Baking or freezing substrate

[jay's reptiles]

which is the best method, i have been freezing the substrate, but i have know recently hearing that this method doesn't work.

So does it work or should i just bake my substrate for now on.

Doing this to kill off any potential mites. when buy new bedding.

[dannybgoode]

Unless you're buying from a source where snake mites may be present the I wouldn't bother. One of the been its of mixing your own blend is generally the stuff you use hasn't been anywhere near a reptile so not particular precautions required .

If you have reason to suspect the substrate may be contaminated I'd a) find a different supplier and b) both bake and freeze it to be sure.

[jay's reptiles]

Originally Posted by dannybgoode

Unless you're buying from a source where snake mites may be present the I wouldn't bother. One of the been its of mixing your own blend is generally the stuff you use hasn't been anywhere near a reptile so not particular precautions required .

If you have reason to suspect the substrate may be contaminated I'd a) find a different supplier and b) both bake and freeze it to be sure.

Im buying from amazon, should i bake and freeze once it get here?

[dannybgoode]

I've never bothered to be honest and never had an issue. If you want to though I really would do both...

[Andy_G]

Probably unnecessary to do either. I can tell you, however, that wild canadian snakes simply don't have the tropical snake mites that we know of as a scourge in captive populations because they don't survive freezing during winters. If I were to do it...freezing would be my preference...but i've never had any issues with mites coming with substrate myself.

[Bandit]

Been buying substrate for years and never had an issue with mites. I wouldn't worry about it. If you're determined to do it though, I would probably freeze it.

[jay's reptiles]

Alright thanks, i gonna go with freezing!

[jjhill001]

Originally Posted by jay's reptiles

which is the best method, i have been freezing the substrate, but i have know recently hearing that this method doesn't work.

So does it work or should i just bake my substrate for now on.

Doing this to kill off any potential mites. when buy new bedding.

If you don't trust your substrate supplier that much then you should get a different supplier. If the actual seller is amazon and not some random store then chances are it just sits in a warehouse for a few months. With no snakes there mites will die off.

Mites seem to come from two places that I've seen, reptile shows (usually not even the breeders there but random people come in with their animals and hold the show animals) or holding sick pet store animals.

[jay's reptiles]

Originally Posted by jjhill001

If you don't trust your substrate supplier that much then you should get a different supplier. If the actual seller is amazon and not some random store then chances are it just sits in a warehouse for a few months. With no snakes there mites will die off.

Mites seem to come from two places that I've seen, reptile shows (usually not even the breeders there but random people come in with their animals and hold the show animals) or holding sick pet store animals.

just random off of amazon.

[jjhill001]

Originally Posted by jay's reptiles

just random off of amazon.

I ask because amazon sometimes uses independent vendors for some of the specialty products. I would check into the independent vendor and if it seems reputable then you're probably find.

[akane]

Well I use wild collected soil and materials without either even when not doing a fully bioactive cleaning crew but if you want to be sure mites are dead you need heat. They survive our -30F iowa winters. You aren't going to freeze the suckers in any normal appliance or many other things unless you've only got a tropical source.