is Pine bedding okay??

[Lulu Bennett]

i will stick to using newspaper for now then, used to use paper towels but was going through then to easily and costing more than newspaper lol

[drache]

newspaper is fine
I use that for some of my messier animals a lot
I find it unattractive and will root through the paper to make sure the pages on top are not too busy (business and real estate pages tend to be good, obits okay)
I'm looking for a shredder that will shred newsprint without clogging
I have a bunch of cheap paper the movers gave me for wrapping stuff and I burned my shredder motor because the stuff kept clogging the blades
it makes really great bedding for the babies though
my vet mentioned shredded newspaper, so there must be shredders that can handle it
anyway
after the initial investment - completely free

[Stefan-A]

And I'm still searching for the ideal bedding.

Newspaper is otherwise fine, but not very absorbent, it's ugly and slippery.
Paper towels are absorbent, slightly better looking than newspaper, but still slippery.
My babies are using a kind of "industrial" paper towels, which is somewhere between newspaper and ordinary household paper towels.
Peat is otherwise nice, but the dust is a (minor) concern and it sticks to food items.
Dry leaves are good looking and won't stick to food items, but they don't absorb anything.
Bark is good looking and won't stick to food, but won't absorb anything and is an impaction just waiting to happen.

Anybody try wood pellets? My sister tested it in her kids' guinea pig cages, but found it a bit too expensive for that purpose.

I just did a week-long experiment with peat and the vagrans babies. When they first were introduced to it, they didn't have a clue how to move around in it. It looked really funny when they tried the same method as on paper towels. They quickly got the hang of it though.

[krystalirelan@southslope.]

in the vivs we have not converted into terririums we use an astro turf kind of thing. my hubbys work had a bunch they were going to toss so we cut it to fit and melted the edges so it won't unravel. we have several for each and can take out the old and toss in a new and hose the soiled down and let dry!

[Loren]

I keep young snakes on paper towels until they are well started, since it is easier to feed them, and I am more concerned about impaction with small and newly hatched snakes. I also keep newly aquired snakes on paper towels so I can better observe for mites or other health issues.
I keep larger snakes on either aspen or fir tree bark, depending on what the humidity needs are, the ventilation of the cage, and what look I want. The aspen is very dry(better for rack systems with low ventilation) and allows for burrowing and hiding, the fir tree bark takes well to misting and looks natural (works well in aquariums/terrariums).
I buy the fir tree bark from the hardware store(Orchard supply) sold under the name "orchid bark", but I think its the same type as zoo meds repti bark.

[Charlet_2007]

i got me a paper shredder and used newspaper and shredded it up not very costly that way and its great for the smell and such

[drache]

btw
if you do any shipping of fragile stuff - shredded paper makes better padding than bubble wrap and it's less damaging to the environment

[tikichick]

Would reptile carpet be another option? Nothing to burrow in or under, but I could see using it with a few piles of moss and rock or wood hides might be a good looking solution. I'm using aspen, though I'm monitoring feeding to make sure none of it is accidentally ingested.

[adamanteus]

I think 'reptile carpet' should be just fine.

[anji1971]

I switched over to aspen recently, and I really like it! The snakes love to burrow in it, and since I use a separate tub to feed in, I don't have to worry about them ingesting it. Plus it's much cheaper than the ReptiBark I used before!!