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Sand Color

Haarstad

Haarstad

Wanna see my snake?
I have a normal corn snake and i have white sand, It's time for new sand and i was wondering if any of you knows what sand would bring out the color in my snake better, just let me know what you think
 
Sand really isn't recommended for corn snakes. Ideally, you should switch over to aspen bedding. Sand can cause impaction and can dry the snake out too much, which causes shedding problems. Aspen bedding is preferred because pine and cedar release oils that can make the snake sick or even kill it. Cedar really shouldn't be used for anything except furniture. Some people use Eco Earth, which is coconut husks and is very nice to look at. It's relatively cheap, but the cheapest is aspen. You can get shredded aspen at feed stores for a few dollars. Pet stores are usually really expensive and you don't get as much for your money.
 
Sand isn't a very good substrate. It tends to be very dusty and dries out the air in the terrarium. Try using newspaper or aspen bedding. These tend to be cheaper and do not dry out the air as much. If you use a good brand of aspen, it also isn't so dusty. Even coconut husk shred or bark should be ok as long as you shake out the dust and keep it lightly misted (I think it brings out the color of lighter colored corns too). Dust and dry air can lead to respiratory infections. I know you want the snakes enclosure to look nice, but it can still look nice with proper substrate as well as be healthier for the snake.
PS-Pine and Ceder def are not good substrates due to toxic oils and are bad for the snakes respiratory system.
I am sure some of the other good ppl on the forum can suggest other types of better substrate that looks nice as well is safe for corn snakes.
 
pridecity said:
Sand really isn't recommended for corn snakes. Ideally, you should switch over to aspen bedding. Sand can cause impaction and can dry the snake out too much, which causes shedding problems. Aspen bedding is preferred because pine and cedar release oils that can make the snake sick or even kill it. Cedar really shouldn't be used for anything except furniture. Some people use Eco Earth, which is coconut husks and is very nice to look at. It's relatively cheap, but the cheapest is aspen. You can get shredded aspen at feed stores for a few dollars. Pet stores are usually really expensive and you don't get as much for your money.
Click to expand...

Haha you beat me to it!
 
hmmmm, he's never had problems with shedding and he seems to like the sand (he can hide good in it) and it disperses heat good from the heat pad... I'm gonna take your advice but i am kinda bummin cause it's easy to clean the "droppings" out of the cage (works like kitty littler) plus it just looks good

But i don't wanna hurt the lil guy so i'm gonna take your advice :)

The coconut stuff or aspen sounds good to me
 
To answer your question -- BLUE.

If you can find it.

Love the Fatman

P.S. The advice above mine is good advice.
 
also I dont if this was said but it can get between the scales and case a infection from it rubbing.
 
Just because I haven't had problems, doesn't mean I won't... So I'm not going to use sand and thanks fatman, I heard about the blue thing so does anyone know of any blue stuff that I could use that won't hurt him and won't look "cheesy" if you know what I mean... I don't wanna use blue paper as an example, I want it to look nice and thank you for your help so far
 
what about a good sized blue gravel.. I have seen aquarium gravel that was colored and about the size of a "skittle" ...
 
Gravel has the same problems as sand in terms of smaller fragments potentially getting caught under scales and causing infection. Best stick to wood-type substrates.
 
Plus gravel is not very absorbent. If your snake poos, the poo will get into the gravel and then have fun replacing and cleaning the gravel in that spot. Also, I have seen water get trapped under gravel and even stones and not evaporate properly. This can harbor bacteria and can make your snake very sick.
 
You could use newspaper, paper towels, aspen wood shavings, cypress wood mulch, coconut fiber (compressed into a brick, you add water and it expands into what looks like dirt), or paper based things like carefresh. Those are all considered ok for corn snakes.
 
Think outside the box like buy Aspen and Blue dye and dye the aspen blue and just let it air dry and now you have BLUE aspen that will do the job of regular aspen.

Now I do not know, if people make a color safe blue dye to do it with but it would not hurt to look on the dye box and find out.

Love the Fatman
 
That' a quick way to end up with a blue snake unless you can get a dye that doesn't run when it gets damp!
 
Just a suggestion: why not buy blue something (or use Carefresh if you can find a bag of only blue) and put the snake on it in a big bowl or table and use it as a color to take pictures with? :D
 
I'm pretty sure Carefresh does come in different colors, because I remember chuckling at the pet store that people would pay a few extra bucks to put their hamster on colored bedding that it will just poop all over.

What about ReptiBark? I bought that a few times and thought it was okay. It's moister than aspen and very attractive - makes your viv look like the forest floor! My only complaint is that it's pretty expensive, and does not allow your snake to burrow as well.
 
bitsy said:
Gravel has the same problems as sand in terms of smaller fragments potentially getting caught under scales and causing infection. Best stick to wood-type substrates.
Click to expand...

I know for a fact they make larger gravel that would not get under the scales, and in varying colors.. When the snake poos on it, scoop it out (gravel/poop and all) and wash it. Anyone who says that cleaning rocks is hard is crazy.

I like FATMANS idea of dying the Aspen (The second I read that it was a "duhh" moment!) What about food coloring (its safe) dye it and rinse it so see if color would hold, then put the aspen in a mesh laundry bag to tumble dry on low heat... Or the gravel lol I wouldn't be surprised if snakes got treated better and got more consideration that children, they are wild animals. How did they make it the first 65 million years of existence without us?
 
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