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using sand for sand boas

Posted By:

critterking1987

In Relation To:

Hades [ssb1]

hey everyone i have a question i got my first sand boa and i want to know is sand safe to use as a substrate because ive heard alot of pros and cons about useing it because i bought Zoo Med repti sand today and my sand boa seems to like it better than aspen i dont plan on feeding it in the cage so im not worrying about impaction i just want to know if i can use it or get rid of it thanks for all your help


Points:	100
Topics:	Caging
Tags:	Housing
Species:	Boas > Small Boas > Gongylophis muelleri
Administrative:	Show/Hide

Member Comment

3/20/2009 8:56:19 PM

Kaiyudsai

THere's nothing wrong with using aspen.....

Member Comment

3/20/2009 9:02:24 PM

Saffleur

Nor is there anything wrong with using sand. I have seen many use eco-earth for their substrate. As long as you are responsible for the animal the sand should be fine.

Member Comment

3/20/2009 9:25:46 PM

FartherAway420

Personally if it were me, I would use up what you have left for sand. But I think there are better alternatives available. I use Sani-Chips which is made from aspen. Both of my Kenyans love it :o)

Member Comment

3/21/2009 8:30:45 AM

jynx

I have no personal experience with sand. I have seen sand boas in sand at pet stores. I use Zoo-med aspen. Its a finer cut and he seems to like that. I put moistened crumpled up paper towels on top of the aspen to help with his shed. He loved it so now they are all dried out and I just left them in there for him. Ive read you could use newspaper but would have to make sure he has places to hide.

Member Comment

3/21/2009 8:14:50 PM

deathscythe801

I'm a fan of Aspen (especially Kaytee b/c its more finely cut than others). I currently house 2 adult females and one adult male on aspen. my neonates are on scott towels right now . As long as you feed in a separate enclosure (asyou mentioned), the sand does not matter. Although here are things to consider with using sand: 1) every time you put your hands into the sand to get your boas, you're hands are bound to become covered in sand and you'll have to dust your hands off constantly, 2) from my experience, these guys can have a rough time shedding if the humidity is low (they can often retain eye caps). sand is not the best thing when you want to increase your humidity during this time. either way, its your choice. these are just my reasons for using aspen. but i'd use up whatever you had.

Accepted Answer

3/22/2009 10:28:31 PM

Leiren

Sand is a mess,but they are "sand" boas. It's up to you personally,but yes it is safe as everyone else stated. Nothing wrong with double checking :)

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