substrate & cat collars

[kontron]

i saw some substrate called T-Rex Bone Aid Calcisand. it's supposed to be sand that is made safe for digestion and adds calcium to their diet. it says for reptiles, turtles, snakes, and so on. it glows in the dark. i could not imagine this would be healthy to live in or digest. anyone ever heard of this? or used it? it would be a neat sand for hermit crabs....
also i put a cat collar in the old 55 gal. after cleaning it out and adding new bedding. it is cyprus muclh, mixed with shpagnum moss to add altered textured terrain for the snakes. i let it dry, and chopped a cat collar for fleas and insects into bits, and spread the 5 peices throughout the cage, to prevent any mite populations from trying to form. it has been in there for a good 2 weeks now. how long before i can put my snakes in there after removing the collar peices? 45 minutes to an hour doesnt seem like enough time? or is this fine? i dont want my snake to end up dead or with brain damage. i have read that putting them in the cage with the collar could harm them, but the collar works safe if you remove it before putting the snake in.

[sophie42204]

Interesting, I've never heard of such a thing....sorry I can't answer your quesiton!

[Brandon.O]

i have some of it. Idont use it in my snake tank but i have it for my hermit crabs its really cool for them becuase they like to burrow but since its white it gets dirrty really easly so if you want it to stay REALLY clean you have to clean it like once a week, and that kinda sucks . I have two hermit crab tans,one with sand and one with eco earth and i ike the eco earth better

[led4urhead]

Interesting is right ... i too have never heard of such a thing. Where did you happen to read this? Are any of the ingredients in the cat collar harmful to reptiles? Does whatever soultion is in the collar leach out ( potentially into the substrate )? Did you try to bake or boil your mulch? How strong is the odor of the flea collar? Does it smell when you pick up a piece of the mulch and sniff it ( i know that sounds wierd, but it may have leeched into the substrate )? I've never honestly heard of such a thing, but i suppose it could work. Dont know that i would do it without some research on my own first tho. If you have links to where ever you read this .. i'd be interested in reading them.

[sophie42204]

I'd be interested in reading them as well, but to be honest, I'd feel safer using another method to de-bug your substrate instead of adding chemicals, especially chemicals such as those, flea collars STINK!!

[CTReptileRescue]

Hi Kontron,
I thought I would share a few of my thoughts.
1) Claci sand. I wouldn't use it for any bp, or honestly I wouldn't use it for most reptiles. We have had many of geckos’ come through that were impacted by this “digestible” substrate. In addition, it is much easier for bacteria to hide and grow thus causing scale rot, stomatitis (mouth rot) and other bacterial infections.
2) Cat collar. I wouldn’t recommend using any cat or dog products in the treatment of your pet reptiles. Cat fleas and ticks are a completely different species then a snakes mites and ticks. Plus cat collars can carry an insane amount of pesticides that can be very harmful to your herp. I would (and I know you don’t want to hear this) take apart the whole enclosure and thoroughly disinfect it, before introducing your ball python to his or her new home.
Just my 2 cents
Rusty

[kontron]

cool. most of the cat collar recomendations came from vets and pet stores. they said keep the snake in a seperate cage and drop a flea collar in. leave it for about 2-3 weeks. they said remove the collar and let it air, and let the snakes back in. i was told 45 minutes was a good time to let it air out, by everyone i talked to, but i would want more time. the cat collar isnt as toxic as things i have read about people using to clear a cage. deep off woods, and some other camping products. this is supposed to be safe, unless you put them in with the collar. the mulch really has no smell other then dirt and wood. there is no odor of cat collar or chemicals. of course i planned on cleaning it before. this was a preventative measure after cleaning the cage, to keep mites from laying eggs in the fresh moist substrate. the snakes have been kept out of the cage this whole time. i think my mite problem should be solved. i used several methods of cleaning and prevention. i am going to clean it very good before putting the snakes back in though. better safe, then brain dead snakes.

[SatanicIntention]

I would think that if flea collars don't work on the animals themselves (they are pure crap), then why would they work in a tank? Any animal with a flea collar is going to have fleas... They just don't work. Try some Black Knight or Frontline. Or something that is made for reptiles. Just not the flea collar. IMO they are just plain doodie for any use.

[gozetec02]

Please don't use the cat collar. I rescued a female ball python a while back and she was owned by a lady. The snake had mites and was told by the petstore that she could use flea powder in the substrate. When I got the snake it had problems galore. Irritated respritory tract, and severe neurolgical damage just to name two. I know that flea powder is bad and that the collars have the same ingredients imbeded in the plastic but the plastic will eventually break down with all the humidity and seep into the substrate as it dries.

If you are worried about the mulch having bugs you can maybe bake it for a bit to kill any thing off. 300* for 20 minutes does wonders just monitor it closely.

If you want to get rid of mites use provent-a-mite or similar.

You can also clean your tank with water and bleach solution but be sure to dry it and let it air out for a while.