Calcisand - Harmful?

Hi all, I'm a newbie BP owner and currently have Calcisand as a substrate based on the pet store reccomendation. The info on the bag says it's harmless and digestable, but most of the forums say to avoid sand. Will this cause immediate harm to my BP? I will probably switch out of it eventually, but I would prefer to destress my ball first and get past the first few feedings. What do you guys think would be best? To switch now and stress my new pet, or wait for a while and hope it doesn't cause any harm? Thanks for the help!

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Originally Posted by The_Hanged_Man

Hi all, I'm a newbie BP owner and currently have Calcisand as a substrate based on the pet store reccomendation. The info on the bag says it's harmless and digestable, but most of the forums say to avoid sand. Will this cause immediate harm to my BP? I will probably switch out of it eventually, but I would prefer to destress my ball first and get past the first few feedings. What do you guys think would be best? To switch now and stress my new pet, or wait for a while and hope it doesn't cause any harm? Thanks for the help!

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You're fine. Calcisand isn't actually "sand" ... it's a calcium based substrate that is totally digestable. You could always put some paper down inside the cage when you feed to minimize any ingestion.

FWIW, I know people that have kept ball pythons on sand and they did just fine.

Good luck and welcome to the forums!!

-adam

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

FWIW, I know people that have kept ball pythons on sand and they did just fine.

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I actually was going to ask this exact question of you, Adam. There's a local pet store here that from other threads doesn't have a very good husbandry rep. The place smells horrible.. like rat pee. But anyway, the question was going to be, all of his hatchling BP's are in sand. And when I say IN, I mean IN. There's like 2 or 3 in each small showcase and at least one of them is burrowed in each tank. I had no idea they liked to burrow so much. Or that they could be kept succesfully in sand. Thought that was a bad idea.

On a side note, I realize that housing multiple snakes in one enclosure isn't good... but at most pet stores, you're always going to see multi's, right?

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Originally Posted by ddbjdealer

I actually was going to ask this exact question of you, Adam. There's a local pet store here that from other threads doesn't have a very good husbandry rep. The place smells horrible.. like rat pee. But anyway, the question was going to be, all of his hatchling BP's are in sand. And when I say IN, I mean IN. There's like 2 or 3 in each small showcase and at least one of them is burrowed in each tank. I had no idea they liked to burrow so much. Or that they could be kept succesfully in sand. Thought that was a bad idea.

On a side note, I realize that housing multiple snakes in one enclosure isn't good... but at most pet stores, you're always going to see multi's, right?

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They are burrowing because they are stressed and have inadequate hides. While sand CAN be used as a substrate for ball pythons successfully, I personally don't feel that it should. It's very difficult to keep clean and dirty housing can lead to illness in a ball python.

And yes, multiples are very bad idea ... ball pythons have been know to eat each other. Pet stores are just trying to make a buck ... most of the time they buy hatchling ball pythons cheap enough and mark them up high enough to be able to afford to lose a couple.

-adam

Couldn't the sand get caught inside of the snake's heat pits? That was always my concern..

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Originally Posted by Ginevive

Couldn't the sand get caught inside of the snake's heat pits? That was always my concern..

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Sure, but it does fall out. They have evolved to live inside tight burrows of sand and dirt in the wild ... you'd be amazed at how adept they are at adjusting to something as minor as sand in their heat pits. ;)

-adam

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

... you'd be amazed at how adept they are at adjusting to something as minor as sand in their heat pits. ;)

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I know I don't like sand stuck in tight spaces! 'tis why I don't surf anymore! :evileye:

Whew! Thanks for the reply Adam. Like I said I will probably switch later on as it will be a pain to keep clean, but I am glad it won't harm my snake. :)