boa is fed on this substrate. I do not even remotely recommend walnut shells for boas.

I use cypress mulch, and still have a lot of cages with the old standby, newspaper.