Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey guys i have a 6 months old cali king snake and i got woodchips/sawdust for a flooring. i thought about cleaning the poop out daily but i cant tell what is poop and what is not. how often should i clean it out?

Please tell me your kidding. LOL Remove anything that's not saw dust.
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RossCA, I love the animation in your signature!

In answer to the original question: poop should look like a brown, slightly lumpy blob (assuming you're feeding rodents, this is hair) with yellow-white grainy stuff (urates). It will stink, but the presence of an overly stinky odor often indicates health issues.

Everyone has his/her own preferences as to how often to replace the substrate, but I prefer to replace the substrate at least once every three months. This depends on how much of a mess the snake makes.

I changed it, but I'll end up going back to it though.
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Muhammad Ali

The poop is dark colored with white stuff around it kinda like scrambled egg look.
You will notice it its stands out and has odor. I to clean that out as soon as I see it.
You might want to change the substrate for him as wood chips arent good he might eat them by accident when you feed him and cause BIG problems.
I myself use shredded coconut the type you add water to and it swells up in a bucket than you dry it its great but lots stuff you can safely use.
Its a great looking snake you have

"The poop is dark colored with white stuff around it kinda like scrambled egg look."

Note to self: Do not, under any circumstances, have breakfast at Bianca's house.

One thing I noticed in my limited experience is that when you switch from pinkies to fuzzies, the poops become much easier to spot. A lot of the time, it seems, the pinkies produce very little substance that doesn't just get absorbed in the substrate. And if they do it under the surface, you might have trouble finding it easily. But it's there!
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1.1 Florida Kingsnake
1.0 Kisatchie Cornsnake

There is only one way to tell if it is poop. You must taste it and if it tastes like poop then you must clean it out. Let us know how it goes.
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i'm not over weight i'm under tall

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Shredded aspen is a functional and economical substrate. You can easily discern discolored areas that need to be cleaned. Simply scoop out the soiled area to spot clean the enclosure, replacing the substrate as needed. Once per month the tank should be emptied of all substrate, cleaned/disinfected, and clean aspen put in. All cage furniture should also be cleaned at this time, and spot cleaned as needed.

rgds,
althea