What's the point in using paper (newspaper, butcher, paper, towels) as substrate?

Ivanator · 10-22-15, 01:59 PM

I know a huge number of you guys use this as substrate for your snakes. I own retics and tried it out for a week and it seems extremely pointless to me bc my snakes will crumple up the paper moving it all to one side or crawling under it. This actually makes cleaning the enclosure more work cuz then the poo and urate is laying directly on the cage. Why do you guys use it? Or are my snakes just a pain in the *** with paper?

**Tsubaki** · 10-22-15, 02:23 PM

I only use it for quarantine or temporary housing, i usually give them a couple of crumpled up ones as well. Since i started doing that they tried less to get under the bottom ones.. Also you have to make sure they're really flat (mist them slightly after placing them in helps). It does work, but i also have had snakes who still crumple it up after a while.

Ivanator · 10-22-15, 02:33 PM

I always did mist it cuz if I didn't the edges tend to curl up but they still would always just push all the paper out of the way. Right now I'm using cypress mulch but it's getting costly and mites always somehow find a way back so I wanna try out different things. I'd love to always do paper cuz it's so cheap but it seems pointless to me

**Aaron_S** · 10-22-15, 02:44 PM

In my bins I find paper to be easy. I don't mind the full bin clean each time they go. It's simple, cost effective and easy to clean. No dust or messy substrate to sweep up or get anywhere else.

I also use rubber gloves when cleaning so if it's gross it's no big deal.

serpentgirl123 · 10-22-15, 03:07 PM

In my enclosures and racks, I use a couple of layers paper towels and unprinted newspaper or both. 90-95% of the time, the snakes leave it right in place and only occasionally does it get bunched up, usually when there is a mess. I have tried other substrate, but none have been cost effective and/or easy to clean. Some of my snakes seem more sensitive to dust of the other popular substrates and I got sick of either pulling out small pieces that got lodged in their mouth when they ate or having to transfer them to a feeding tub. So it is also a health concern.

**Minkness** · 10-22-15, 04:28 PM

I use rubber shelving liner instead of paper. For me it helps keep humidity better, cheaper than buying substrate, and reusable if I feel like cleaning it. I haven't had anyone try to gwt under it yet. I use paper towels for quarintine only and sanichips f9r my burrowing snakes.

=)

IW17 · 10-22-15, 05:47 PM

I use newspaper in tubs but cypress mulch in actual enclosures. Where are you buying your mulch that it costs so much? I buy large bags of cypress mulch at home depot for $3 per bag. One of these is enough to fill a 6x2 enclosure about 4" deep.

Ivanator · 10-22-15, 07:07 PM

I only have one snake in a tub and I don't mind using paper in that. It's my big enclosures that I think it's useless cuz those snakes range from 10-15ft and their enclosures are 8x3x2. I can't think of one time when I used paper where a few hours later or the next day it's all crumpled up or the snakes are hiding underneath making the paper useless.

IW17: where are you located? I'm in the oc. Lowes, Home Depot and all the garden shops here stopped carrying cypress mulch so I'm forced to go online and order a whole lot of the largest bag I can find which aren't very big. The best deal I found was at the San Diego show beginning of summer where I picked up 2 40lb bags for $50 each.

Wingbeats · 10-22-15, 11:35 PM

I use paper towel for my brand-new baby BRB

It makes it easy to spot potential mites, mouse blood stains, and poo....and they are too small to crumple it up or anything as babies.

I eventually switch the baby to cypress mulch as I get used to them and their habits and am sure they are mite free

**Aaron_S** · 10-23-15, 07:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ivanator

I only have one snake in a tub and I don't mind using paper in that. It's my big enclosures that I think it's useless cuz those snakes range from 10-15ft and their enclosures are 8x3x2. I can't think of one time when I used paper where a few hours later or the next day it's all crumpled up or the snakes are hiding underneath making the paper useless.

IW17: where are you located? I'm in the oc. Lowes, Home Depot and all the garden shops here stopped carrying cypress mulch so I'm forced to go online and order a whole lot of the largest bag I can find which aren't very big. The best deal I found was at the San Diego show beginning of summer where I picked up 2 40lb bags for $50 each.

Look for other places online. You might be able to find garden shows, home shows, deck shows, who may lead you to a supplier for the stuff.

Ivanator · 10-23-15, 10:37 AM

Good thinking! Thanks man!

IW17 · 10-25-15, 04:58 PM

I'm in Ohio. But any garden center should carry cypress mulch. Honestly I just said home Depot as one example. I actually buy from local gardening and landscape businesses more often.

chairman · 10-26-15, 09:36 AM

There's a dividing line in the US that determines whether your home improvement stores will stock cypress or not. I cannot remember whether it is the Mississippi River or the Rocky Mountains. But live west of that mark and cypress is hard to find locally.

Ivanator · 10-26-15, 12:23 PM

Ya I used to find it all the time! Garden shops and lowes is where I used to buy it from but then one day they all stopped carrying it. I asked the guy at the garden shop and he said an organization like peta has been trying to stop the making of cypress mulch cuz I guess they chop down the living trees to make it. Pretty much he said now the only places I'll find it really are pet shops now.

prairiepanda · 10-26-15, 05:32 PM

The appeal of newspaper to me is that it's free. Also, there is a free newspaper bin right outside my apartment building. So, cost and convenience combined make it the best choice for me currently. (I did contact the printing press to confirm that only vegetable-based dyes are used, though)

In the future when I have more disposable income I will certainly switch to something more effective and nicer to look at.

To remedy the issue with snakes just pushing the paper around, I put it all through a shredder. Then it becomes just like wood shavings and gives them something to dig in. Not the best substrate by any means, but since it's free I can't complain.