Dirt substrate?

[boosh96]

I've been thinking about switching out my snake's aspen bedding in favor of a topsoil/sand mix or some other soil mix. This may be a dumb question, but is there any issue with doing this? Our snakes include a corn snake, a Dumeril's boa, a Colombian BCI, and a ball python. Would the Dumeril's boa and corn snake just need a dryer dirt mix than the python and the BCI?

[muffiewrites]

I keep my Honduran milk snake in a dirt substrate, that is a bioactive substrate. He's in a natural viv.

I've had a lot of success with it for him because he's a burrower and prefers dirt. I've also noticed that his sheds and his scales are healthier, once I have the humidity worked out. The enclosure is important because the dirt has to maintain some moisture, but not too much. There's a guy on geckotime that has a lot of info on a natural viv.

Anyway, I spend very little time cleaning the viv itself. I have my post-feed time with a pooper scooper (a spork, actually), but I don't worry about cleaning it completely because the soil breaks the rest down. I turn the soil once a week or so and water as needed. I recently moved and the watering schedule has changed. Previously, it was a 10 day cycle during air conditioning season, 6 days during heater season, and 14 days during open window season.

[poison123]

Originally Posted by boosh96

I've been thinking about switching out my snake's aspen bedding in favor of a topsoil/sand mix or some other soil mix. This may be a dumb question, but is there any issue with doing this? Our snakes include a corn snake, a Dumeril's boa, a Colombian BCI, and a ball python. Would the Dumeril's boa and corn snake just need a dryer dirt mix than the python and the BCI?

I keep my corn snakes cage moist at depth with the top dry.

Here is a pretty good examply http://i1261.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3c3fad2f.jpg

http://i1261.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9867cf77.jpg

http://i1261.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8ad5dd7e.jpg

You can see inside the burrow is moist and the top is dry. But I use several inches of substrate. If your going to use just a couple inches or so then I don't see a point in keeping it moist.

http://i1261.photobucket.com/albums/...ps64c82c73.jpg

[knox]

Make sure the soil that you buy has no fertilizers in it. I am sure you know this, but others may not think about it.