Hi guys… I have a question about the substrates you use in your enclosures. Until now, I’ve been using paper towels at the bottom, and I planned to switch to some kind of substrate after I saw what the poop looked like. I wanted to know what to expect and what to look for in the substrate later… Now, I unpacked and soaked the coconut chips I ordered earlier from two different companies. I soaked the first one, and it had a really strange smell. It was kind of like earth, but also, to me, a bit like mold. Even though it looked really nice, I thought it might be spoiled. I opened the substrate from the second company I had, and after soaking it, it smelled similar, maybe a bit less intense. I decided to use it since it’s unlikely that both substrates ordered from different places are spoiled. But I wanted to ask for your insights—how is it supposed to smell? I wanted to use this mainly for aesthetic reasons since I have dark grey rocks, wooden elements, and artificial plants in my enclosure. I know that lignocel is often used, but it doesn’t fit the aesthetics of my little jungle at all. Is there anything else I can use?
Coco husk does have a bit of a musty smell to it, especially when it’s wet. I don’t find it unpleasant (in fact, I kinda like the smell), but I couldn’t say if yours smelled mustier than it should.
I like coco husk for several reasons. The biggest is that it retains moisture and resists mold and fungal growth well, and I live in a pretty dry climate, so I need a substrate with those properties, as I have to add water to it fairly frequently to maintain proper humidity. I also like that it makes spot cleaning easy (just scoop out the soiled bits), gives my snakes something to nestle down into, and looks nice with a naturalistic setup. I don’t love that it’s dusty and that I seem to be slightly allergic to it, but so far the benefits have outweighed those downsides for me.
Which substrate is “best” really depends on what properties you want and need. Do you need to mist or wet down your substrate to maintain humidity? If so, your best options are probably coco husk, cypress mulch, or sphagnum moss (or some combination of those materials). If you want something more like “dirt,” there are products like ReptiSoil (by ZooMed) or Jungle Mix (by Zilla, I believe), and some other companies make their own versions of “special dirt” that are a mix of various organic materials that look natural and retain moisture well. I use ReptiSoil for my tarantulas, and I really like it.
If you live in a more humid climate and don’t need to add moisture to retain humidity, you could use something like aspen shavings, though be aware that aspen tends to mold when wet, so it’s not the best choice if you’re needing to add moisture to the enclosure. Lots of people just use butcher paper, but if you want something that looks natural, that’s probably not the most appealing option.
@jawramik Yes, I need to moisten the substrate a bit to increase the humidity. Would it be a good idea to use mainly ReptiSoil and sprinkle a thin layer of coconut chips on top? What does wet ReptiSoil smell like? I was worried that the smell of wet coconut would be noticeable in the house, but it doesn’t seem to be, or maybe I’ve gotten used to it and don’t notice it anymore. I like this cypress mulch. Does it have similar properties to coconut, but maybe smells different?
I haven’t noticed a strong smell with ReptiSoil. Maybe just sort of smells a bit like damp soil when wet. Though I’ll add the caveat that since I only use it for my spiders, we’re talking small enclosures and small volumes of ReptiSoil, so any smell it does have is going to be less pronounced in that context than in a much larger snake enclosure. 
I’ve never used cypress mulch, so I can’t speak to its smell, but I’ve seen it often recommended as a good substrate for species that need some humidity. It has similar good properties as coco husk, in that it retains moisture well and resists the growth of mold and fungus. So if the coco husk isn’t to your liking, cypress mulch would be a good option to try.