Newbie here, ?'s on clean-up and set up...

[e burna]

I have artificial turf like material in the bottom of my tank for the snakes to lie on. Also, when cleaning I just use warm soapy water. Are these acceptable methods? Thanks for reading.

[SCReptiles]

By all means, but also spray it well with Nolvasan, then rinse off with warm water after a few minutes.

http://secw.bravepages.com/Chuck/scr/nolvasan.html

[CARLiTO_]

Just use newspaper instead, easier and cheaper.

[Linds]

Astroturf sucks. It really only has benefits to the keepers, not the snake. It is hard to thoroughly clean, is non-absorbent, and who knows how healthy it is to be around all that adhesive and plastics when heated up :confused: Better alternatives certainly exist, such as flannel sheets, newspaper, paper towels, hardwood mulch/chips/bark, etc.

[e burna]

Hardwood mulch/chips/bark? So It's cool to use the stuff like is used in a hampster cage? Sorry, just trying to learn here, any tips or anything else is greatly appreciated.

[blackpine]

Hamster bedding is a bad idea if the bedding is composed of cedar or pine (both, especially cedar, have toxic oils). If it's aspen or cypress, that's fine. Aspen is less dusty and is less coarse than cypress. Cypress holds moisture better... looks "natural" too. Personally, I use aspen for most of my snakes.

Astroturf is the worst stuff you can use.