using sand

ok i was at the pet store and i was looking at hides and saw all this colored sand black,red,white,blue every color so i picked it up to look at it it looked alot like the sand i put in for my hermit crabs (witch are gone and there tank is my snake now) so even before i could read the back :-offtopic a lady stocking stuff next me me asked what i had i said "a wild corn snake I'm keeping it" it was the same lady that told me that cornsnakes are mean the wild ones and your better off buying one from them..... :eek1: she said "really" and i said "yea that corn snake i found is So sweet he doesn't bite at all I'm in love with him" and she go all pissy like i proved her wrong :grin01: well then she said the sand that i had was really good to use and i put it down i didn't know if i should use it or not. this is coming from the same lady that said wild cornsnakes are mean and that i should get a heatrock for it....so the sand thing...is this lady for real? :shrugs:

Sand is generally frowned upon, as they can become impacted from swallowing it.

You were probably looking at Calci-sand, which is OK for some reptiles but not Corns.

Sand can get in their eyes and under scales, causing irritation and possibly blindness. It can clog their nostrils and cause breathing problems. Not worth the risk. Aspen, or wood chips are the safest natural substrate to go with.

Captive-bred Corns do have some advantages over wild-caught (lower risk of arriving with parasites, health problems or old injuries) so she may have been right there. However, if yours is working out well, that's great.

Heatrocks really are a thing to avoid as well.

Sounds like you should take the shop lady's advice with a pinch of salt (not sand!).

Corns like nice fluffy aspen to burrow in. The petstore lady took the wrong tack- she should have said "Congratulations on your new snake, now you need an amel to go with it!" (Not as in, in with it...) "Here, let me sell you $100 worth of supplies."

Oh, my WC (LTC) corn, Maizey, went to the vet today and got restrained by two people while the vet stuck a tube through her tightly clenched jaws and down into her stomach to get rid of her WC worms- and no, she did not hiss, bite or musk- and she cuddled up with everyone afterwards!

Nanci

never ever use sand. My first two baby corns died on sand. Stupid petstores recommended it.

Just say no!

ok thank you.

wow glad to read this i wanted stand cuz i like the orange look but i guess i wont use it...is there any darker substrate compared to the lighter aspen bedding?

there is coconut bark, or jungle mix, or eco-earth. I use eco earth. They can burrow through it and it looks natural. I've been reading "The Art of Keeping Snakes by Phillipe Vosjoli, so once a week I add a bit of water to it, stirring it up so that the bottom substrate gets moved to the top and gets a chance to dry out a bit. It helps maintain a relatively moderate humidity range, keeps the tank smelling nice and gives me a chance to check on everything. I've attached a few pics of my one viv so you can see.

i like the viv!...very cool set up...i like the darker look but with a darker snake i might get i think i may lose him in it lol...oh and your snake is cute! i can barely see his/her head poking ou the log

scorch84 said:

i like the viv!...very cool set up...i like the darker look but with a darker snake i might get i think i may lose him in it lol...oh and your snake is cute! i can barely see his/her head poking ou the log

Click to expand...

thanx now if only I could find her... she escaped last week... she was sweet too.. nice and calm and such pretty colors for a classic. I keep looking. You'd lose a light colored snake in there too.. espcially if they like to burrow.

awh i hope you find her...i think i might get the darker stuff...simply because i like the look...but would it affect the snake if i switch to that since he(thats what i am claiming him as) is on aspen at petco right now?

no.. shouldn't affect him too much... might like it better. my ghost (who is 7 years old) loved the switch.. he just kept burrowing for the first few hours. looked like a gopher in those cartoons, where they make the little hill above ground while they burrow underneath. Its pretty easy to maintain too. go for it.

oh i think i will switch him when i get him,whats it called again and how much is it?...if i get him lol...how long should i allow him to adjust to the new cage...also should i set the tank up before i get him?...or can i just set it up and leave him in the carry home thing while i get it all set up?...sorry for the thread highjack...

sent you a pm so we dont further hijack this thread..