Substrate

[boamadness]

Hi, Im pretty new to Boas, owning a single yearling female and have a few questions about substrate choice. I have been using with success cypress mulch but I was wondering if I could use aspen bedding. I was told by several care sheets that the humidity needs to be around 50% and I'm not sure if the aspen can be sprayed and what not as I have never used it. I mainly keep tokay geckos and dont use either of the other substrates for them so I was intersted in the aspen as its much cheaper. Any help would be much appreciated.

[jadeboa]

I think a lot of people use the Aspen..............you can also use the shredded paper for small animals.
If you ask around you will get a different answer from almost everyone on what type of substrate they use.( for example...........I use paper towels..........others use newspaper...........some cardboard...........you get the idea) Use what you can afford that is healthy for the boa.
What kind of cage are you using?
Caging is very important if you want to hold in humidity.
I use the boa cages................they are great. For my neonates I use the glass tanks with the locking tops. But, soon I will switch over to a rack system for the neos.
Anyway, good luck and post some pictures.

[boamadness]

Thanks, I found at a local gardening center large bags of cypress mulch at rock bottom prices. For safety I baked it in the oven at 300 degrees and sealed it in large rubbermaids. So far all looks good, thanks for your input. Ill post some pics of my girl soon, shes in shed so im going to wait till after!

[Jason Dowell]

Howdy~
Baking the mulch or Aspen is a good idea. I use Aspen, and store it in my freezer chest with the rats. That works well for killing any bugs too.

As for the humidity question. In the winter (northern minnesota) it gets extremely dry. I actually dislike that more than the cold. Anyways, I just dump some water in the cage, about a quart in a 4' x 2' cage, and the Aspen soaks it up. That is all it takes for me to get the humidity up to 60 - 70%. This works great. The Aspen soaks it up, so there isn't a puddle. After a while, maybe a month, it will start smelling musty, so I change the bedding. I usually pour some water in there after their eyes clear up too. Year 'round. I never have any shedding problems. I believe that Aspen and Cyprus mulch would be very similar in their ability to hold moisture.
I use the Aspen because I can get it cheaper than Cyprus mulch. If you go to a feed store, like a Co-op, you can get a bale of Aspen for around $15. Enough to last a long time for most collections.

[boamadness]

The mulch is working great, thanks for the input. Id be worried however about the aspen molding with just dumping that much water onto it, just a thought though.

[Jason Dowell]

The mulch is working great, thanks for the input. Id be worried however about the aspen molding with just dumping that much water onto it, just a thought though.

Just a little musty after 3 waterings a week and a month to 6 weeks has gone by. It never gets moldy. The same thing will happen with Cyprus I'm sure. No worries.