Is this a good idea?

[snakebeginner]

Ok, this is what I used to do with my Tarantulas. But I dont know if its good enough for snakes.

I used to clean my tarantulas cage by puting the dirt in a margarine container and then put in in the microwave with the lid just barly open and then put the dirt in the microwave for 6-10 min. Is this clean enough for snakes or what? I dont want to give my snake any diseases or anything buy not cleaning his cage good enough.

and is it even good to be using dirt? cause I never heard anyone saying that dirt can be used. or should i just use newpaper?
thanks

[BoidKeeper]

You should never microwave plastics, they break down.
Try backing your dirt in the oven instead. Newspaper is much esier though.
Cheers,
Trevor

[vanderkm]

Newspaper, paper towels or aspen shavings are all good bedding for cornsnakes are quite inexpensive. In my opinion, it is best to have a bedding that can be completely removed and replaced on a regular basis rather than trying to disinfect it.

While you might use soil or some of the similar bedding like Bed a Beast - they can be very hard to clean. While cooking them might kill the bacteria, snakes produce a lot more waste (liquid and solid) than a spider does, and while it will be easy to spot clean the poops and solid urates, it is hard to completely remove the liquid uring from soil - this contains waste chemicals from the body that will accumulate over time in the soil and be irritating to the animal. The urates will also really stink up the oven when you are cooking the dirt.

mary v.

[Dragon_Slave]

I agree with Mary. I use Aspen shavings at it's great! Very easy to clean, and inexpensive too! I have heard that products such as bed-a-beast are good, but it can get pretty expensive and you have to go through all the trouble of soaking it to expand and then drying it out, and for people who have a busy lifestyle, like me, they don't really have time to go through that process.

[sapphire_moon]

I use aspen, used a quarter of a(small) bag for 2 four feet long cages. I spot clean and it still has plenty of aspen in there. I haven't had to change it since.

And once my corn eats one more time she is going to be put on the aspen shavings to!

(Never use pine or cedar)

I generally toss my substrates into a pot of boiling water, that hydrates it and kills any buggies.