Sand as a substrate?
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SarahScales
Well-Known Member
No. Sand is not an acceptable substrate for snakes in general for a number of reasons.
1) Sand can become lodged in the snakes vent.
2) Sand harbours bacteria like crazy, even when you think you have accurately cleaned your enclosure, filth is often hiding in the layers.
3) Sand can become ingested whether it is your intention or not, it's has the risk of causing impaction.
4) Sand and its dust can become lodged in the nostrils and depending on the species also their heat pits, this can irritate your animals respiratory system and cause an infection in the long term.
5) When balancing cleanliness and humidity, sand simply does not work. Wet sand is unhygienic but dry sand will cause poor sheds.
Turf, newspaper, paper towel... There are plenty of alternatives to using sand in a snakes enclosure
Best of luck with your new babies!
1) Sand can become lodged in the snakes vent.
2) Sand harbours bacteria like crazy, even when you think you have accurately cleaned your enclosure, filth is often hiding in the layers.
3) Sand can become ingested whether it is your intention or not, it's has the risk of causing impaction.
4) Sand and its dust can become lodged in the nostrils and depending on the species also their heat pits, this can irritate your animals respiratory system and cause an infection in the long term.
5) When balancing cleanliness and humidity, sand simply does not work. Wet sand is unhygienic but dry sand will cause poor sheds.
Turf, newspaper, paper towel... There are plenty of alternatives to using sand in a snakes enclosure
Best of luck with your new babies!
reptalica
Very Well-Known Member
Even Aspen bedding or I use Kritters Crumble (coarse) in all my four Woma enclosures. Never had a problem yet.
SarahScales
Well-Known Member
Ohh yes! I forgot about Kritter Crumble! It's an excellent, natural looking and maintains humidity beautifully!
HayleyChuck93
Not so new Member
pinefamily
Very Well-Known Member
The recycled paper cat litter is fine as well.
HayleyChuck93
Not so new Member
Red-Ink
Very Well-Known Member
What species of snake?
HayleyChuck93
Not so new Member
Red-Ink
Very Well-Known Member
Sand is OK for womas - just make sure the prey item is dry... not for stimsons though.
HayleyChuck93
Not so new Member
HayleyChuck93
Not so new Member
HayleyChuck93
Not so new Member
Red-Ink
Very Well-Known Member
They are generally not built for it... the sand gets stuck in their labial pits.
HayleyChuck93
Not so new Member
B
Bluetongue1
Guest
There are a number of common misconceptions about sand as a substrate and these need to be corrected. Unfortunately Sarah someone(s) has been passing on incorrect information to you.No. Sand is not an acceptable substrate for snakes in general for a number of reasons.
1) Sand can become lodged in the snakes vent.
2) Sand harbours bacteria like crazy, even when you think you have accurately cleaned your enclosure, filth is often hiding in the layers.
3) Sand can become ingested whether it is your intention or not, it's has the risk of causing impaction.
4) Sand and its dust can become lodged in the nostrils and depending on the species also their heat pits, this can irritate your animals respiratory system and cause an infection in the long term.
5) When balancing cleanliness and humidity, sand simply does not work. Wet sand is unhygienic but dry sand will cause poor sheds.
Turf, newspaper, paper towel... There are plenty of alternatives to using sand in a snakes enclosure
1) Unless the snake is able to move backwards I cannot see how that is possible. Besides, nything that is in the cloaca gets cleared out when the snake takes a dump.
2) Pure sand is inorganic and therefore cannot support bacterial growth. Just as well - as there are an awful lot of kids who spend an awful lot of time playing in sandpits. Proper removal of all waste, which you need to do with any substrate, will ensure that it does not turn into a growth medium.
3) I have never seen any hard evidence of this and neither have the reptile vets I have spoken to. Animals that occur in sandy areas don’t get to eat off paper. Any sand ingested is going to pass straight through, just like when little kids swallow a mouthful or more. The two major causes of impaction are lack of adequate hydration and physical narrowing of the bowel.
4) This is correct for snakes/pythons not occurring on a sandy substrate in nature.
5) Children playing at the water’s edge, be it salt or fresh, often get covered in wet sand but don’t go home sick. Nor do toddlers from swallowing some. Sand which contains bodily wastes and is kept moist, can breed bacteria, because it provides them with food and water. The same is true of other substrates. However, some substrates do have an inhibiting effect on bacterial growth due to chemicals present in them.
(The use of common examples is just to illustrate and support.)
Blue
getarealdog
Well-Known Member
Excellent response their Bluetongue1.
P
Pythoninfinite
Guest
I have to disagree with Bluetongue 1 on a few of these, based on my experience.
1) Sand can indeed build up and form a dry crust in & around the cloaca of a snake. They very often extrude part of the bowel when passing waste. This is wet, and can become coated in sand before it retracts. If the snake doesn't pass another bowel motion for a week or more, this stuff, together with the moist bowel "juices," can set like cement. Parallels shouldn't be drawn between wild and captive situations here, because captive conditions very often modify the way snakes do things, such as passing bowel motions.
3) Once again, captive conditions can change the nature of snake activity. Ingestion of sand or any other substrate in large enough quantities can cause problems, if not often, it does happen. Because most of our captives are kept in relatively small enclosures, with heat and light only centimetres apart, our captives move around far less than they would in the wild. This causes a slowing down of the movement of digesting food through the system, and even the occasional prolapse (it's not only confined to GTPs). Material in the bowel of some captive snakes can occasionally move so slowly that it becomes drier than it otherwise would be, which if mixed with sand (which can be quite abrasive), causes problems. Impaction is probably more a product of inactivity in captive reptiles than "physical narrowing of the bowel."
In just about every regard, sand is a poor substrate for any snake species. If it contains traces of clay, it will build up around the eye scales and lips, and can get under ventrals. Perhaps the biggest drawback on a daily basis, is that it is cold... substrates such as paper, paper products, pelletised pet litter and things like Aspen bedding, are quite neutral temperature-wise, and don't become anywhere near as cold as sand in cooler seasons. The temperature contrast between the basking spot and elsewhere in the enclosure will be quite drastic when using sand instead of the many more suitable substrates.
I suggest you never use sand for a snake enclosure.
Jamie
1) Sand can indeed build up and form a dry crust in & around the cloaca of a snake. They very often extrude part of the bowel when passing waste. This is wet, and can become coated in sand before it retracts. If the snake doesn't pass another bowel motion for a week or more, this stuff, together with the moist bowel "juices," can set like cement. Parallels shouldn't be drawn between wild and captive situations here, because captive conditions very often modify the way snakes do things, such as passing bowel motions.
3) Once again, captive conditions can change the nature of snake activity. Ingestion of sand or any other substrate in large enough quantities can cause problems, if not often, it does happen. Because most of our captives are kept in relatively small enclosures, with heat and light only centimetres apart, our captives move around far less than they would in the wild. This causes a slowing down of the movement of digesting food through the system, and even the occasional prolapse (it's not only confined to GTPs). Material in the bowel of some captive snakes can occasionally move so slowly that it becomes drier than it otherwise would be, which if mixed with sand (which can be quite abrasive), causes problems. Impaction is probably more a product of inactivity in captive reptiles than "physical narrowing of the bowel."
In just about every regard, sand is a poor substrate for any snake species. If it contains traces of clay, it will build up around the eye scales and lips, and can get under ventrals. Perhaps the biggest drawback on a daily basis, is that it is cold... substrates such as paper, paper products, pelletised pet litter and things like Aspen bedding, are quite neutral temperature-wise, and don't become anywhere near as cold as sand in cooler seasons. The temperature contrast between the basking spot and elsewhere in the enclosure will be quite drastic when using sand instead of the many more suitable substrates.
I suggest you never use sand for a snake enclosure.
Jamie
MesseNoire
Well-Known Member
How do desert dwelling snakes survive in the wild?
By not living in a confined enclosure
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