LLLREPTILE is a good company to deal with...
Long post...as usual
LLLREPTILE delivers the goods as advertised.
I have "met" the owner at a show and watched and listen as he fielded various questions... he seemed very knowledgeable, across the board, about reptile care in general ( i.e. Lizards, snakes, tortoises...).
I ordered some Bearded dragons online from "triple L" back in the spring of '99, and recieved very nice, beautifully colored red/ gold phase dragons.
I have ordered various care items from them since then, and always had a very good online ordering experience with them.
Triple L is definitely a company to be emulated by others in the Reptile supply business. They deserve continued success and have earned their very positive reputation in the reptile industry. imho.
I suspect, "Habi-chips" are nothing more or less than "Sani-Chips" re-packed inhouse by LLLREPTILE into smaller, user friendly portions from the 4 cubic foot bag of Sani Chips.
The product is widely advertised as "Safe for snakes, lizards, and many others.
Uniform, heat-treated hard-wood chips are extremely safe & sanitary.
Used by zoos and breeders for decades, Hardwood Chips have a proven track record for safety and ease of use."
The following is from the manufacturers website regarding the method / procedures involved in manufacture of a sanitized hard wood chip product such as this. Much more involved of a procedure than I would have guessed.
"SANI-CHIPS®
Unparalleled Quality Control
Rest assured that we make every effort possible to supply our customers with quality products free of bacteria and other contaminants.
We begin the production of Sani-Chips®by using select hardwood logs that are debarked (bark is nature's guard against bacteria and disease) before they are sawn at sawmills.
This special debarking process ensures the purity of our product.
These mills also remove large pieces before loading our closed van trailers via air conveying systems.
Our trailers only haul hardwood, guaranteeing no contamination from softwoods containing tars and resins.
Once the sawmills ship our raw material, the employees at our production facility unload it with front end loaders, depositing the material directly into an enclosed hopper.
The wood is removed from the hopper via a metered, precision ground auger to our initial screeners, which eliminate all coarse particles according to customer specifications.
At this point our system is completely closed.
After the initial screening, all desired particles are dropped through a rotary air lock into a 3 phase, 75 ft. pass, where they are rotary drum dried, with a maximum temperature of 1200F., for 20 minutes.
This reduces the moisture content to 8%, with a +/- 2% variance and kills most harmful bacteria.
We then convey the product, by air, from the dryer to another set of sifters, screening to a final particle size, as per the customer's specifications.
To further refine our product, we have added additional, innovative and unique equipment, enabling us to further increase our screening and aspirating efficiencies."
http://www.pjmurphy.net/sanichips/qualitycontrol.htm
Now available in the new "irradiated" version to research labs.
I personally use newspaper and paper towels for substrate.
A great way to recycle newspaper.
As cheap (affordable) as it gets.
Corn cob bedding (manufactured for use with birds) should not be used as a substrate because it can cause excessive drying of dermal tissues* and many times Corn Cob bedding can cause serious intestinal blockage if swallowed (it expands when wet).
imho.
The ol' air conditioner is working overtime which also further dehumidifies the air.
Open water dishes and "moist hides" in enclosures tend to compensate for the very low ambient natural humidity levels we experience this time of year.
