Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bought my kingsnake this weekend at the SD IRBA from renegade reptiles and the lady told me that i should just go out to the desert and scoop up some clean sand. so i rode out to borrego springs sunday and picked up sand came home and washed it.

she said its easy to clean since stool just clumps up and its what they are natuarally found on, riding 130 miles with about 35 lbs of sand on ur back sucks, i will never do that again, haha

does anyone else use sand?

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1.0 Monty - The Ball Python
0.1 Jalapeno - The Cal King

I use store bought sand that claims that it is digestable by the animals. So far I have been pretty happy with it. It's generally pretty easy to clean and replace and I think it looks a lot better than news papaer. The main drawback is that it doesn't do much to prevent odor but since I am pretty fast to clean it hasn't been a big problem. I am not sure I would just go scoop up some sand and throw it in my cage though. Who knows what you are scooping up with it.

I don't use sand as a subtrate. I use aspen. It's just as easy to clean,cheap,clean/insect free and perfectly safe for a king snake Using collected sand may not be a smart choice. There are all sort of insects that live in sand that you bring home from the desert and cleaning doesn't always get rid of them. I don't recommend that at all. If you want to use sand as a subtrate might I suggest getting some from a pet store or buying some 'childs play sand'.

So easy to clean! Just scoop out the problem areas with a spoon. Every few weeks I wash down all accessories. Every few months, I change the sand completely.

I can get a large bag of strained, river sand at a local landscaping shop for about $4! (I save and re-use the sack.) It lasts me for months!

When my snake eats, the sand is almost never ingested. Even if it is, it passes harmlessly and easily.

I spent too many years buying expensive Care Fresh. Now I get sand and save my money!

Ameron
Vancouver, WA

(One yearling Mexican Black Kingsnake. One Painted Turtle.)

i think it looks good and i dont have to worry about bacteria and other crap

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1.0 Monty - The Ball Python
0.1 Jalapeno - The Cal King

I was at the IRBA show on Sat. as well. I use Cal-Sand. It is 100% calcium from bone meal. I use it mostly on baby desert torts that I breed. I does get messy if the critter spills the water bowl. If you like Cal sand it is $2.00 cheaper per bag at the IRBA shows. It's like $7.99 at PETCO, $5.99 at IRBA (LLL Reptiles). I do use aspen on my snakes though. I listed my link below if you want to see recently hatched L.pyromelana woodini.

http://www.angelfire.com/trek/alternatrivpets/