Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Are either of these ok substrates for my ball python? I've really liked the look of the calcium sand, and it seems teh best suited for my needs, but ive heard sand is bad, but then again i dont know if thats "all sand" or if calcium sand is diffrent... I'm also considering peat moss, since it seems like it should be harmless, and would hold the moisture well, although i am worriedabout mold, and it encourages the ants (which i have been having total problems with lately... need it too cool off enough to not worry about my animals frying outside if i bomb the house!) any input is appreciated, sorry if this has been covered recently, i only skimmed the first two pages of posts...

I would'nt use either one...peat moss or sand.
Use a cypress mulch. As far as other substrates such as Jungle Bark, dont bother. The color leaches out, and your snake becomes a new color.

i never knew the color of the bark would affect a snake. i wondered why the white on my king looked stained. do you think the discoloration will go away?

I first used a major brand of the orchid bark. I'm not sure exactly who made it.
When I first began cleaning cages and changing substrate, I noticed the snakes would be stained on their bellies.
It came right off wiping it with a damp towel, but then from that time on I used only cypress mulch.
It gave the light bellies on my snakes a reddish brown color.
The exact color of the substrate

Most snakes are not going to like a sand substrate, sand can get under scales and be quite irritable. Calcium sands would be more so as they tend to have sharp edges.

Peat moss would be very acidic and hold perhaps too much moisture/humidity. This could be a problem too.

Muclh and barks while they look nice are a pain to clean, fairly expensive and as noted can stain your snakes.

I like a aspen bedding, inexpensive, absorbant, easy to clean and no staining, with a hide box filled with moistened sphagnum moss. The sphagnum will add to the overall humidity and works well when BPs are shedding.

BigT
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Hope this helps.

BigT
There is a difference between ignorance and stupidity. The ignorant can be taught, stupidity is beyond our control.

um, so no peat moss b/c its too acidic, but sphagnum moss in the mide box? on my bag of peat moss it says its "canadian spagnum" moss...

Yes peat moss in it's powdery form is decomposed sphagnum moss the decomposition makes it more acidic. This is actually mined from peat bogs and can be hundreds of feet deep and cover huge areas.

The coarse sphagnum sometimes called terrarium moss is less acidic by a great deal. This is harvested from the surface of bogs and woodlands and grows on the surface, most often it is alive when harvested and will regrow so it is a renewable resource.
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Hope this helps.

BigT
There is a difference between ignorance and stupidity. The ignorant can be taught, stupidity is beyond our control.