BHP substrate

[TrueBlue]

why they go under the paper all the time is because they like to do that, it makles them feel safe and secure. All my bhps are kept on butchers paper and have at least 10-15 layers to get under as it is also very good insulation and by using this amount of paper they use it ti hold boby temps etc.
When my snakes are gravid i up the amount to 30-50 layers and have found that they will almost always lay under the paper rather than in a nesting box, so much so that i dont even bother using nesting boxes any more. You just need to make sure that there are a couple of layers that lie flat on the floor that they cant get under, so that eggs or poo dosnt stick to the floor, makes for easy cleaning and egg removal.

[OuZo]

I'm using Aspen Bedding for all my snakes at the moment and am absolutely LOVING it! They can dig in and bury in it if they want to and I've heard bhp's like to bury so it would probably be great for them, it looks pretty good imo, and is so easy to clean! Yes it's obviously more expensive than newspaper but cleaning time is cut down dramatically. You don't even need to take the snake out of the enclosure to clean if you don't want to. Just open the door, scoop out the poo and either cover over the hole or add some more aspen to cover it. And replace the whole cage when it starts to look a little dodgy which would probably be a month or 2 depending on what time of year and how much they're going to the loo on it lol.

Some Petstock's are carrying it now for about $25 for a bag which expands to 52 Litres...I've found depending how deep you make it you can usually get two 4 foot cages out of about half a bag. Again, if you made it really deep you might choose to use a full bag.

I've found it works great for hatchies too...just open the click clack lid, pick up a poo and put the lid back on...much quicker and easier than taking the snake out, emptying the cruddy newspaper, spraying disinfectant, waiting 5 mins, wiping out the container, drying it, putting new newspaper in and the snake back etc etc. It's fairly absorbent too so unless they push all the aspen out of the way and crap/pee directly on the floor I don't think it even gets that far. If you were worried you could always push the surrounding aspen out of the way and disinfect that piece of floor which you think is dirty.

Aaaaanyway, I recommend Aspen lol. I should be getting paid hey

[cement]

What is Aspen Bedding made of. I've never heard of it

[hazzard]

Aspen is a type of cyprus mulch from a species in the USA!

[Aslan]

You can remedy the problem of Breeders Choice drying out the enclosure by leaving it open to the air outside the enclosure for a little while before putting it in...

..this way it absorbs the moisture from the air outside the enclosure and doesn't absorb any more once it goes in...

[michael555]

dont use sand it can get in your snakes eyes and irritate them

[Tatelina]

Originally Posted by Python Gal

hey, yer i have been told all about that, but i am very weary and check on them all the time. I've been using it since i first got them, havent had that problem.

How long have you had them?

I think the main issue is if you think about the natural wide world... they live on a variety of different surfaces (including sand, dirt, mud, stone, hardened compacted ground, grass, leaves etc etc etc).
So to say that Substrate A isn't good for them because of X Y Z.. IMO isn't justified as any enclosure should have a variety of substrates to mimic the wild before any comment can be made about them. Wait..I'm not sure if that came out like I wanted it too...but hopefully you get the idea.

[boa]

Does anyone know where I can get Aspen Bedding up here in Brisbane ? I have been thinking about using it for awhile for my Jungles but haven't been able to find it.