Substrate - the on going arguement

[jnky]

Hi guys...
I collect my first corn tonight and had a few quick questions :-

Substrate-I have placed an order for some Aspen but the reptile shop keeps trying to persuade me to use calcysand (if thats the spelling).
I have brought up the obvious concerns about using sand for my snake but she keeps telling me that all her snakes are kept in it and its quite safe.
At the moment my setup has got crushed maize as substrate but I do plan to change it as soon as I get my hands on the Aspen.
Has anyone heard of, or are using this calcysand ?
(she also recommended chipsy which is some type of wood chips)
I am obviously planning to feed away from the substrate anyways.

Also when I get her home I plan to let her get used to her viv for a week before handling and was wondering if after the first week shall I give her a feed and leave her for a couple more days or should I handle her first then introduce the pinky when I put her down? The temptation to hold her first will be hard to ignore. Sorry if this is to obvious a question but I have only handled a snake once before which was her a week ago in the store.

One final question :- I want to post her pics on this forum tonight as I dont think i've bought what the store has told me (okeetee with orange eyes ??)
Will my snake freak out if I flash a camera at her ?

Graham

 

[Mary-Beth]

Substrate-I have placed an order for some Aspen but the reptile shop keeps trying to persuade me to use calcysand (if thats the spelling).
I have brought up the obvious concerns about using sand for my snake but she keeps telling me that all her snakes are kept in it and its quite safe.
At the moment my setup has got crushed maize as substrate but I do plan to change it as soon as I get my hands on the Aspen.
Has anyone heard of, or are using this calcysand ?
(she also recommended chipsy which is some type of wood chips)
I am obviously planning to feed away from the substrate anyways.

Also when I get her home I plan to let her get used to her viv for a week before handling and was wondering if after the first week shall I give her a feed and leave her for a couple more days or should I handle her first then introduce the pinky when I put her down? The temptation to hold her first will be hard to ignore. Sorry if this is to obvious a question but I have only handled a snake once before which was her a week ago in the store.

One final question :- I want to post her pics on this forum tonight as I dont think i've bought what the store has told me (okeetee with orange eyes ??)
Will my snake freak out if I flash a camera at her ?

Graham

Sand can cause the snakes skin to get dried out and it can also irritate their skin. Even if they are fed outside the viv, they will try to burrow in the sand and get it in their mouths. I heard a person here say that the crushed maize is bad because the moister all goes to the bottom and you can't tell how nasty the substraight really is, but your snake will be burrowing through it uke01:. I'm glad to hear you have aspen ordered!

As far as handling goes, I would hold her and then feed her. But maybe wait a few hours after you handle so she can calm down and then feed her.

Good luck with your snake! :cheers:

Sorry for any grammer and useage errors, I haven't had my coffee yet!

 

[LilJack]

Not sure I would call it an argument, more of a controversy as everyone has their own opinions. But Mary-Beth is right, sand is not good. Personally I use towels, not the prettiest but very easy to clean. Pull them, hose em off and throw them in the washer<g>
As for handling, give in to tempation and pick her up. She has to get use to the viv but also get use to you. Just remember not to grab the neck or head. Also let the snake move, don't try holding her still.
On photos, If you can it would be best to take her outside and hold her while someone takes the photos. That way you get the best results for her colors. If you take photos inside the flash shouldn't bother her too bad so long as you aren't right on top of her. Use the zoom feature of you camera to get close shots as opposed to getting physically close to her with the camera.
Congrats on the snake and good luck with her.
Jack

 

[mbdorfer]

Old Corn Snake Saying:

"All roads lead to aspen" :grin01:

 

[Joejr14]

There is no arguement or controversy. The best substrate to use is Aspen.

And, okeetees do not have red/orange eyes. From your avatar, that's an amel.

 

[ScottyK]

I'm pulling out my crystal ball here....

I bet the store in question sells calci-sand, but does not sell Aspen

To be fair, I've never used the product, having read too many bad things about it. However, if I had to choose between taking the advice of many long term herpers with no financial interest in the outcome, or a retail salesperson.......

I can tell you this. I've been keeping herps for a long time, but just got started with corns about a year ago. I have closely followed the advice in Kathy Loves book, and the free, hard earned wisdom to be had here. I've yet to have a single regurge, parasite, bad shed etc. and my snakes are all growing well and glowing with health.

Again, I hope this helps, and best of luck with your new corn

Scott

 

[jnky]

She definately is amel, got her home about 3 hours ago and put a couple of pics up in the image forum. She's great though

 

[Lennycorn]

If you want you could use newpaper for substrate until you receive your aspen. not real pretty but better the sand.

 

[tat2d1]

get aspen. don't let the pet store bully you into getting something that you don't want, and more importantly something that doesn't suit the type of reptile you're keeping. if the pet store doesn't have aspen, check your local wal mart,k mart, target, or even your local feed store, those places usually carry aspen too. make sure it's ASPEN not cedar or pine. good luck with your new addiction.