Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Would it be okay to use calcium sand as a substrate in one of my copperead cages. its time for me to clean the cages again and i already have a few bags of calcium sand here at the house but no bark bedding. i figured if could use the calcium sand it would save me a trip to the petstore. thanks in advance to all that reply

Anthony

I would recommend it as the product of choice for many reasons, but it surely won't hurt the snake for the short term. I like to use something that holds humidity a little more easily than calci-sand.... it usually clumps and turns rock hard when exposed to higher humidity that copperheads enjoy. I would give the snake a humidity box to aid in respiration and shedding until you switch back to the normal substrate...

I use my own mixtuer of peat, sawmill fines (big saw dust, sort of) and pine shavings to make a mixture that does everything I want it to do... for species that like it a little drier, I work some sand into the mixture and add less water...

Tom
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"Seek first to understand, then to be understood"

That should read: I would NOT recommend it as the product of choice.....
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"Seek first to understand, then to be understood"