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substrate question

D

dbinder1987

New member
Ok, well i have 2 beautiful creamsicle corns. I work at petco, i know a bit about reptiles and snakes, but i just wanted to get you guy's opinion. We recently got black sand in the reptile section. Now i think that the black sand would really make the colors on my corns pop! but i know the dangers of impaction. My snakes are full grown, about 4 years old and my male is about 4'3", would the risk of impaction be less now that he is older and knows that mice are food?

Thanks in advance
-Dave
 
impaction?? That really isnt the problem since you arent supposed to feed on ANY substrate :) The risk with sand is that it can get under and around the scales and cause irritation. plus can get in the mouth, like after a drink or yawn. or in the eyes. It can be especially bad right after a shed when the whole body is still abit moist.

impaction is the danger with young lizards such as leopard gechos and bearded dragons.
 
It's not really the risk of impaction I would worry about.
It's the cleaning. It would be really quick to get smelly or unsanitary.
I had a tort I kept on sand for a while, and it was a pain to keep clean. He DID get impacted, so I switched to hay. Not sure a snake would get impacted as quick as a tort, but it's kind of irrelevant, as I wouldn't use sand ever again. Sand is a pain.
 
Must admit, I'd avoid sand like the plague. Even the ReptiSand designed for use with lizards, can cause the problems outlined above. And black stuff will tend to stick to the snake - I suspect they wouldn't have bright colours for very long.

Had you considered a darker substrate made of a reptile-safe bark chips? Some of them can be dark brown colours, which will have a similar visual effect.
 
Cat_Eyed_Lady said:
That really isnt the problem since you arent supposed to feed on ANY substrate :) .
Click to expand...

Yeah about that. Are you saying that BHB is mistreating their snakes by feeding on substrate? Just curious I mean I know he doesn't have many snakes (just produces 30,000 or so a year) so I wouldn't expect him to know and he's never had a case of impaction because of feeding on substrate.

Sooooooooooo, ok you aren't supposed to feed on substrate because?

Sand NO. Aspen, cypress etc... yes. They can digest bone what is a little wood going to do?
 
anendeloflorien said:
Yeah about that. Are you saying that BHB is mistreating their snakes by feeding on substrate? Just curious I mean I know he doesn't have many snakes (just produces 30,000 or so a year) so I wouldn't expect him to know and he's never had a case of impaction because of feeding on substrate.
Click to expand...

Actually, Brian addressed this in a recent episode of Snake Bytes. He said they had too many animals for it to be practical for them to feed out of the vivs, but for an owner with a small number of animals he recommended it.
 
Nanci said:
Actually, Brian addressed this in a recent episode of Snake Bytes. He said they had too many animals for it to be practical for them to feed out of the vivs, but for an owner with a small number of animals he recommended it.
Click to expand...

Right but that was when they were talking about temperment and snakes being fed in the enclosure being more likely to bite their owners not about feeing in regards to impaction.
 
So you're saying you don't mind the risk of your snake getting impacted because you're too lazy to feed in a seperate tub? I can understand if you have 30,000 snakes it would be a HUGE pain, but even if I had a hundred snakes they would all be fed outside of their vivs. I would never be able to do anything that might possibly harm my snake, even if the risk is minimal, I would MUCH rather be safe as sorry.

But that's just me. I'm sure Nanci and others who say not to feed on substrate only care about their snake's well being. Which, you know isn't important now is it? [/sarcasm]
 
It's fine to feed on aspen, just watch your snakes so they don't ingest big stuff like paper towels. Sand is a pain, you'd hate it. Just use aspen (Or hemp or sani-chips, or whatever.), and be glad you don't have to use sand.
I feed hatchlings in a deli cup, big snakes don't need to be in a high chair with a bib on to eat.
 
The reason I said to not feed on Any substrate is because it can cause damage. Not necessarily impaction. I didnt say it would impact the snakes. I said that because swallowing a splinter can do damage. Such as poking the mouth causeing a sore, etc.

But like Nanci said..... do as you want. Its a free country. I just prefer to put all mine in seperate tubs, even if I do have quite a few and it takes longer.
 
Em Wright said:
So you're saying you don't mind the risk of your snake getting impacted because you're too lazy to feed in a seperate tub? I can understand if you have 30,000 snakes it would be a HUGE pain, but even if I had a hundred snakes they would all be fed outside of their vivs. I would never be able to do anything that might possibly harm my snake, even if the risk is minimal, I would MUCH rather be safe as sorry.

But that's just me. I'm sure Nanci and others who say not to feed on substrate only care about their snake's well being. Which, you know isn't important now is it? [/sarcasm]
Click to expand...

Please, laziness? What about the stress on the snake being moved back and forth from container to container? I have a hard enough time as it is with my ball pythons getting them all to eat on a regular basis without having to add the stress of moving them every single time. Call it what you will I know I don't have 30,000 snakes but I do work 70+ hours a week at a real job. It already takes me 3-4 hours to feed all the snakes, change all the water dishes and clean the cages on feeding night.

And really, if you think I don't put my snakes well being first you're DEAD WRONG. If I thought that they could get hurt by feeding on substrate I wouldn't be doing it.
 
Then that's your preference and that's what you're able to do. There's no need to get snippy or tell others it couldn't be a problem. Because even if it were an extremely rare accident I would still rather not risk the health of my snakes. Call me over protective, but that's the way I am.

As for moving them... my girls do just fine being moved. Both were well established when I got them. But I only have two (at the moment) so my job of feeding, watering, cage cleaning is not seene as a chore, but as a pleasure. :shrugs:

I'm sorry if I sounded really snappy earlier, sometimes things just get to me. :(
 
ok, well i got them some douglas fir bark by zilla. and the color dose reflect their brightr orange a little more than the aspen. the only downside is when i put them in, they started burrowing. so there kinda under the substrate. they didnt do it as much with the aspen, but ill wait and see if there just investigating it.

later
-Dave
 
Young corns are big burrowers - thats a pretty normal behavior, my adults dont usually do this as much, but they are generally secretive little snakes.

Whether or not you choose to feed in a separeate container is up to you...impaction is always a concern when feeding in a tank, some people have no problems with it - but it definately exists. If you have a snake who is particularly difficult to feed or stresses easily then the stress of moving to a separate container may be too much for them - and enough to put them off their food. For snakes who do not have this issue - i recomend feeding in a separate tank just because it elimates any concern of impaction.

Corns, generally speaking, are voracious eaters and moving to a separate container doesnt usually stress them. But of course, there are exceptions to every rule!
 
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