When I have used PAM in the past, I have always removed my snake from the enclosure, cleaned the entire enclosure as normal and then treated the enclosure with PAM. After I let the PAM dry completely I would then put in the new substrate and treat it as well with PAM. I would let this completely dry and once it had aired out, I would put my snake back in. Works great and have never had any trouble at all using this methodLove PAM!