Death to Aspen!!!

[drache]

You should be able to get sizable pieces of broken roofing slate from a builders merchant, you just need to ask.

thanks for the tip - I'll try that

but my pieces are placed in loosely, so I can take them out and rinse all the soiling off. I also add some soft substrate like recycled paper animal bedding (like catlitter) in one corner on top, larger pellet types are best, so less risk of swallowing, as the snakeys love digging through it.

that sounds more like what I would do
I like being able to rearrange things

[mycolorfulheart]

this is what i use Zoo Med Premium Repti Bark at PETCO.
It's fir bark bedding. I got it from the person who used to have Raven, she was bought a couple years ago and so far hasn't had problems with it. Does anyone else have experience with this stuff?

[gregmonsta]

I'm quite happy with my repti-carpets now .... nice and green ...

[Lori P]

Green is good, especially this time of year when everything outside is so blaaaaaaah!

I'm tickled so far with the Care Fresh-- Mordecai and Miriam have been burrowing like crazy, and, when I fed Miriam the minnow the other day, she dragged it across the Care Fresh and nothing stuck to it!! (I can't feed her out of her tank yet... she gets too scared and won't eat.)

[Loren]

this is what i use Zoo Med Premium Repti Bark at PETCO.
It's fir bark bedding. I got it from the person who used to have Raven, she was bought a couple years ago and so far hasn't had problems with it. Does anyone else have experience with this stuff?

I use "orchid bark" from orchard supply- it is also fir tree bark. Just cheaper (1 cubic foot for 8 bucks I think), but also dustier and sometimes damp. I hand pick the bags for best quality and dry the bark out in large tubs so it doesnt mold, and sometimes sift the dust if its really dusty. I have 20-something tanks to fill, so I cant afford the zoo med. Havent had any problems with it other than that.
As far as the type of bark- I really like it. Looks good, and takes misting well if needed.

[Thamnophis]

In mber of vivariums in our Reptilezoo we use vinyl. The kind of stuff you lay on floors in kitchens etc.
Works as well as the slate James uses.
Weighs nothing and is not expensive.

[Lori P]

Oh, the exotic store where I sometimes have to go to get pinkies uses vinyl flooring in most of their tanks. That was the first time I'd seen it and I thought it was cool because it's easy to clean and sanitize between snakes. And inexpensive to change out as needed.

[CrazyHedgehog]

A number of our tanks have lino floors, I cover it in wood chip. it never occured to me to leave them bare!