first feeding of new snake.... upside down and buttfirst lol

He's not the smartest snake ever... http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file..._0_2_thumb.jpg

ummm, looks like hes about to ingest heaps of substrate, that might not be to good for him.

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Originally Posted by ATTFighter

ummm, looks like hes about to ingest heaps of substrate, that might not be to good for him.

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Not really much different then swallowing a bit of dirt.

@OP - I would definitely change your substrate as Eco-Earth really isn't that good at all.

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Originally Posted by ATTFighter

ummm, looks like hes about to ingest heaps of substrate, that might not be to good for him.

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Just extra fiber to keep him regular...

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Originally Posted by Neal

Not really much different then swallowing a bit of dirt.

@OP - I would definitely change your substrate as Eco-Earth really isn't that good at all.

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May I ask why? I use it and love it for humidity

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Keep the eco-earth. Snakes ingest substrate all the time and unless the mouse is stuffed with the eco-earth, you're not going to be seeing any issues. These are animals than can break down bone, do you think their stomach acid can't handle a little finely ground coconut husk? Congrats on the successful feed, OP!

I thought coco husk would be better to ingest than wood (cedar, aspen...) ... they ingest dirt in the wild...

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Originally Posted by Crazymonkee

I thought coco husk would be better to ingest than wood (cedar, aspen...) ... they ingest dirt in the wild...

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I sure hope no one is using cedar as substrate.

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Originally Posted by kat_black181

I sure hope no one is using cedar as substrate.

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Yeh me either. I was in "wood" mode. Lol

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Originally Posted by Neal

Not really much different then swallowing a bit of dirt.

@OP - I would definitely change your substrate as Eco-Earth really isn't that good at all.

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WHAAAAAT!?!?!? what are you talking about? what would you suggest, aspen?! lol. eco earth is one of the best substrates you can use for ball pythons! it holds humidity better than any store bought substrate out there, the top layer will dry out, while the lower levels stay moist...so your snake is not laying on wet bedding. it is digestable if it is swallowed, and it looks and smells great. why on earth would you say that it is not a good bedding?! that is ridiculous. it is better than anything you can buy...and I think the only better bedding out there is a bioactive bedding that you make yourself. I would like to know your reasons that you think that this bedding is bad...there is not a bad quality about it! lmao!

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Originally Posted by rickm

WHAAAAAT!?!?!? what are you talking about? what would you suggest, aspen?! lol. eco earth is one of the best substrates you can use for ball pythons! it holds humidity better than any store bought substrate out there, the top layer will dry out, while the lower levels stay moist...so your snake is not laying on wet bedding. it is digestable if it is swallowed, and it looks and smells great. why on earth would you say that it is not a good bedding?! that is ridiculous. it is better than anything you can buy...and I think the only better bedding out there is a bioactive bedding that you make yourself. I would like to know your reasons that you think that this bedding is bad...there is not a bad quality about it! lmao!

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lol...I hope this stays civil as I'd like to hear both sides of this...I've never used eco-earth so I'm curious...

Use whatever substrate you want. Everyone has their own preferences and the balls never know the difference anyways lol

I switched to eco-earth from repti bark, I love it! But I am always up for trying something else.

I really prefer using paper substrate to avoid accidental ingestion. I know not everyone like the look of paper bedding, it's just what I'm comfortable with. As far as loose bedding goes, I think of it compared to what I imagine the wild would be like when they eat... in our cages they are stuck on loose bedding and ingest it. In the wild I'm guessing the ground is relatively solid and not tilled up/loose. Especially if they eat in rodent holes/tunnels. Maybe I'm totally off base, but that's my take. I prefer avoiding potential hazzards rather than testing theories.

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I've used eco earth, it's awesome! Looks great and hold humidity!
Sadly, it messy and sticks to EVERYTHING!
So I switched to Cypress mulch.
I will never look back.
It looks even better, doesn't stick to everything, and holds humidity just as well!


Oh topic, That's cute! When I first got Dovah, he would sit at the top of the enclosure and eat the mice in mid-air, upside down! It was pretty cute!

Love the eco-earth.

It vacuums easily too.

Love how a wacky feed turned into substrate debate lol. I switched to eco earth because the beddings with larger chucks of wood, bark, etc would get stuck to prey items and in there mouth and I'd have to help remove it sometimes, not to mention if they did get it down I wasn't sure if it'd hurt them or not so I thought this would be a good choice

When I saw your subject line, I thought for a second my bf had beat me to the forum and posted about my first snake feeding today. She did the same thing, was upside down and tried valiantly to start in the middle of the rat, lol. Took her a while to work her way around the feet sticking out of one side of her mouth and the body sticking out of the other.

Not the sharpest quill on the porcupine yet, but hopefully she'll get better at it. She's only about 6 wks old right now. :D

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Originally Posted by Surrealle

When I saw your subject line, I thought for a second my bf had beat me to the forum and posted about my first snake feeding today. She did the same thing, was upside down and tried valiantly to start in the middle of the rat, lol. Took her a while to work her way around the feet sticking out of one side of her mouth and the body sticking out of the other.

Not the sharpest quill on the porcupine yet, but hopefully she'll get better at it. She's only about 6 wks old right now. :D

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At least she went through with it! Mine usually gives up when he starts from the middle lol. He's all 'bah, this is hard. I'll wait til next week'.

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Originally Posted by rickm

WHAAAAAT!?!?!? what are you talking about? what would you suggest, aspen?! lol. eco earth is one of the best substrates you can use for ball pythons! it holds humidity better than any store bought substrate out there, the top layer will dry out, while the lower levels stay moist...so your snake is not laying on wet bedding. it is digestable if it is swallowed, and it looks and smells great. why on earth would you say that it is not a good bedding?! that is ridiculous. it is better than anything you can buy...and I think the only better bedding out there is a bioactive bedding that you make yourself. I would like to know your reasons that you think that this bedding is bad...there is not a bad quality about it! lmao!

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Best substrates for who? You? I don't like Eco-Earth for snakes. It makes a ton of mess and you'd be surprised what can be found in it. I've used bricks and bricks of that stuff when I dealt with 400+ scorpions and you would be amazed and what I've found crawling and growing in there. While it may not be harmful to the snake, it's not very well inspected, I can tell you that. I do prefer Aspen but if you want something for humidity they have better choices out there. The only really beneficial thing about Eco Earth is the fact that you can visibly see urates and such when passed versus it not always being visible in Aspen shreds. Aspen has it's downfall to, so don't get me wrong. BTW, it can mold extremely easy, and I mean way easier then you think.

Also as far as it smelling great, are your nostrils clogged?

Oh here just to be fun I'll list a major issue with it.

1.) If the snake swallows a large bit of it, it can get stuck in the top/bottom of the mouth and can clog your snake up, especially around the glottis.

The stuff can be thick and not easy to get down to digest causing issues. If you feed f/t then the rodent can be damp because of being thawed or even if the snake gets a nice size chunk in her mouth from striking a live rodent. That's a major issue and I remember a few years ago a member having this issue, I'll look for the post again later.

Sure while your snake can swallow Aspen at least it's a lot easier to deal with versus Eco Earth. When mine swallow a piece of Aspen I simply take the tweezers and grab the shred of Aspen and pull it out. That simple. You can't do that with Eco Earth.

It's not hard to keep it civil but before you come here thinking you know it all, it may do you some good to get some actual experience with it.

P.S. - I'd recommend CoCo Husk before Eco Earth.

Also because you seem to not have any real experience with the Eco Earth and most likely snakes, here's a prime example:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-S...0/DSC_0686.JPG

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Originally Posted by Surrealle

When I saw your subject line, I thought for a second my bf had beat me to the forum and posted about my first snake feeding today. She did the same thing, was upside down and tried valiantly to start in the middle of the rat, lol. Took her a while to work her way around the feet sticking out of one side of her mouth and the body sticking out of the other.

Not the sharpest quill on the porcupine yet, but hopefully she'll get better at it. She's only about 6 wks old right now. :D

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ya he tried swallowing the mouse for a bit from the side, little guy just couldn't figure it out. Which im surprised at because he is easily the biggest hatchling I've had, so I thought he'd be good at downing them.

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Originally Posted by Neal

Also because you seem to not have any real experience with the Eco Earth and most likely snakes, here's a prime example:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-S...0/DSC_0686.JPG

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I have years of experience with snakes and reptiles. I've only used eco earth recently and have never seen or heard of things being in it like this. It just seems easier for them to down it then other substrates when this happens. But knowing this, I will still use coconut husks, but a different brand

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Originally Posted by kylearmbar

I have years of experience with snakes and reptiles. I've only used eco earth recently and have never seen or heard of things being in it like this. It just seems easier for them to down it then other substrates when this happens. But knowing this, I will still use coconut husks, but a different brand

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Well when it goes from dry to wet it's like paste and it sticks. I had my spider hit aspen and get aspen in his mouth and it was much easier to remove versus getting eco earth in his mouth, especially if it were to clog anything.

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Originally Posted by MootWorm

At least she went through with it! Mine usually gives up when he starts from the middle lol. He's all 'bah, this is hard. I'll wait til next week'.

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Yeah, she was a stubborn little thing with it. I felt bad at first because it took a while and I could tell she was getting frustrated. She's my first snake so I'm relieved that her feeding went so well (I bought her the day before, and she took the f/t rat pup before it even hit the ground).