Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i searched the forums for info & didnt find much...

i was going to use indoor carpeting for my BP's cage and was wondering if anyone knew if there are dangers/toxins associated with it.

{i have tons of it to switch out & change often for bacteria reasons. planning to wash in machine with bleach etc. more concerned with toxins or friction/scales etc}

thank you....

I use indoor/outdoor carpet for most of my snake tanks. Have for a couple of years now. I'm not aware of any toxin problems with it. I find it pretty easy to use if ya don't mind the washin'

Quig

The only toxic problem I can think of is if the carpet is actually burned. However if the carpet starts burning,then your snake is i real danger (most likely from the shorting UTH etc LOL). Only time I have heard anything bad about carpet is when it has freyed edges and the strands are eaten (though this is more with lizards than snakes. I don't see snakes eating strands thinking they are really skinny mice/rats). But always good to trim off these unravelling strands, to prevent it from getting stuck to a damp frozen/thawed mouse/rat and accidently eaten.
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PHLdyPayne

good point. i was going to slightly burn the edges to melt them together to prevent that from happening. i also got the idea of laying newsprint over the carpet some of the time to switch the pros/cons of each substrate,so-to-speak...i just recently read that some vets like carpet bc it provides a circulation of air underneath the snake. thanks!!!
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1.0 ball python "wolfgang"

indoor carpets (i assume) would have to be made with consideration that people/pets(dogs/cats), and children will be on them on a regular basis. does this apply to reptiles, who knows, but keep it in mind that it is safe for just about everything else.

the only possible thing i could imagine is if you had a VERY hot basking spot and carpet slowly "burned" over time. Much like the fading i see in my cage materials from constantly being on the hot end of heat lamps. Things like this usually release unfriendly gases when melting or burning.

personally, why anyone would use substrate that has to be removed to be cleaned is beyond me. Use something that can be spot cleaned. it will save you so much time.

if u still insist on carpet, i would have to imagine ur snakes would be fine.

good points. i didnt think about how they have some general safety standards for kids and all that. thank you.
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1.0 ball python "wolfgang"

I wouldn't go by safty standards on a product that was meant to be used outdoors. Very little chance that a child or dog would inhale much of anything used that way. You're planning on using it in an enclosed area for an animal using 1 lung and it's head continously either in contact with or just above the carpeting.

Having said that I have used it in an iguana's enclosure for many, many years with no ill effects except for that unraveling edge thing. I had 3 pieces to switch out and had to replace all about once a year. Makes a big mess cutting it to size too.

I, too, don't understand why you would want to use something that can't be spot cleaned. I can see why some would use newspaper since it's cheap enough, usually a throw-away in most homes.

Cheryl