Tons of black granules appearing in snakes cage?? Help

Likely bug eggs from something living in your decor. Wood or cork bark have lots of tiny crevices & some insects bore into them & set up house-keeping. ;) Could also
be fecal droppings from a few such bugs.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

This ^ ^ ^ is my thought too...since you didn't mention them moving, I'd say bug eggs or bug feces.
FYI, I use natural local branches in some of my snake homes & sometimes one of the branches will have a wood-boring beetle in it; I only know when I start seeing tiny piles of fine sawdust in the cage- the beetle stays in the wood & is harmless. In THIS case though, I'd say either eggs or feces, either way that's a LOT & I'd lose the offending decor if I were you. If you aren't convinced, take it out & double seal it in a clear plastic bag & wait. You might also put those "black specks" in a sealed jar for "observation"...I think you'll know pretty soon. What else is in the cage? Any other natural hiding places? Magnification really helps too...GoingPostal nailed it IMO.

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I think i will try and seal the driftwood to see if anything comes out.. I shook some of the cork decor and the only thing that came out was some dust, not a lot, but none of the black stuff either. Other than those I just have plastic hides and leaves.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Likely bug eggs from something living in your decor. Wood or cork bark have lots of tiny crevices & some insects bore into them & set up house-keeping. ;) Could also
be fecal droppings from a few such bugs.

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Maybe I'll have to take them out for a while and see if they still appear then.. it's so odd, there's just so much of it, i found more this morning (not nearly as much, but there was some in her water again) and I haven't seen any bugs anywhere :confusd:

Well, for now it's a mystery, but keep on it...you'll figure this out, hopefully soon, & please do share what you find. Maybe a moth or something got in the cage? BTW, :welcome:

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Originally Posted by Snakkegi

I think i will try and seal the driftwood to see if anything comes out.. I shook some of the cork decor and the only thing that came out was some dust, not a lot, but none of the black stuff either. Other than those I just have plastic hides and leaves.

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If there are any beetles living in the decor, they tunnel into it & hang on tightly...I doubt you could shake them loose. Clearly your snake has "room-mates". ;)

You could probably bake it at the temp Bogert suggested just to be safe. I've never heard of this before and I am very intrigued to see who's making such a mess.

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Originally Posted by Reptile$ 4 Life

You could probably bake it at the temp Bogert suggested just to be safe. I've never heard of this before and I am very intrigued to see who's making such a mess.

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I've seen some beetle droppings before & they can look like this, but there's so much of it, it has to be a family effort, lol. They could be deeply burrowed into one or more branches, & it's very hard to spot their entry & exit holes. But it's odd that some ended up in the water bowl...that suggests whatever it is can also fly (which some beetles can, but not all).

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Well, for now it's a mystery, but keep on it...you'll figure this out, hopefully soon, & please do share what you find. Maybe a moth or something got in the cage? BTW, :welcome:

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Whatever it is I'm hoping it's just harmless and easy to get rid of!! My snake has been acting normal so I don't think she's bothered much by it but I'm gonna try to deal with it ASAP. I'll keep you all updated, thanks!

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Originally Posted by Snakkegi

Whatever it is I'm hoping it's just harmless and easy to get rid of!! My snake has been acting normal so I don't think she's bothered much by it but I'm gonna try to deal with it ASAP. I'll keep you all updated, thanks!

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Assuming it's beetles &/or their larvae eating your decor, they have no interest or ability to harm your snake, so that's the good news. It's more of an annoyance, but you don't want such things inhabiting your home either. If the beetles can fly (as evidenced by droppings in the water bowl-?) then they could potentially escape the cage if you're not careful (like when you clean the cage & have the decor sitting out) & might colonize more valuable "real estate". Anyway, good luck! :gj:

I would take each piece out and separate them. Maybe even in a Tupperware like container if they'll fit, or just a box. Something to help keep control. That should show where the problem is so you can address it.