I've noticed some really crappy pet stores that don't take very good care of their balls. One of the Petcos i went to actually had cedar in the tank. I mentioned something to the owner, but i'm not so sure if they changed it. Yesterday though, i was at a different pet store and they had some type of "vitamin" crickets in with the snakes. Do balls eat crickets?? They were alive and bouncin around and the snake didnt even notice it. I've never heard of snakes eating crickets before....