Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm going to be setting up a display cage for my pair of jungle carpet pythons soon. I would like to use some sort of dirt substrate... For smaller enclosures I've always used something like "Bed-A-Beast" but I know others just use regular top soil picked up from hardware stores and just make sure it doesn't have any pesticides. Anyone have any input on this?

once i set up a small tank with grass growing out of potting soil and it didn't take long for them to make a huge mess. idk if snakes would do the same but i also think that it could carry mites
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Jake Barney

snakes
1.1.1 ball pythons
0.2 corns
1.0 bcc
0.0.1 garter
0.0.1 baby snapping turtle

Well, in my opinion, dirt or soil usually creates a big mess when it gets wet. For example..if the water bowl gets spilled. Also, it is hard to see the area that is defecated in as well, which makes it tougher to keep clean and sanitary. If you want a more "natural" substrate, I would personally use some mulch that has also been oven-baked.

If you still want to use soil bought from a store in a bag, or use it from a natural source of any kind, I would DEFINITELY bake it in the oven for a while to make sure any pests where totally eradicated from it. Soil can contain all sorts of things you don't want in the snake's enclosure.

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com/index.htm

to buy mulch in bulk? Is there any type of mulch that is preferred over others? My local pet store only sells it in small quantities for a ten gallon tank...

Go to any garden center like Home Depot, Lowes, or any similar place that sells huge bags of cypress mulch. Then bake it some in the oven to kill any creepy crawlies.

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com