Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi everyone,

i've just done a full clean of my ball's tank. i always spot clean and so the bedding doesn't seem very dirty. when he was younger i always changed it cuz i didn't need much but now the big tank takes about 4 kg of wood chips and i'm considering re-using the 'clean' stuff cuz it's quite expensive and heavy to carry the 15kg bags. i don't want to compromise the health of the snake but it almost seems excessive to use 4kg every month.

i guess he could pee on the bedding and it might seem clean but isn't, but i thought most snake excrement was solid and that's why it crossed my mind that I might be able to re-use it.

is it ok to do this or should i chuck it all and stick fresh in?

thanks for your help,

willzy

Personally I would say it kind of defeats the purpose of doing a full clean if you through the old bedding back in, but I would also say that it depends on how often you do your full cleaning.

matt

cheers matt! I think you're right! I clean once a month in which time my ball doesn't make much mess which is why I was considering it. but i think if he pees too then it could all be dirty. do snakes pee much or is it mostly that white urATES STUFF?

THANX

i put paper in my racks and 1/2 the paper is usaually yellow and thats everyweek.

thanks for that, i'm definitely putting fresh in!

What kind of wood chips do you use out of curiosity? Becuz when you say "wood chips," I think of ACTUAL wood chips that I used to use a few years ago (chunks of repti-safe darker wood, not really sure what kind off hand)... and you are absolutely right... That stuff gets very expensive and IS very heavy.

Maybe you could consider switching to a different substrate? I use aspen bedding - its cheaper and lighter - and any liquid or solid waste is easily distinguished from the clean due to the bedding's lighter color. This allows me to spot clean thoroughly regularly, and I only have to do full cleanings maybe about 3 times every two months (so like once every 2-4 weeks, depending), and I full clean the dirty ones as needed.

I hope that babble makes sense and helps a little.
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Cheers!
• Chelsea Lynn Gardiner
(and Frank M. Wood)