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Petstore using dirt substrate

S

snakeladyamy

New member
Has anyone ever heard of using dirt substrate for corns? The petstore in question has their baby corns in a 6''x12''x5'' (approx.) plastic tub with about three inches of DIRT substrate. On top of this, they are keeping them at at least 66% humidity. This is mandated by the corporate "planagram" of the company (although fortunately i have only seen one of the store locations actually following this)
I can think of several reasons right away that this could be VERY HARMFUL to a corn, especially hatchlings: resperatory problems, impaction, being crushed by the weight of the settling substrate (all the hatchlings were at the bottom of the tub), not to mention all the mites and gnats that were in there, evident by the ones crawling on my arm after i held them. And the dirt clings to them when you take them out- yech!!:mad:
Maybe i am off base though? I don't think so. I would like anyone who agrees to contact me or reply- I am going to be contacting the man in charge of the 'Planagram' to hopefully see if i can get him to change this- i think that if several 'experts' in the area called or wrote to him, it would have more impact. (this is a nationwide chain)
 
A petco nearby uses dirt stuff. I don't remember seeing any bugs or mites in it. (though one of the python's mouth was stuffed with it) :(
 
Amy

Ask them what the substrate is. I know that sounds odd, but I'm curious as to what they'll say. Surely it isn't dirt from outside the shop. Perhaps it's a medium that they buy. No doubt, "dirt" in a cage would stink as a substrate. One water bowl tips and the whole thing has to be cleaned. I'm just interested to know if it's a packaged product. (If so I have some to sell them;) )
Also, gnats are one thing. My cages are cleaned weekly and spot-cleaned very frequently and I get gnats in the snake room in the heat of the summer. If they do indeed have mites, that's really bad news.
 
elrojo..

the substrate is 'repti-something'- it is a packaged sub. that i think they might sell also. it is the stuff most people use for tarantulas and scorpions (from what i've seen)
the other substrates they have available in the store are reptibark, aspen pellets, carefresh... i can't think of any others. Most of the other store locations that i have seen use reptibark or even carefresh, but this store is the one that the corporate guy works out of, so they have to do what he says (the lady at the store told me that if he (the corporate guy) found out the other stores were using reptibark they would be in big trouble and would be forced to switch to dirt right away)
 
Well they sell this dirt stuff in a small package at petco. When you put it in warm water it expands to fill a terrarium floor. I think that is what they use. They told me to use it to when I bought a baby snow there years ago, and I did for a while, until I learned mulch would be a much better substrate.:)
 
Repti-Earth
That sounds right. I asked the guy at nerd (not petco) what to use it for and he said plants.
 
Is it called Eco Earth? It looks similar to normal dirt. And expands in water.

bmm
 
The petco has some baby cons in this zoo-med brand eco-earth or the other kind I've seen (repti-earth i think)
I don't think it would would be bad for hatchlings, as long as they are not fed in it.:)
 
The corporate guy is probably trying to cut costs by using cheap bedding and forcing on the store, OR, he could be advertising the stuff cuz it's expensive and they'd tell everyone who buys a snake to use the stuff. I think the latter is probably the case.

Planagram shmlanagram, it's all about money for "corporate" people.

-Lemur 6
 
well went to a local pet store today and they have 4 corns in an tub they were all hatchlings. ok the problem with them is three of them were dead and the forth one was covered with mites, that was the corns the burmees hatchling was infested mites also i could see them crawling around its cage and pluse i dont think that the cage has been cleaned in a couple of mounts or so. Do yall think that i can report them to someone?

p.s i have told them to fix it mite infestation but i dont think that they did.
 
If you see evidence of neglect to mammals, animal control will be more likely to come over (that's what I've heard, I can believe it)
You can maybe try and report them as a health hazard? (rotting carcasses aren't sanitary, plus if there's feces, etc., in the tanks that's a lot of bacteria)
 
well i reported them so i will just see waht happens next. i called the aspca in my aera
 
Well compared to other substrates Eco Earth or the like wouldn't be the cheapest bedding at all. Ecspecially if he is uses store stock. That wouldn't save him any bucks! Kinda pricey compared to paper towel or even reptile carpet when you have more than one snake like a pet store would.

The bugs might have just been mites, which are common in pet stores but nasty and the BEST places wont ever have them, or fruit flies or something like that because the humidity is too high. My tarantulas use that substrate and if I spray to often tiny bugs start living in the cages but quickly die out when the cage dries a bit.

I wouldn't think the substrate would be harmful to them except they are keeping them way too wet and probably NOT removing them from the enclosure to feed them to prevent ingestion. But if they have water, and are being fed, I doubt the SPCA *can* do anything. But maybe this will help them change their ways. pet stores suck big time!

bmm
 
yes they do - well at least major chain petstores...
I am wondering at this point if it is even worth it to do anything... I think i will just boycott the store, or at least that location... the other locations seem to have a little bit brighter staff...
 
I don't really see a problem with the "dirt" substrate. The fact that they were unclean enough to have gnats in it would be my main concern. I sometimes use extra sphangum moss (moistened) as substrate until the hatchlings first shed, they seem to love it. I would also think that impaction from aspen would be much worse. However, if you are going to use this type of medium, you have to be extra diligent in cleaning up or mold can set in.
 
To clarify

The expanding brick that is being described is not dirt. This product is actually 100% coconut husk. It is compressed and dehydrated.

This material is very good for retaining moisture. As a matter of fact, it is some of the best stuff I've seen for high humidity husbandry. I use it in my neonate Brazilian Rainbow Boas tubs. These little guys require humidity levels greater than 80-85% all the time or they can quickly dehydrate and die.

With that in mind, I would not use it for colubrids. It would quickly lead to skin or respiratory problems. Even if it is dried before use, it is difficult to locate animal waste and potential regurges in this medium.
 
CAV- that was my main concern with it- especially since they were keeping it at no less than 66% humidity (according to corporate rules) also, if it was just a small layer of it, or if the corns were adult size, i would think it would be safer- but the hathlings are too small, and with the humidity that high, there were so many bugs in there...
anyways, i don't think anything will be done unless i have a few other people who are experienced enough to convince these guys call in as well and tell them why it is not the best choice for hatchling colubrids... if anyone would like to help out and call this guy along with me, please contact me, otherwise, i don't think me calling alone will get me anywhere.
 
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