Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm a first time snake owner and i have a 50/50 cali king. I'm using astro turf in his tamk and im just curious if there is a special way to clean the astro turf and when i clean his tank is there any chemicals not to use?

First of all, I would ditch the astroturf and replace it with something like aspen so the snake can burrow. Cal kings tend to feel more secure when they can burrow into the substrate. Aspen is a good substrate to use as it holds the shape of the "tunnels" pretty well and is easy to clean. You want to stay away from cedar, pine, etc. as well as dusty or extremely moist substrates.

You also want at least two hides - one each on the hot and cool ends of the tank.

Just curious: Do you have a glass tank?

i have a glass tank

I use liquid dish soap (Dawn) to clean the glass of my tank. It does a great job of removing the dust and excrements.

i'll get aspen but how often do u have to clean the aspen out and does aspen bring a lot of mites?

I only have one snake right now, so I just buy the small (10 quart) bags of aspen you get at pet stores. I usually replace all of the aspen and clean the tank about once every three months or so with spot cleaning in between, but this really depends on how messy your snake is.

Just as a side note - your snake would probably be happier if you could keep about a two inch layer of aspen to burrow in.

As for your question about mites, I've never had a problem with mites. That's not to say it can't happen with bought substrate, but I've never had it happen (and hopefully I won't).

Congrats on your new snake!

thanks. will do. is that your snake? ill have to take pics of mine soon. well thanks for the advice, i appreciate it

I don't use astro-turf because it can get messy. I tried it once and the snakes would like to hide themselves under it. I would have to take it out and wash it with a very diluted bleach solution and then rinse it good before putting it back. I use aspen and find it excellent. Easy to clean and the snakes love to hide in it. Hope this helps.
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0.1 Mexican Black King
1.0 Brooksi King
1.0 Japanese Bobtail
1.0 Maine Coon

I clean every thing, including the enclosure in a heavily diluted bleach/water solution. Roughly 10 parts water to one part bleach. Be sure to rise well and allow to fully dry.

Avoid pine oil cleaners (pinesol and the like) as the pine oil can be hazardous.
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"The band is just fantastic, that is really what I think. Oh by the way, which ones pink?"

Same here. I tried carpet (the kind they sell for lizards) and all my kings and milks would get underneath it. I've also used aspen and bark. Nowdays most of mine get several layers of newspaper. It's free and pretty easy to clean up and the snakes "burrow" between the layers.
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1.1.0 Hondurans Het Amel
1.1.0 Hondurans Anery, Het Hypo
0.1.0 Honduran Hypo
0.2.0 Pueblans
1.0.0 Thayeri MSP
0.0.1 GBK Blair's Phase
1.0.0 California King
0.0.1 Speckled King WC
0.0.1 Jungle Carpet
0.1.0 Ball, Normal
0.0.1 Sulcata
0.1.0 Girlfriend, Caucasius Mexicana, Fiancee Phase

Definately aspen is the way to go. I use a diluted mix of Listerene (the original) for cleaning. I heard it from so long time herpers and it works great.
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Ball Python
Jungle Carpet Python
Eastern King
Mexican Black King
Sonoran Gopher
Aberrent Cal King
Anduran Milk
Hypo Brooks
Amel Motley Corn
White Sided Bull
Striped Pacific Gopher

I love the smell of aspen shavings in the morning...lol

"To serve man..it's...it's a cookbook!"