Glass Tank

[Jo060]

Hey again,
I have a glass tank on which I plan to hold my BP in which substrate do you think will work the best? (I know not to use the cedar)
Thanks!

[sapphire_moon]

Well for me the cheapest and easiest is newspaper. You can see mites if there are any. Plain white paper towls work a lot better to see mites and ticks though if you suspect your snake has them. I have used the fake grass, and then some type of bedding (sorry I can't remember the name right now) but I think I have heard people using something called eco earth......I think don't take my word on it.

If you use paper towls or news paper, and are using a UTH make sure to use a little extra padding over the UTH so when they lay on it they won't burn.......
My personal choice is newspaper. I have a huge collection of it!

[lilyskip]

I also use newspaper, and I haven't had any problems. It makes cleaning ultra-easy.

[BoidKeeper]

Best is news paper. If you want something a bit more natural 100% aspen also works well. I'd lay in on news paper first though. Avoid substrates that are too wet.
Cheers,
Trevor

[sapphire_moon]

Oh I must have forgotten to say how easy it is to clean! Also I use an old pillow case over the UTH to keep my BP from burning herself, that also makes a little "bed" for her since her hide is over the UTH....When (if) she uses the bathroom on the pillowcase I just clean it out, put new news paper down, put the pillow case down, and throw the other pillow case in the washer! She really seems to enjoy it...I also put the fake plants infront of her hide so she feels like she has more privacy!

[Linds]

Newspaper or papertowel are the best susbtrates, IMHO. That's jsut what works for me however, it isn't very natural looking if thats what you are after. If you don't like the look of newspaper, try cypress mulch. Just make your you do not feed directly on loose substrates, you can place a container in the enclosure or lay down newspaper or whatever to help decrease the chance of impaction.

Originally posted by sapphire_moon

If you use paper towls or news paper, and are using a UTH make sure to use a little extra padding over the UTH so when they lay on it they won't burn.......


Your UTH should never be allowed to get hot enough to burn your snake. All heating devices should be controlled with a dimmer or thermostat. Extra substrate over top is not a suitable solution, the snake can still get under the paper and get burned, as well as it may crack the glass on the tank, not too mention anything that hot is an increased fire hazard.

[Big Mike]

I totally agree with Linds. Just putting more paper or a pillowcase over the UTH is not safe. You need to measure the temp right where it will be the hottest and control your heater accordingly. Snakes don't know that you want them to stay on top of whatever you put in there...they will get under if they want to. They also don't know that it might be too hot for them and therfore they could get burned.

A lamp dimmer is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to control a UTH. IKEA sells lamp dimmers that I have found to work quite well.

[Colonel SB]

I like Aspen is looks good, absobse fecal matter...It's not too cheap but I like it.