I can't recall if it was on this forum or the milk forum, but I once saw a guy post about his substrate being playground rocks. I thought that was interesting and I hate aspen, so when petsmart stopped carrying the substrate that I usually use I decided it was time for a change. I was going to head to the hardware store, but found the size I wanted in aquarium rocks. They were a bit expensive, but totally reusable, you know? Anyways, it's very attractive and the snakes seem more active (in the exploratory sense, not the trying-to-get-out sense, since I observed this behavior and deduces tat one of mine was hungry a day or two before he usually was but he was in fact not).
Also in this post, the gray banded that was on hiatus for ten months has eaten twice and pooped once, so all is good. I also checked the mobility of the area by having her gently curl around my finger, and I discovered that she has full side to side mobility, so hopefully there's no bone damage, but is rather stiff up and down. I believe this is because there is a rather large amount of stuck shed around the injury area that can hopefully be helped off with the next shed, so hopefully she'll be fine. I've posted a picture for your own assessment. She looks a bit skinny, especially for the fact that she was always large in body before, but hopefully we're on the path to recovery!
Thanks for reading, with so few snake owners in the Bozeman area I've got to tell someone the good news!
~Jasmine
