Substrate

[joHtoD3]

I went from using the carpet type substrate to using aspen bedding several weeks ago. The problem my ball seems to be having is that when he strikes at prey he gets it caught in his mouth. What I am wondering is, is what else I can use as substrate that would be better than aspen shavings. I had thought about sand but not sure about it. Any ideas?

[lesserlover]

You can use FREE newspaper.

[Tiny_loves_Roxanne]

why dont you feed your ball in a seperate enclosure?

my ball is in a tank with a coconut fiber and moss substrate to keep the humidity up

but every tuesday at 2:30PM i take her out and put her in a empty Pabst Blue Ribbon case lined with paper towels...I drop the mosue in,she strikes...she eats, I put her back in cage,no worries

it's a good habit to have,it helps them associate that your hand is not food,should you reach into the tank

[iCandiBallPythons]

why dont you feed your ball in a seperate enclosure?

my ball is in a tank with a coconut fiber and moss substrate to keep the humidity up

but every tuesday at 2:30PM i take her out and put her in a empty Pabst Blue Ribbon case lined with paper towels...I drop the mosue in,she strikes...she eats, I put her back in cage,no worries

it's a good habit to have,it helps them associate that your hand is not food,should you reach into the tank

To the op do not use sand for a bp, you can use newspaper, paper towels. To the above post I have never had a bp associate my hand with food unless I smell like rat.

[j_h_smith]

why dont you feed your ball in a seperate enclosure?

my ball is in a tank with a coconut fiber and moss substrate to keep the humidity up

but every tuesday at 2:30PM i take her out and put her in a empty Pabst Blue Ribbon case lined with paper towels...I drop the mosue in,she strikes...she eats, I put her back in cage,no worries

it's a good habit to have,it helps them associate that your hand is not food,should you reach into the tank

I have to disagree. Why not feed in the enclosure? What purpose does it serve to remove a snake from its enviroment just to feed it? If anything it will add to the stress level of the snake.

I don't understand how putting your hand in the tank would make your snake associate your hand as food. If anything, you going into the tank to get the snake out is associating the snake with feeding time. What happens when you get the snake out for other purposes? Will the snake think that every time it's being removed from its tank, it's going to get fed?

Jim Smith

[BPelizabeth]

Continue feeding in the enclosure....it is less hassel and less stress for the snake. When we use to use substrate.....we put down a papertowel prior to feeding as we had the same problem.

Now we use paper towels and I have to say....I LOVE IT!!!!!! It is so clean and if they have a urate or a poo....I can clean it up immediately and document it.

[Kaorte]

Ingesting a little bit of substrate is not a big deal. If you are particularly worried, you can use paper towels or newspaper.

Or you could lay down some paper towels or newspaper prior to feeding.

The argument that feeding outside the enclosure will teach your snake to not associate your hand with feeding makes no sense. Feeding outside the enclosure to reduce substrate ingestion is fine but it really is not a big deal to ingest substrate from time to time. They rarely get impacted.

[casper]

My BP ate some substrate about an hour ago.

He struck at the mouse but missed and got a mouth full of repti bark and slammed his head against the side of the tank. At first I thought he dislocated his jaw since he hit the side of the tank so hard but he was having problems due to having so much substrate in his mouth.

I took my snake out of his tank and was able to get all but one piece out of his mouth. He swallowed one piece of repti bark.

He appeared to be fine so I put him back in his tank and he struck at the mouse again and he did his business as usual. After he swallowed it I put in a second and he took it also.

The piece of repti bark my snake swallowed won't hurt him right?

[Tiny_loves_Roxanne]

I have to disagree. Why not feed in the enclosure? What purpose does it serve to remove a snake from its enviroment just to feed it? If anything it will add to the stress level of the snake.

I don't understand how putting your hand in the tank would make your snake associate your hand as food. If anything, you going into the tank to get the snake out is associating the snake with feeding time. What happens when you get the snake out for other purposes? Will the snake think that every time it's being removed from its tank, it's going to get fed?

Jim Smith

No...cause snakes supposedly can be taught a time regement...that if you feed them a certain time of day at a certain time of the week, they'll know its feeding day

also my ball doesnt seem stressed when i put her in the box,she just stays in the middle and waits to eat,and when she's done i send her right back into the hot side...

plus I don't where people are getting its ok for them to get substrate in their mouth,isnt that one of the bigger causes of RI? so I guess if your snake does eat some substrate make sure its not stuck in their mouth and that they've digested it

[CoolioTiffany]

No...cause snakes supposedly can be taught a time regement...that if you feed them a certain time of day at a certain time of the week, they'll know its feeding day

also my ball doesnt seem stressed when i put her in the box,she just stays in the middle and waits to eat,and when she's done i send her right back into the hot side...

plus I don't where people are getting its ok for them to get substrate in their mouth,isnt that one of the bigger causes of RI? so I guess if your snake does eat some substrate make sure its not stuck in their mouth and that they've digested it

I used to feed my largest Ball python in a separate tub, she would get so excited to know it's feeding time. When I got my second Ball python, he only ate once in a tub. After that he started refusing because it caused him so much stress. I dangled the F/T hopper in front of him in his enclosure and he took it without hesitation because he felt more comfortable eating in his home.

Breeders cannot take all of their Ball pythons out of their homes into separate tubs to feed because there is way too many snakes and takes up too much time. I can name a few breeders who use loose substrate like cypress mulch or aspen bedding and have no problem with impaction when they feed their pythons.

Ball pythons can be easily stressed so some don't do so well when being fed outside of the places they feel most secure. I would be freaked out to be in the middle of a clear open tub with a big giant shoving food in my face. All of my snakes are on aspen bedding (besides my Blood, she's on cypress mulch) and I haven't ever had a problem with impaction when one of them swallowed a bit of substrate.

No, substrate being swallowed does not cause an RI. It causes impaction, a blocking in the intestines. Sand, soil, dirt, and other really loose substrates can cause impaction because it is so easy to swallow a large amount of it. Those substrates should not be used anyway.