Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

StreetDragster

Hi All,

Currently using Aspen/Hemp for my Pythons substrate, but their new viv's will be more natural looking, very jungly. Is there a decent substitute substrate available that would be dark/light brown and suitable for my snakes?

Sorry for the probably obvious question, but i only have experience with aspen and newspaper.

Thanks

Matt
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Peter Parrot · Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 1:02 pm Post subject:

Have you tried the coco bricks that are available at reptile retailers? Alternatively, if you do what I do, which is buy them from a hydraponics shop, you may get them considerably cheaper. Soak them in water and they swell up and make an inert naturalistic substrate. The snakes movements firm it down so that it is quite compacted. I spray regularly to keep the humidity up anyway which also prevents it from drying out.

There is some in this picture. Every so often I dampen it right down and stir it up again which I had just done before this picture was taken.

Here it is in a Retic`s viv.
This is what it looks like after it has been firmed down by the snakes movements. As you can see, once it has done it does not adhere to the food item and get ingested.

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StreetDragster · Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 1:11 pm Post subject:

Very interesting, never heard of them before.
So you swell them with water, and they absorb the water and don't make the bottom of your tank like a marsh?
Sounds very good, i'll look into it, and ring my local reptile place to see if they have them, and the garden centres
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Peter Parrot · Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 1:16 pm Post subject:

Just drop an entire brick in a bucket of water overnight. Wink

_________________
YSBRYDOLI POBL, GWELLA LLEOEDD
INSPIRING PEOPLE, IMPROVING PLACES
www.btcv.org
Visit our website - Gwelwch ein Gwefan
www.btcvcymru.org
Llinell Gymorth / Helpline: 08702 40 48 41

StreetDragster · Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 1:18 pm Post subject:

Excellent, and i take it there won't be any nastys living in the stuff if i get it from a garden centre rather than a reptile shop.

This sounds like the perfect stuff
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Peter Parrot · Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 1:20 pm Post subject:

They are inert, compacted dry bricks. All my pythons are the picture of health and most of them live on it.
_________________
YSBRYDOLI POBL, GWELLA LLEOEDD
INSPIRING PEOPLE, IMPROVING PLACES
www.btcv.org
Visit our website - Gwelwch ein Gwefan
www.btcvcymru.org
Llinell Gymorth / Helpline: 08702 40 48 41

StreetDragster · Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 1:22 pm Post subject:

Absolutely perfect, cheers Peter.
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