B.c.i Substrates

[Colonel SB]

What do you keep your B.c.i's on? I was thinkin for mine pine shavings would be good I keep my colubirds on it...Anyways let me know what you think.

[reptile gallery]

I like newspaper for med to large boas that like to make med to large messes!! Very clean going in...simple to clean and replace when dirty. You can lay down a bed first, then crumple up a lot for those snakes that like a little 'ground cover'
....don't like shavings for large snakes because once an animal makes waste it is impossible to clean properly without replacing most or all shavings.
Just my opinion.
Good luck

[Colonel SB]

My retics are on paper and they make a total mess of it because they move itl to one side of the cage even though they have a hid plus when they go swimmin they make a horrible mess. I was thinking may be soil of some kind it looks natural, but we'll see.

[stretch]

I'm not 100% sure but I don't think pine shavings are safe. You can use aspen shavings. I keep my bci on astro turf. I keep 2 pieces so when one gets dirty I just throw in the extra one and I'm done. Then I go and clean the dirty one for the next time. Its easy as 1-2-3. Or you could use Zoo Meds forest floor that works great too.

[pandorasBox]

this is just an opinion that i have developed after many hours of reading the smae type of threads over and over again, i was under the assumption that pine shavings are closely related to cedar shavings in the fact that they release fumes that are harmful to the snakes. i have peasonally have used everything from coconut bark to indoor outdoor carpet, and i to have ended up using newspaper it is extremely easy to lay down, its plentiful, its being reused, and it is easy as all hell to clean up a mastiff size crap.

[reptile gallery]

I strongly suggest you do not use any soil of any kind. In the daily(or nightly) quest for an escape route(or a snack!) the constant 'pushing' motion of the head in soil results in heat pit impactions or in the case of your boa, soil enters the mouth area and can lead to nasties. Believe me, I've seen the results and it is not a good thing!!

[Colonel SB]

Okay soil is out for sure.

[ohh_kristina]

don't put pine or cedar shavings in with them. I know that pine and cedar fumes are very harmful for small animals, so I'd imagine they wouldn't be too great for snakes either.

[unBOAlievable]

I use newspaper only on my adults and paper towels on my neonates the majority of the time with the axeption that every couple of years I get this wild idea to change my setup. A weak after my bright ideas I go straight back to newspaper. I am a clean freak and use Nolvasan religiously and with newspaper it is so much easier to thoroughly clean the whole enclosure.

Jeff Ronne went to aspen last year and on last check he is still using it. So it is just personal preference. P.S. stay away from pine.

[Colonel SB]

Okay I will stay away from pine but last I read it was only ceader that was bad...oh well.

[Linds]

As everyone has mentioned, pine is best avoided as a substrate for reptiles. All softwoods contain oils which are toxic to different degrees. Cedar being the most toxic which causes severe neurological damage which is often fatal, pine however has a much milder effect, it is more of a mild respiratory irritant. Either way, aromatics aren't the way to go.

Like unBOAlievable, I use newspaper or papertowel, depending on size of the animal. I prefer to avoid using loose substrates due to the possibility of impaction, etc. I don't believe in moving my animals around in feeding boxes to feed, nor is it efficient for the size of my collection. Though they don't work well for me, other substrates that have been successfully used with others include cypress mulch and aspen shavings.

[Chris F.]

newspaper! cheap, easy to change, and no fear of toxicity from ingestion......chris

[Invictus]

My BCC is on substrate called "Jungle Floor".. it's kind of like jungle bark, but safer. Because his excrement is solid, it's very easy to clean up.. much easier than aspen shavings.

Though, I don't mind the aspen either because it's reasonably cheap. That's what I use for my corns, and will probably use for my spotties when I get them.

no aromatic woods of any type, just not enough known of their effect. I keep mine on I/O carpet and wask the carpet in cold water with soap and a capfull of bleach, keep 3 per enclosure so there is always a spare and can color coordinate lol :P

[BOAS_N_PYTHONS]

Hi there:

NEWSPAPERS and PAPER TOWELS are the best, super cheap super easy to work with.

Cya