Substrate - Page 2

Ringo · 01-05-09, 07:24 PM

right now i have newspaper and spraying alot...it's temporary until i decide what i'm going to try next...i was spraying alot anyway...i think it's going to be soil and do the live plants and all...see how well that does...so far EVERYTHING is a pain...so why not try something pretty?

siz · 01-05-09, 08:42 PM

Yeah and that would help keep the humidity up, one problem being though that iguanas get biiig and few plants that you could stick an a viv would hold them, they break everything you throw at them, haha. And sometimes they get the munchies.

Ringo · 01-06-09, 05:32 PM

i'm going to have alot of climbing limbs and things...if he/she wants to eat them..oh well...i'll plant more...i'll make sure there won't hurt him/her of course...i'm building it into a closet i have in my reptile room..

SerpentLust · 01-06-09, 05:56 PM

I have gone through MANY substrates and my final decision for my animals is paper towel for quarantine and babies, then Aspen for everyone else. I find aspen attractive, great for burrowing, easy to clean and just a great all purpose substrate

Wolfus_305 · 01-06-09, 07:41 PM

Sounds like it's going to be a great place to live!
I would use whatever looks the best and is easiest to clean, that way it will stay looking nicer for longer.
Best wishes
Kenny

siz · 01-07-09, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ringo

i'm building it into a closet i have in my reptile room..

Oh, that's cool

My boyfriend and I have been considering hooking up a closet for ours as well.
I was talking to someone on a different forum who has two sets of potted plants that she sticks in her ig enclosure; when the iguana destroys the first set, she switches them and lets the plants that have been wrecked grow back.

michellegrace88 · 01-08-09, 03:16 PM

Sand is tempting, as it seems natural & attractive, however, it does always run the risk of causing impaction in snakes.... I often go to the reptile expos, and I own a baby boa myself, and Aspen seems to be the substrate of choice! it's great for thermoregulation and burrowing and is easy to clean. I personally give it an A+. hehe...

SerpentLust · 01-08-09, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michellegrace88

Sand is tempting, as it seems natural & attractive, however, it does always run the risk of causing impaction in snakes.... I often go to the reptile expos, and I own a baby boa myself, and Aspen seems to be the substrate of choice! it's great for thermoregulation and burrowing and is easy to clean. I personally give it an A+. hehe...

Sand can also be quite abrasive on snake eyes, remember they don't have eyelids...

skysthelimit · 05-22-09, 03:33 PM

I have my two king snakes on douglas fir bark (the one r-zilla makes). I think it looks great, which is something you mentioned you wanted. I find it easy to scoop out the mess, unless something really digs deep down. But not bad at all. Hope that helps.

coastalNY · 05-25-09, 07:45 PM

id go with aspen mulch in order to be comparable with your snakes. as for the repti sand goes id say forget it, just looks boring to me but if u really like the look of the sand make sure its calci sand. anything else can cause respirtory problems.

Will0W783 · 05-26-09, 07:49 AM

As Aaron said, DON'T use sand for snakes. It can get up in between their scutes and cause irritation and even infection. I use cage liner (basically treated carpeting) for my ball python and it works great. I used to use repti-bark but I found he was scuffing his scutes on it and got himself all dirty and cracked, so I quickly removed it and went with carpet. My fiance uses ground walnut shells for his ball python, but I'm not sold on that. It is supposed to be non-impacting, but I don't know. I'd go with coconut husk or a carpet liner for the ball python and aspen for the kingsnake. I know you said you wanted to use the same for both snakes, but realistically they come from two different climates and so the same environment would not work well for both. Kingsnakes are used to much drier climates than ball pythons are, and therefore high humidity will not be good for them, whereas too dry is bad for the ball.

Chu'Wuti · 05-26-09, 05:13 PM

Quote:

i think it's going to be soil and do the live plants and all...see how well that does...so far EVERYTHING is a pain...so why not try something pretty?

I know what you mean!

I've used sand & pea gravel (years ago before I knew better), repti-bark, aspen shavings, and potting soil with plants. I'm far happier with the potting soil & plants than with anything else I've had. However--you have to water carefully so that the surface of the soil doesn't just pool water. An excellent book on the subject of natural vivaria is Philippe de Vosjoli's "The Art of Keeping Snakes." It was my guide when I set up my current vivarium for our BP.

When you clean out feces--which you should do, stir the soil surface up, then water. It will help the water go into the soil rather than simply pooling on top, because the BP will pack it down at night. Some plants will hold up better than others--the BP will climb/crawl over them and perhaps even dig them up.

Epipremnum aureum (known as Pothos in the states) is a great plant for this vivarium, as it just pops back up after the BP has crawled over it, and once it establishes some roots, it will start growing. You'll probably have to pinch it back every once in awhile.

I also have Zamioculcas zamiifolia (aka ZZ plant), which is doing well. Two somewhat recent introductions--about a month ago--are Sedum spurium (Dragon's blood sedum), which seems to be doing well, and Mondo grass (Ophiopogon japonicus), which is gradually taking root. Another good plant is Sansevieria (aka mother-in-law's tongue or snake plant) , but you'll need one of the short varieties, or it will grow too tall. That's actually true of ZZ plant, too--eventually it may get too tall. However, the branches are willing to bend over curvaceously, so they might work anyway--I'm waiting to see what happens on those.

The main thing about watering carefully is that you don't want your BP to have to lie in a pool of water. Watering should maintain the plants and the humidity (once a week covers both quite well for me) but not leave the entire viv so soaked that your BP can't get dry, or you're risking belly rot.

The ease of maintaining the humidity with a natural viv is the best part about it--my BP has shed perfectly every time, and we're going on a year in the natural viv as of July. In fact, he's in a shed cycle right now, so in a few days, I'll have another shed.

Downside--you can rarely collect the shed skin, as the BP will dig in the soil to get the shed started and it will most likely end up covered with dirt. Also, at one point I did get some little beetles--we all thought they were mites at first! Horrors! However, my zoologist DIL identified them as beetles. So we put the BP into a 20 gal tank for a few days while we treated the viv with dry ice to get rid of the unwanted critters.

If you decide to create a natural vivarium for your BPs, you will have a beautiful setting for your snake!

Kmef07 · 05-28-09, 11:54 AM

Hey sandy, When your plants get to the heigth you want them just start trimming off the new growth whenever you see it forming. that will allow your plant to live and also keep it small enough. also you can cauderize it with fire and that will slow down any new growth for a while and keep the plant healthy. i do that for a tree i keep in my room. any bigger and i have to get rid of it so i cut off new growth branches and then i scorch it with a torch. i dont think it would be very easy on ivy but most ground cover i know of you can just pull it up and you won't have a problem because it will just come back. hope this is somewhat helpful.

Chu'Wuti · 05-28-09, 06:26 PM

Thanks, Kyle--I had never thought of searing the cut place that way. I have a bottle of pruning seal to put on the cuts, but your technique sounds a lot cheaper!

I just pinch some of them back, such as the Epipremnum (pothos), without doing anything else.

However, like you, I also have a tree--a Polyscias fruticosa--that I will be removing a couple of branches from soon, and my son wants me to root them so he can have one of these, too, because he really loves the lacy leaves. So I will try searing the cuts with fire . . . oh, boy, I get to play with FIRE!!

I could also top the ZZ in the BP's tank, but I think it will look kind of strange. That's why I'm waiting to see what happens with it and whether I like it if I have to top it.