Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i was wondering if it is ok to keep my king on play sand as abedding and if not can u recommend somethin else thanx!

Wow - I figured you just cut your snake in half or worse. Was that subject really needed? How about "Advise for substrate"

I think this discussion has been covered about ten times in the last month. - Matt
-----
Matt from Minnesota
Cornsnake, Eastern Kingsnake, IL Bullsnake - all girls.
One Pair of cute Crested Geckos.

Don't use sand. Get pine shavings or aspen bedding.

Rainer

I haven't heard anyone say anything about shredding large chunks Coconut husks as substrate. I like to use it on all display terreriums. In the pic you can notice some behind my Jungle Corn.
Happy Herping,
Uncloudy

Is there anyway i can visually tell if my king is a male or female?yes,no,how?

PINE SHAVINGS they like to make tunnels in it.

for all kinds of snakes without a problem. I use shavings in my racks because of the weight issue but still use sand for a lot of my rattlesnakes and displays. For some reason people seem to think there are impaction issues with accidentally digested sand, but one can have the same or worse problems with accidentally ingested wood chips or shavings. If I were to keep score I would say problems with sand: zero, even when some is ingested. Problems with pine and aspen shavings: two impactions from accidental ingestion, and one case of a male knoblochi accidentally pulling a shaving back up into his hemipene when he re-inverted it after mating. I didn't catch it for a couple of days and it created a very nasty and costly infection. Really it is just your preference and what seems to work best for you and your snake. Experiment a bit with a different substrates before settling for any particular type. Common sense is the issue. Place food items on a rock or in a dish to help avoid substrate sticking to the items. Good luck,

Rich

Rich

I think that sand used for a display animlas in a large cage that is maintained is a different issue. Also rattlesnakes don't tend to be as messy as other snakes.

The danger with sand is not in the accidental digestion (like you said that can happen with any type of substrate), but instead it has to do with cleanliness. If I put any of my adults into sand they will deficate and dig around in it making a mess of it in no time. Same goes for a small snake in a smaller cage or deli cup.

the same snake would also dig around in wood shavings.Many of my alterna do this. They poop while crawling and then keep on crawling and digging around the cage and a large part of the shavings are messed up before it dries. I have kept all kinds of kings and just about every Az. colubrid on sand at some point. In my experience sand just immediately dessicates fecals making them easy to pick out in one nice clump. Again it's just individual preferences and snakes. For some snakes I prefer shavings, some sand. For example in my racks I prefer shavings because of weight. Yet I found I am better to use sand for sinaloans in my racks because of shedding/humidity issues(humidity here in Flagstaff runs about 10-13% for a good part of the year. For some reason my sinaloans have trouble shedding on shavings but never have problems in sand. Same with a few individual alterna. I have found triaspis also do better in sand (although I still keep mine on aspen as it is far more convenient and they generally do OK) I also keep some snakes on moist vermiculite (AZ.milks, corals and hooknoses)and the rattlesnakes in rack systems are on brown indoor outdoor carpeting as I have found that many rattlesnakes do not do well at all on shavings. I just encourage everyone to be aware of the problems with cedar, but otherwise research pros and cons and don't be afraid to experiment to find the optimum setup. Every snake is different, local humidities vary etc.

Best,

Rich

I’ve been housing, snakes for about eleven years now on sand. I have tried different kinds of sand. The play sand has too many fines in it. The fines absorb up moisture, so a 1” spot will turn into a 3” spot. I use a cleaned (dust free) #3/12 grade kiln dried sand. it’s kind of hard to find, I buy it at industrial supply stores. It’s used for sandblasting .it’s about eight dollars for 90 lb. Bag . I think it’s easy to clean, all I use, is a plastic spoon and paper plate, just scoop it out and try to pick up most of moisture after each feeding. I clean my tanks about once a year depending on the size and breed, remove all sand , and clean the tanks with bleach and water. I recycle my sand, by putting it into a bucket and letting it soak in bleach and water for a few days. Then I stir it up with a stick. Push a hose to the bottom of the bucket until water runs clear on the overflow. I then pour it into sandbags and let It dry out till the following year.
I have never had a problem with any of my snakes getting sick or dying and yet.

-----
RBICHLER

at pet shops that sold reptiles that was the type of sand they sold to go along with snakes, iguanas ect. We called it gravel back then and I used it for about 12 years.

As I recall it was pretty good but still left remnants of fowl smelly feces and needed frequent cleaning.

No, its not gravel, its sand and I don't have a problem with stench in my tanks, I clean them after each feeding, but of course it depends on the size of snake. I have six tanks set up in the family room, and we sure enjoy the natural setting, have had a lot of compilments, Even from people who dislike snakes.

-----
RBICHLER

I have run across them my whole life. Its at the point now that I have had friends for years and they never know about my snake hobby. I gave up on the entertainment/education value a long time ago.