In the wild, they can move around and choose the environment that is best for them. In a tank, they're stuck with what we choose to give them. They've kinda made it the first 65 million years because they weren't limited in their movement.
I have a hard time believing that a 1/2 inch or 1.27 cm size pebble is going to cause a problem.
I was talking about gravel which is smaller. You can't guarantee that you won't get small enough particles to lodge under scales unless you sift everything before you use it, which would be a pain in the rear.
...there is a company called American Fire Glass that makes small colored glass stones for use in decorative indoor fireplaces...
i see that my snake seems to like burrowing in this coconut stuff more than the sand
I think if you add vineger to the rinse the color will set. I would have to go ask a hippie to make sure.
Blue corn snake is my new morph.
Love the Fatman
Like i said earlier, i never had a problem with the sand but it doesn't mean that i wouldn't have a problem in the future if i stayed with it, i DO think that the environment in the cage was too dry though, the more i think about it, the more i realize how much brighter your snakes were compared to mine so I'm going to give it a couple weeks and see if he brightens up a bit, kinda a good experiment
Oh and i had the snake on sand bedding for 11 months (Obviously i changed it) but that was 11 months without any problems, one time while shedding, a little 1/8" piece was stuck on the tip of his tail, i took it off but that was the only thing that was even remotely close to a problem that I've had, so I'll keep you guys posted on this coconut bark and let you know if it's worth it... I paid 10 dollars for 10 quarts, I did not shop around though, i needed it now so i went down to Petsmart and bought it, you can get the same 10 quart bag online for 6 bucks if you google it
Personally if I decide to try having a colored substrate I would get a huge pack of blue paper and run my shredder. FUN! I love my shredder WHURRR-WHURRR-WHURRR! HEE HEE HEE!
It's good to see someone looking to try something different instead of sticking to the narrow range of solutions that are found in any books out there.
I think the coconut bark will work fine and looks good. It could get a little expensive if you have more than a couple snakes.
Blue aquarium gravel would work fine in an aquarium like you have. It can be washed and dried several times to lower the cost. In a wooden cage moisture would be a problem.
One suggestion I have is to add background scenery to the back and ends of the aquarium so the snake is less distracted and improve your eye appeal.
When I use the lightweight substrates like coconut husk or aspen my snake burrows and tunnels so i never see him.. That's why i now use a combo of towels and found small stones.