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Snake Substrates

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Help and advice on shopping for: Snake Substrates

What is the best type of substrate for snakes?

For snakes, the best and most popular type of substrate/bedding is aspen. This soft substrate is kind on the skin and sensitive bellies of snakes and also encourages natural digging behaviours. Other popular varieties include hemp, soft chip, and coco soil. When purchasing these kinds of substrates, it’s important to consider how effective they are at maintaining humidity. To increase humidity in your snake’s enclosure, you can add things like leaf litter and sphagnum moss to your snake substrate.

How often should I change my snake’s substrate?

It’s recommended that you completely change your snake’s substrate every 4-6 weeks in order to prevent bacteria build-up and keep your snake’s enclosure free of any nasty odours. It’s also important that you remove any waste as often as possible. This will prolong the life of your substrate and ensure that your vivarium is kept hygienic. The best way to remove snake substrate, particularly loose types substrate like coco soil, hemp, or soft chip, is with a dustpan and brush.

A pet corn snake on a bed of leaf litter

If you have a planted bioactive set-up, with a deep substrate system that supports waste-eating critters like springtails, then you don’t need to replace your substrate. The idea of a bioactive set-up is to create a little, self-contained ecosystem that recycles nutrients and keeps your snake’s enclosure clean. The only downside of bioactive set-ups is that they’re not suitable for all types of snakes, particularly large species that may crush your live plants.

How much substrate do I need for my snake’s enclosure?

Knowing just how much substrate you’ll need to fill the bottom your snake’s enclosure is important when it comes to buying snake substrate – after all, you don’t want to buy too much or too little! Most types of snakes need a substrate layer that is at least 5cm deep. This will not only encourage some digging behaviours, but also help to maintain humidity in your snake’s enclosure. Some larger, heavier types of snakes need a thicker substrate layer of around 10cm or more.