few questions about my bcc

[nick654377]

So i got him a few weeks ago and he was very agressive. struck many times. now once i get him out of the tank he is super calm.

I fed him and didnt know bcc had to rest for a bit longer than another snake and he had a regurge. so i left him alone for a week and fed him last night. i am just curious because now he is staying in the cold side hide instead of the warm side.

He had mites and i treated them with reptile spray and he stopped soaking and i see dead mites under a few scales. i dont want to pick at him. will these come out as he sheds? and how long should i keep him on paper towel? a month untill i can put reptile bark back in?

[wdissident]

My breeder says bark harvests bugs and mites. Id use aspen. Not to,mention the bark.has chemicals in it

[bcr226]

We use cypress with no problems. Our boas, pythons, kings, etc. love it. We're still switching the rest of the snakes over to it from reptibark and aspen.

[Ddub]

Cypress mulch, shredded aspen, and black eucalyptus mulch are all excellent substrates for boas. I have used all three for my bcc with great results. The eucalyptus naturally repels mites too.

[nick654377]

i never heard of eucalyptus bark before....

[Jendee]

I use aspen or paper. the paper does rub off rarely sometimes ill se an albino with a black nose lol but Ive seen no ill effects. but you do have to change newspaper almost daily such a pain!! I like aspen, I don't use shredded aspen since in my own logic it seems like it could be injested easier due to the small slivers. it also molds quickly. I like using normal animal aspen with the chunks but with aspen you have to deal with the clean up on your carpet..ugh lol

[Ddub]

I've never tried chunky aspen before! I'll have to give that a shot. Does it pack down well?

[bumblebat]

It's shaved as opposed to shredded. It's much less messy and dusty. I wouldn't say that it "packs down," but it's less "fluffy" than shredded so it lies pretty flat.

[wdissident]

Ya my carpet/clothes hate aspen...lol o well it looks nice.. Ill keep it

[moshirimon]

I use aspen or paper. the paper does rub off rarely sometimes ill se an albino with a black nose lol but Ive seen no ill effects. but you do have to change newspaper almost daily such a pain!! I like aspen, I don't use shredded aspen since in my own logic it seems like it could be injested easier due to the small slivers. it also molds quickly. I like using normal animal aspen with the chunks but with aspen you have to deal with the clean up on your carpet..ugh lol

why do you have to change the newspaper daily? depends on the animal i suppose, but i dont think daily substrate change is necessary for a boa?

[Ddub]

When I used newspaper it felt like I was changing it all the time because even a small deposit of urates would just spread all over the paper which meant that it was all over the cage floor so I would have to take it all out, clean and repaper. I switched to shredded aspen for that reason. 2 inches of packed down aspen really contains those liquids that like to spread on paper and afford you the opportunity to spot clean. It also gives them a 3d surface crawl across with confidence instead of flailing about when you set them down on a slick featureless floor. Never had any issues with ingestion.

[ReticMan123]

Use aspen it's easiest to clean and they can burrow of they want. I have a bcc now for 2 months she's never show aggression. Handle a lot and maybe tap on her cage a few times so she knows she going to get held. Always stroke their heads now and again so their used to it. And I would still spray mite spray on her for another month once a week and keep her on paper towels to be sure. Also definitely don't hold until about 3 to 4 days after feelings. I had a Colombian die once because I fed to large of a mouse and then held him. I was only 14

[Jendee]

Yes it packs dow. I like this stuff ay better then the shredded. Its less costly too...im not so worried about impacted hemis either ;)
newspaper i do change daily...at least half every other day. So every day someones made a mess some how...pee...poop splashing around in their bowls..even shedding idk what it is but dirty newspaper stinks and gets nasty I dont want them sitting on that

[KORBIN5895]

I use cocohusk or newspaper.