Reptile substrate

[Kaysie]

Has anyone ever used corn or wheat based substrate in their tank? Or newspaper based pellets?

My ratsnakes haven't done well on the substrate I have them on now, nor does it hold humidity very well, so I'd like to change. I like the idea of a variety of, essentially, kitty litters that are 'all natural'.

 

[Otterwoman]

I use Walnut substrate for my cornsnakes. It's also for birds/ in the bird section.

 

[Kaysie]

How does it handle their poop? I assume it's similar to ratsnake poop with the liquid and the solid and the foul stench that can ruin my dinner.

 

[Azhael]

Hey, Kaysie, i haven´t tried those kind of substrates myself, but i´ve heard good things about them. They apparently make good choices, although you have to be careful with humidity because oherwise those substrates can grow mold.

 

[Molch]

out of curiosity (not being a snake keeper), why would the commercial reptile substrate such as reptibark etc not work for snakes?

(If I ever do keep snakes, it would have to be those pretty rough green ones ...)

 

[Kaysie]

It's 1.) expensive, versus kitty litter, and 2.) they stink when they poop, and a nice absorbent litter would help that. Repti-bark just lets the liquid part just kind of flow through it, leaving the scent to linger for weeks. Unless, of course, you remove half the repti-bark and then have to buy a new bag to cover the bald spot, leading you back to #1.

 

[Otterwoman]

The walnut sticks to the poop and it stops smelling after a bit, and then I scoop that part out (sort of like scoopable kitty litter), I just change it when it gets really low of litter. Cornsnake poop is exactly like ratsnake poop.
I just feed their mice on a paper towel or something so that the substrate doesn't stick to the mouse, but supposedly the small granules would just go right through their system.

 

[Molch]

do snakes poop they way they eat, y'know, not all that often but a whole lot at once?

 

[Kaysie]

Pretty much. My pythons have a big solid clump of urates, but the rat snakes have this liquidy component. I don't know if it's partially musk or what, but it's a smell most foul. I was thinking right along Dawn's lines, looking for something that's scoopable. I'll look into the walnuts next time I'm at PetStupid.

 

[Azhael]

Yeah xD They defecate after each meal, generally speaking, but when they do it´s just one big, smelly turd...
They fart too...i keep my snakes right next to my bed and sometimes when you are about to sleep you hear things that are definitely not lullabies :S

 

[Otterwoman]

Wow, I've never heard of or experienced that!

 

[freves]

I use cypress mulch for my jungle carpet python.
Chip

 

[Molch]

They fart too...

Now I want to get a snake just to observe this phenomenon. Are they the loooong drawn-out ones? Silent and deadly?

I don't think newts fart. I watch mine a lot, and I've never seen bubbles rise from that end.

 

[Azhael]

Nah, the one that farts more noticiably is a Lampropeltis getula goini. 1,20 m long but rather chunky xD She is FAST when she needs to be, though O_O

 

[Kaysie]

I've never noted mine to fart either. The cats, on the other hand...

 

[Grete]

Why not use coconut coir? Found at most garden shops in giant compressed blocks for like $5, break pieces off, hydrate.... it's what I use for my boa's and tegu to hold humidity in, doesn't mold, easy to spot clean.

 

[Azhael]

That´s what i use, but it has the inconvenience of sticking to prey. If ingested it causes no problems, it´s safe, but i´ve found that my sinaloae will spit out a prey that has too much coconut stuck to it (and when feeding F/T it is a real pain to keep the prey from getting breaded). I try to maintain my snakes off the substrate while they swallow to avoid that problem. Other than that it makes a great substrate.

 

[Kaysie]

I feed them in a separate box, so that's not an issue (the male and female don't eat well together). I don't really like coco-fiber. I had them on newspaper, then on coco fiber, then on dirt, and then on coco fiber again, and I just don't like it. They don't seem to eat as well, and it doesn't hold moisture like I'd like.

 

[stablefly]

I have blue tongue skinks (they poop WAY more than my snakes) and use reptile bark mixed with coir and some sand. it works well on all levels for me. I have used the wheat based products in the past as well as the news paper pellets. They are both dusty and caused a lot of sneezing. The Wheat sticks to everything moist (as stated about coir by Azhael) and the paper turns to mush if there is any kind of water dish mishap! The wheat also grows mould if it gets moist and indian meal moths love it.
I have no experience with corn.