The 7 Best Snake Bedding Options of 2024

Best Overall, Arid

Zoo Med Aspen Snake Bedding

$25 At Amazon $18 At Chewy $14 At Walmart

Aspen bedding is useful for a wide range of pet snakes, thanks to its neutral odor and high absorption. It allows for burrowing too. It’s especially good for corn snakes, hognose snakes, milk snakes, and other species that prefer drier environments and the ability to burrow. However, if you have a tropical snake that needs high humidity—such as a ball python—you’ll likely want a bedding that’s better at both retaining and releasing humidity, like cypress mulch.

Zoo Med Aspen Snake Bedding boasts 191 percent absorbency, and its wood shavings are un-dyed and virtually dust free. The aspen from which it’s derived isn’t as oily as pine and cedar, so the bedding doesn’t carry residue or stickiness.

Zoo Med bedding is also one of the best picks for most snakes and snake owners because of its reliability. Founded in 1977, it’s a central brand in herpetology, and its products are used in zoos, aquariums, and conservation organizations around the world.

While Zoo Med’s Aspen bedding is fantastic at absorbing liquids and containing odors, it’s important not to leave wet bedding in place, since it can encourage mold growth. In addition to regular cleanings,  Zoo Med recommends fully replacing its bedding every two to three months.

Zoo Med Aspen Snake Bedding is available in a variety of sizes—a 24-quart bag of bedding is suitable for filling a 40-gallon tank.

_{Sizes: 4-quart, 8-quart, 24-quart bags}

Best Overall, Tropical

ReptiChip Coconut Chip Bedding

$18 At Amazon $35 At Walmart View On Reptichip.com

ReptiChip washes its Coarse Coconut Chip Mix three times, eliminating agitating impurities like salt and thoroughly rinsing the staining tannins from its blend of coconut husk chips. Coconut fibers are very good at retaining moisture, and can be soaked in water for high-humidity snake species. It’s also excellent at capturing odors.

Reptichip sells a variety of coconut fiber chips for reptile bedding, ranging from small chips suitable for hatchlings to larger, more coarse varieties ready-made for pythons and boas. It also offers a compacted "Breeder Block" if you're looking to fill large or multiple enclosures, though you have to first soak it to rehydrate and expand the block.

_{Sizes: 12-quart, 36-quart bags}

Best Mulch

Galápagos Forest Floor Bedding

$12 At Amazon $12 At Chewy View On Galapagospet.com

Cypress mulch is excellent at retaining moisture, making it (or similar substrates) an essential part of providing a humid environment for tropical or semi-tropical snake species. Mulch is especially good for burrowing species since its light and loose pieces can be easily shifted. Made from timber byproduct, Galapagos Cypress Tank-Mulch is washed and sieved to be dust-free. 

Galapagos’ Tank-Mulch Cypress Bedding comes in resealable bags, which makes it especially useful for smaller terrariums that may not go through substrate as fast. 

_{Sizes: 8-quart, 24-quart bags} 

Best Bark

Fluker’s Forest Floor Substrate

$11 At Amazon View On Petmountain.com

Fluker’s Repta-Bark Forest Floor Substrate uses orchid bark, named because it’s often used for orchid growing, though it’s typically made from fir tree bark. While similar to cypress mulch in its ability to retain humidity for tropical species, this bark is composed of big, rounder pieces, more like chips. This can make it a little less appealing to burrowers, but also creates a denser, more uniform “floor” to your snake’s habitat, which can be better for snakes who eat crickets and other live feeder animals. 

Fluker’s Repta-Bark is our favorite alternative to Galapagos Tank-Mulch, especially because of its rich, uniform color. It’s also available in multiple sizes.

_{Sizes: 4-quart, 8-quart, 24-quart bags}

Best Liner

Zilla Terrarium Liner

$13 At Amazon $11 At Chewy $9 At Walmart

If you like the simplicity of paper but want something a little more attractive, then Zilla Terrarium Liner is an excellent alternative. Rather than pouring in the bedding by volume, Zilla liners can be cut to fit the exact footprint of your terrarium. They come in a variety of sizes, so you can get the closest match right out of the box.

Carpet liner has several advantages over bedding. Most importantly, it can't be ingested, making it a good pick for anyone with a young reptile that is not well-acclimated to eating around bedding. It's also highly reusable: Simply pull out soiled bedding, rinse it under cold water, and allow it to air dry. 

However, this comes at the cost of absorbency. While Zilla Terrarium Liner can absorb quite a bit of liquid, it's not going to hide and contain solid waste as well as wood shavings or other types of bedding. Plus, while the Zilla floor liner can be spot-cleaned, you’ll occasionally need to take out the whole carpet to clean it. It can be advantageous to have two liners cut to size, so while one is being washed and air-dried, the other can be installed.

The Zilla Terrarium Liner is available in brown and green.

_{Sizes: 8 options, from 9.75 x 19.75 inches to 17.25 x 71 inches}

Best Moss

Galapagos Terrarium Green Sphagnum Moss

$11 At Amazon $11 At Chewy View On PETCO

Galapagos Terrarium Green Sphagnum Moss is washed and cleaned before it's packaged, so it can be placed right away in your snake's habitat.

The sustainably sourced green sphagnum moss makes great bedding for a variety of snakes. The all-natural moss retains and releases moisture to provide a humid and moist habitat that helps keep snakes hydrated and comfortable. Many snakes, along with other reptilian species, enjoy hiding in this moss. It likely appeals to their instinctive survival method of hiding from predators.

This moss from Galapagos Terrarium only comes in one size, a four-quart bag, and depending on your needs, you might find it is one of the more expensive options on our list.

^{Sizes: 4-quart bag}

Best for Planted Terrariums

Bio Dude Terra Firma Reptile Substrate

$60 At Amazon

The Terra Firma Reptile Substrate from Bio Dude provides a natural-feeling environment that helps many snakes thrive. The dirt-like substate retains moisture making it ideal for tunneling and burrowing, which is also beneficial for the natural shedding process.

It's packaged in 36-quart sized bags that are easy to open but not resealable. Once the bag is opened, we recommend using as much as possible in your snake's habitat and storing the rest in a resealable bag or container to keep the substrate from gathering additional moisture. You can also use the substrate to decorate with fake or real plants in your snake's home.

^{Sizes: 36-quart bag}