Question about rocks........

[J.J.]

Ok, I went to the store and bought some of those rocks people put in the bottom of there fish tanks, they are small and come in different colors. Well, I got them for my baby boas cage. So when we got them home we rinsed them off really good, they are FINALLY dry now, and I was dipping my hands in the rocks making sure they were completely dry, well when I took my hand out of the rocks, there was all this blue stuf on my hands! * the rocks are blue* it washes off really easy, but do you think it is safe for my snake?? I really dont want a blue snake either! It would be cool, but Im sure my snake doesnt want to get it scales dyed, lol. Anyways, is there anything I can do to the rocks so they will be ok to put in my snakes cage?? or what?? Let me know!! Alrighty, bye bye!

[Nikki Gervais]

hey there, it sounds like you are talking about aquarium gravel. Seeing as they are made for fish tanks i don't think the dye would be harmfull to your snake, however the rocks themselves can be quite dangerous. When feeding if swallowed, it could lead to disaster. There are much better substrates out there such as aspen bedding (never cedar bedding! pine bedding is OK), bark chips, forest floor and even paper towels or newspaper to name a few. I would worry about my babies too much if I used that stuff. Just my honest opinion but i wouldn't go near the stuff.

yeah if you want color indoor/outdoor carpet is better

[Linds]

Why do you want to use aquarium gravel as a substrate? It really is suited to fish, not snakes. The best substrates for boas IMO is newspaper/papertowel, cypress mulch, or even that cage carpet stuff can be fine......

[J.J.]

I already have cage carpet for her, the reason I wanted to use the rocks is cause I thought they would look good, and well just though I would try somethin new. Well, thanx everyone, I guess I will stick to the carpet. Also, I dont like to use bark anymore because usually when I get bark, there are those lil white mites in it, and that has caused too many mite problems for my snakes, especially my boa, once I even froze the bags of bark for like 5 days to a week, then I gave it to my science teacher, and it STILL had at least 2 mites in it, cause his snake got mites not long after we put the bark in it. well, thanx again! By the way, where the heck to you find this cypress mulch and stuff???

[Big Mike]

Aspen, cypress muclch, bed-a-beast etc. can all be found at most pet stores. You might want to check your mite problem. Although is possible that they are comming in with the substrate, they may be hanging around the snake enclosure and being discovered when new substrate is put in. Remember that mites will leave the animal to lay eggs, which can remain dormant for some time.

You could always microwave the bark and/or put it in the oven for a while but carpet or paper towels/news paper is a better choice anyway (and easier to replace) good luck

[J.J.]

alrighy thanx! Oh, my snakes dont have mites anymore, but mr whipkeys does, I got this spray for mites from my vet, could I have whipkey spray it around her cage or what???

[Big Mike]

That depends on the spray and the enviroment around the cage. It's best to clean as much as posible; the cage and it's suroundings and to continue treatment for an apropriate amount of time.

What I mean is that the cage and every thing in it should be totally cleaned at least once a week for a month or more and the mite treatment should be repeated. If the spray is safe to spray around the area of the cage then that might be helpful...check the instructions.

[J.J.]

Ok, will do, Thanx!

[J.J.]

also, what about astro turf??? Like the golf carpet stuff,

[Syst3m]

I personally dont recommend astro turf. There is decent stuff you can use but no one ever uses it. The stuff thats woven not the rubber backed stuff. I recommend sticking to cage carpet.
Personally I HIGHLY recommend using either newspaper or paper towel. Easy to clean and much healthier then cage carpet. You can be assured that no bacteria is buidling up because its changed with new every time. I can directly contribute it to one of my brazilians health. Well good luck J.J.

[J.J.]

okie doke, thanx!