What is a good substrate for a young ball python?

Substrate effects the snakes aggressiveness??? Really?

I have 83 snakes in my home and some are on astro turf, some on aspen and some on sand. And I challenge anyone to tell me the difference in one snakes personality that is in a tank with aspen against one that is in a tank with astro turf. Ridiculous!

A snakes aggressiveness is based on their treatment by their owner, and their level of care. What your using is fine as long as you keep it clean.

I wouldn't use it. If it's a sandy substrate it can cause impaction but it can also cause irritation to the snakes pits on it's head by getting in them. The 2 best substrates would be Aspen and orchid bark. They are both pretty cheap. Orchid bark holds moisture very well which ball pythons need to shed well. Aspen is cheaper and is easier with spot cleaning just with Aspen get some moss at your local pet store which should help with humidity. Either substrate will work just stay away from anything dusty or pine. Pine is toxic to snakes and dusty substrate can irritate skin. Hope this helps

all depends what you are looking for out of a substrate. if you are going the natural route then repti-bark, cypress, jungle-mix are all good substrates. the problems with natural substrates is the upkeep on the cage and in cage feedings. if you feed your snake on reptibark and it constricts it could wrap up some bark with the mouse and swallow it down ( could cause problems ) i like good Ole fashion news paper, very easy to clean, very absorbent and best of all free. Always remember the most important aspect of snake keeping is the ambient temperature, always make sure there is different levels of heat and the humidity remains constant for the species you are keeping. have you checked out King Snake.com This site is very helpful. Cheers

I use newspaper and paper towels, but cypress mulch and aspen are good choices and are good for humidity.

"Cobrakid" is mistaken when he says that the type of bedding affects the aggression levels of snakes. Very incorrect. I find it hard to believe that in several of his answers he calls himself a herpetologist.

"Elle Driver", cypress mulch is an excellent substrate. Perhaps you are thinking about cedar?

use astroturf or aspen

btw- cobrakid is wrong- substrate does not affect temperment of the snake

i use aspen snake bedding which is easy to find in a lot of pet stores

aspen wood chips

potting soil

just do not use cypress

and make sure to put news paper down underneath so that it will be easier to lean up

Hope This helped!! = ]

I use jungle earth, and or cypress. They both tend to hold humidity well. Hope this helps.

I think aspen is your best bet.

You should use Aspen. It's good for their behavior. Did you know that the kind of substrate you use can determine whether your snake gets aggressive or docile? Aspen makes the snake fell comfortable and that is exactly what you need. =) good luck with that.

Cobrakid