Eco-Earth. Okay for my BP?

[Quietus]

So my baby pastel Ball Python (Bellatrix) had a bad shed. It came off in pieces and a lot of the upper portion (including one eye) didn't come off until I gave her a soaking in a tub with a towel.

To prevent this from happening again I got eco-earth to raise the humidity. As far as that goes, it worked perfectly. The humidity levels are perfect and I can easily raise it for shed cycles with little spraying. My only concern is that BPs are native to deserts, so I'm not sure if this would be satisfactory for her. Also, I found some weird looking white stuff in there and cleaned it out but a few days later there's another one. Maybe I missed it, but I fear she ate some of the eco-earth and regurgitated it. I don't know if a snake would that (doesn't seem like it), but I can't think of anything else (besides me missing it the first time.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

[montgomerydrk]

i used to use it for mine and had no problem but after hearing about the aspen and larger subtrate getting caught up in the vent of the bp i switched back to carpet.
i now use a moist hid in the cage its a dark tud with lid and whole in the side, its about about half filled with moss i soak it down about twice a week and keep it at about 83-85.
he actually uses it alot to mysurprise

[Alexandra V]

I've never used eco-earth personally but I use a similar substrate (coconut chips) and it works just perfectly. I always had perfect sheds with it, and never had issues. BP's are from what could be called "desert", but they aren't in the extreme desert regions, more towards the edges where the climate isn't as harsh.

As for the weird white stuff, was it solid? it could have been urates (solid urine) or it may have been urates that got wet and turned liquid, if it wasn't solid. It could be that she took in some substrate when she ate, but if she regurged it I'm fairly sure it'd be more that just white stuff. Don't worry too much if she ingested a little bit, a little chip or something is not going to kill her, she'll be able to handle it. As long as it isn't an extreme amount of bedding, there should be no problems.

[Quietus]

Caught in their vent!? O.O Crap!

Yes, it was solid. I have yet to feed her after switching the substrate; regardless, I don't feed her in her home. I feed her in a brown paper bag.

Thank you both. I feel a lot better. I'm in that "worried parent" stage and just want to make sure everything is perfect for her. I have to say though, the snake is a LOT easier to care for than the Chameleon, haha. Thanks again.

[kitedemon]

I use eco earth well the same thing a version of the same product a fine ground coco coir product. My snakes sometimes ingest some and sometimes get little stringy bits between scales I have had no problems with it at all. I have had issues with cyprus chips causing impaction and seen one chip stuck in a mouth that required a lot of tugging and cursing to remove. I like the eco earth, it doesn't cause any problems I have found anyway.