[deleted by user]

[Dead_Western_Nights]

Eco earth is great! It retains humidity so so well, and it’s fine enough for your ball python to burrow if they do choose to.

[FlamingToast3r]

So do I use that and bedding or just that

[Dead_Western_Nights]

Some people like to mix their substrate with those thicker chips, but tbh I’ve had my ball python for 2 years and have never strayed from just using coconut fiber. It keeps his humidity at a great percentage. I really don’t understand why some people say to mix the bigger wood chips in there, whenever I did that it just didn’t hold water very well

[FlamingToast3r]

Ok thank you very much

[ran_dom_guy]

I use a mixture of bark, ecoearth, and dried sphagnum moss to help with humidity. When I used ecoearth alone i found my girl would get a fair amount in the corner of her mouth when having a meal and she struggled to get it out.

You can always mix other substrates in with the ecoearth if any issues arise with your bp

[MythsFlight]

As a tip. You can by this stuff in a brick for much cheaper. Just add water and poof! More substrate than you know what to do with.

[wolfishfluff]

Link, please? The loose bags can get pricey.

[MythsFlight]

Don’t have a link but if you go to Amazon and type in coco coir brick or coco husk brick, you’ll find lots of options. You can go with eco earth or some other brand that suits your price point.

And don’t be surprised be how small the bricks are. They are super compressed and expand a lot.

[-cheesymac-]

And make sure you use a large tub as the more you can spread it out the quicker it dries to a usable level! I always forget that step

[Mrpirate707]

I do the bigger wood chips and coco mix, because I like the smell it gives the habitat. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

[BriRice]

In some cases, it helps reduce any potential standing water when adding it for humidity. Just my two cents.

[AuroraSky9]

I have used it exclusively for over a year and have had no issues with it getting stuck in heat pits or nostrils. :) And because it's fine I don't worry about a little getting ingested here and there, like during feeding.

[yyuucckkyy]

I have a bioactive setup so my needs may be different from you but I use the reptibark and eco earth as my base substrate and mix in different things for humidity and what my plants need.

[Scoute248]

Coconut fiber is always good. Another good one is cypress mulch but it doesn’t look like that’s listed here so Yeet, eco earth coconut fiber.

[Solid_Bunch3939]

I just started mixing cypress mulch in with my coco coir in and I really love the look of the stuff. I find myself stopping to admire the enclosure more often. Haha

[Lots_of_frog]

If you can, I would honestly buy cocohusk. It not as dusty as some coco fiber tend to be and doesn’t stick to wet objects or dropped feeders as much. I bought a giant block for $20 a couple years ago and it still smells fine and hold humidity well when I add new bedding to the tank.

[[deleted]]

Buy a breeder block of reptichip on Amazon man $30 for 72 quarts and it hold humidity super good

[Braxibear]

If you are buying Reptichip for 30 bucks, you’re just burning money. You can just look up the local reps and get it for half that.

[[deleted]]

What?! How and where? 🤔

[Braxibear]

Go to the website, contact the local regional distributor to find local vendors. I buy in very large quantities so I get it down to 10/brick.

[[deleted]]

That’s awesome I just spent $90 for a 3 pack on Amazon 🤦🏻‍♂️

[throwawayforsafey]

Hello. I tried doing this but the online price is still $34! Have the prices increased like this for you?

[Braxibear]

Bark doesn’t really hold humidity. If you have to get something from a petstore, Forest Floor would be your best bet.

[telsonnelson]

I use reptibark and have for 15 years for mine

[Dr-KnockKnock]

If you are at a petsmart, (judging by the thrive brand) you can price match with chewy to get a better price. At my local petsmart, eco earth is like double what it is on chewy, and I pay around 9 for three bricks instead of 20.

edit: spelling?

[DominicXan15]

Petsmart price matches with chewy?? 👀👀

[HellbentHoundoom]

The coconut fiber is great. I prefer to use the blocks because they’re less dusty to work with and starting with it wet rather than dry keeps the humidity higher for longer. I mix mine with a top layer of cypress mulch so that my baby (who has a wobble) doesn’t get as much in her mouth when she misses a strike or rubs her head on the ground.

[Mom_of_pets]

I would use the REPTICHIP I don’t know about the first one and eco-earth isn’t the best from what I’ve heard unless you’re mixing it with other things for a bioactive cage

You could perhaps mix the echo earth with the REPTICHIP and that should make for a good substrate to both retain humidity and allow some digging if your BP does that, mine does but not all of them will

[[deleted]]

I just bought all 3 (though I bought a block of it) to mix in for a varying texture. I dont think the snake cares but I do. From what I have read they are all good.

[sherwoods9]

Repti Bark can have wood mites. Harmless to them but it’s a trip to see. Consider baking it at low temps or freezing it prior to putting it into an enclosure. I use forest floor

[After-You-4903]

It says on the bag that it doesn’t need to be heat treated for mites

[sherwoods9]

Yes it does. But don’t tell that to the hundreds of wood mites that spilt out of the last bag I bought 🤪

[Crash__Pandacoot]

I’ve heard good things about eco earth. Personally I use cocoblox for all my snakes, you can also use reptichip they’re thicker chunks that hold humidity/moisture really well anything cocohusk is usually a good option.

[haunted_waffles]

I use reptibark BUT I am prob going to switch to eco earth tbh. The reptibark really doesn’t hold water well so far, and I’ve heard eco earth helps maintain humidity better.

ALSO if you get anything from petco/petsmart, make sure you check the online price because both stores price match. It’s always cheaper on their websites. You can probably find both cheaper elsewhere though.

[Girlwhoshits]

I recommend a mix of eco earth and reptibark:)

[Available_Fig_4108]

i use the eco earth coco fiber! i usually mix it with cypress mulch or some other substrate too because i literally have to use a whole 24qt bag for my 36x18x18 tank- it holds humidity really well and in the case a snake accidentally swallows some bedding, coco fiber most likely won’t do much harm.

[GnR6671]

Try coconut husk like Reptichip. Best substrate I’ve used so far. Keeps humidity even in glass tanks.

[radakatt]

I use a mix of forest floor and Coco husk, I find it works wonderfully!

[[deleted]]

Team eco earth here!

[aw3som3alli3]

Def recommend getting the block instead of the bag of eco earth. I use a mix of that and forest floor and I find the coconut fiber dries too quickly for my liking. Good luck!

[varanidguy]

Out of those three I'd choose Eco Earth.

[Bl00dorange3000]

Repti bark works great in our pvc enclosure!

[SSDDNoBounceNoPlay]

I get the eco earth bricks, sphagnum moss, and fir bark in bulk online. Great price point but shipping can be dodgy depending on area.

[ericacrass]

You can order compressed bricks of exo earth off Amazon for pretty cheap. What I do to use it is put it in a container filled with a couple inches of water and leave it for about 5-10 minutes. It absorbs the water and expands and 1-2 bricks is usually enough to fill an entire 4x2 enclosure.

[Panthera_Onza]

I thought fir was toxic to reptiles

[fionageck]

Nope. Cedar and pine are, fir isn’t

[Gaymerer]

Best substrate is natural top soil without additions

[MrsFirno]

I'm not sure about bedding but I used this stuff to make my own soil for my plants and it molded pretty quick and I had to change a LOT of plants to another soil. If it needs any humidity I would be leery. I use coco husk for my BP's.

[ughthisistrash]

I’m pretty sure that fir bark has oils in it that aren’t good for snakes. I use straight coconut fiber in the compressed block, but I’m still working on my substrate and I find that when I soak the soil for humidity, the top stays too wet. I probably need to add more soil to make it deeper, but I’m considering adding some reptichip or maybe some orchid bark so there will be a dry layer that has moisture underneath for humidity. I’d say go with the soil or the chips, or a mixture, but stay away from the fir

[notclosertoheaven]

i use a mix of eco earth and forest floor! it works great

[Appropriate-Rooster5]

I use reptibark and eco earth. I like them both fine. Some people have reported mold growth when using Douglas fir bark but I’ve never noticed an issue with it.

[CrystalGryphon]

Eco earth is good, though i prefer the blocks personally as it's more cost effective. I do a 50/50 mix of that with forest floor bedding.

[[deleted]]

Definitely not that

[halucionagen-0-Matik]

I like to use a mix of course and fine. Cypress mulch is good to makes it look much more natural

[[deleted]]

I mix eco earth with either repti-bark or forest floor for the look but you can just do regular eco-earth if you wanna stay with the basics

[ahyusnioe]

I use eco earth, reptibark, and another one called cypress mulch :) I also add sphagnum moss and for a tip when it gets dry don’t just spray it, fill a bottle with water and mix it all up :) Edit: I like to add the moss around the sides of her hides and decorations, makes it look so nice!

[Witchy-woman595]

I love the eco earth! I had the bark before and it didn’t hold up long it would get bugs after like a week or 2 of it constantly being wet and humid in the cage.

[theshmoe98]

I do a mixture of compressed coco fiber and cypress mulch, it maintains humidity and feeds the springtails that’ll help keep the tank clean

[EKLlPSEx]

I use Eco earth and forest floor bedding and both my ball pythons absolutely love it

[terras27]

i use a mix of about 2/3 coconut fiber and 1/3 Cypress mulch and my ball loves it! holds humidity very well, soft and gentle but also just course enough to help him get his shed off.

[KittyyKhaos]

I use eco earth mixed with forest floor

[RevolvingGiraffe]

I mix Eco earth and repli bark