Best substrate - the ongoing debate

[tiger501]

peteruk said:

I think the best substrate is ........ No substrate, because nothing can go wrong with it :-)

you are absolutely right Peter!!!

i wonder how many actually die in the wild though because of the substrate they naturally live in, makes you wonder huh

[animal]

I used to use blue paper towel's for my cham, but those smart crickets just kept hiding underneath it, so in the end i decided not to use anything, i just remove any waste on a daily basis and found it to work brillant this way

[PeterUK]

i wonder how many actually die in the wild though because of the substrate they naturally live in, makes you wonder huh

Nope.
Never wondered about it my entire life .......... ever.

If somethings gonna die .......... its gonna die.
Its time is up and there is nothing you can do about it.

[ccfcexile]

Although I use aspen and I still rate it highly it does dry out in the viv. If you buy it in a bag from a reputable source then it should come out soft and and all the splintery bits tend to be very bendy but once in the viv and the heat gets to it it does dry out. This is when problems can start.

Options are this 1) Don't buy it 2) clear a feeding area (I use a big stone to put my defrosts on) 3) check scales regularly for any splinters. 4) Change it regularly but this can then be costly and defeats the object of aspen.