Reptisand: Opinions?

[greymaiden]

I'm about to significantly expand my collection and they will be living in sterelite bins. I usually use astroturf as a substrate, but with many snakes to deal with, I am considering switching to this Reptisand stuff. The idea is that you can spot clean it, much like that kitty litter that clumps up in places so you can just scoop out the poopy parts. I assume you have to change it out completely every other month or so to prevent buildup of bacteria, but still, it would save me a lot of effort if I could just spot clean.

I was wondering if anyone on this forum used it, or has used it and decided on a different substrate for some reason.

What are your opinions on Reptisand?

Thanks for the help

 

[princess]

I don't use it but here's a thread I literaly posted an hour ago.


http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19723


It helps to use the search function to see what people have written in the past.
Cheers,
Adèle

 

[CAV]

Do not use sand with colubrids. It is drying, can harbor bacteria and is generally irritating to the animals. Remember you are trying to replicate the natural materials found in the home range of the animals, none of which live in the desert.

Practically speaking, sand is one of the more expensive substrates you can use and will break the bank trying to outfit an entire collection.

 

[Skye]

I completely agree with Cav - do not use sand for colubrids, it is not a natural substrate for them, and can be very irritating as it gets between the scales. If you wish to change to something that clumps with poop, and that you can do spot-cleans daily and full changes once a month, I highly recommend aspen. It has worked well for me for years.

 

[MegF.]

I'll second that Skye. I've used a lot of different substrates and I always come back to aspen.

 

[mosdef]

aspen really, i tried it for a while, maybe i had it on too thick, what a mess! spot cleaning and taking the poop to the toilet i get the stuff everywhere, and sometimes its real hard to see if there is any crap, i just recently switched back to newspaper for all my snakes. i should also mention im still using aquariums, so maybe aspen would be way better in rack. do you guys use aspen in your racks??also is there any drawback to not having substrate with enough hides and such, im cuirious as i am setting up my new snake rack this weekend. thx

 

[So Pirate55]

Cheap papertowels has worked wonders for me. I use cypress mulch in my vivs but papertowels in my sterilites.

 

[jazzgeek]

I can name that tune in six notes!

Great for beardies - lousy for corns.

regards,
jazz

 

[TripleMoonsExotic]

ReptiSand/CalciSand is not a good Beardie substrate either. It can cause impaction when ingested...More so then playsand...

 

[jazzgeek]

ReptiSand/CalciSand is not a good Beardie substrate either. It can cause impaction when ingested...More so then playsand...

Two 2 y.o. beardies on ReptiSand since hatchlings (with a short two month stint on crushed walnut shells), and not an impaction or swollen cloaca.

I doubt that Reptisand would have a higher proclivity for impaction than a silica based sand ("playsand"), given that the grains of ReptSand are finer than playsand. On what are you basing your opinion?

regards,
jazz

 

[princess]

Jazz, read this thread. I started it yesterday. Here's your scientific back-up. I've personally seen various lizzards with impaction when kept on sand. Perhaps you've been lucky so far but sometimes luck runs out.

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19723

 

[Godzilla2000]

Do not use sand for any reptiles be they snakes, bearded dragons, iguanas, skinks, etc. period! I learned the hard way that sand is 100% harmful to the digestive tract of a lizard. I just wish I'd read princess' thread or I would have been able to have saved my poor little curlytail lizard from a horrible death. If I had known I would have switched his substrate to something more readily dissolved in his stomach acids than sand.

 

[jazzgeek]

Jazz, read this thread. I started it yesterday.

Thanks, princess, I read it yesterday...BEFORE I posted to this thread.

Here's your scientific back-up.

Well, first and foremost, Ms. Hewitt's article stated that two products OTHER THAN ReptiSand were used, "Cal-Strate" and "Fre-Flow". Secondly, the article is dated November, 1999; allowing for the time for the "experiments" to have been conducted, data collected and processed, and results published, we're looking at something six years old. I don't even think that the substrate I'm using has been on the market that long. Thirdly, the article states:

"Both are calcium carbonate granules that are about 2x larger than normal play ground sand."

As I have mentioned in my prior post, ReptiSand is finer than playground sand.

I'm all for "scientific back-up", as long as it's relevant, given the current "technologies".

I've personally seen various lizzards with impaction when kept on sand.

As have I, all on "playground" sands.

Perhaps you've been lucky so far but sometimes luck runs out.

I endeavor to maintain husbandry practices that minimize, if not eliminate (no pun intended, since we're talking impactions here) situations that are explained by "luck".

regards,
jazz

 

[princess]

Hi Jazz,

I respect your right to choose your husbandry practices for your own animals. I keep my corns on beech chips and it's economical, attractive and safe. I take the added precaution of feeding in a special feeding box and this works for me. I don't say my way is the only way or that this article I linked to is gospel, but I think it should be taken into consideration by anyone who thinks about using the stuff as a substrate.

Cheers,
Adèle

 

[jazzgeek]

I respect your right to choose your husbandry practices for your own animals.

Likewise!

I keep my corns on beech chips and it's economical, attractive and safe.

I keep my corns on aspen shavings; during the winter months, I add a handful of fir bark ("ReptiBark") to the substrate, as it holds humidity better than just aspen.

I keep my bearded dragons on calcium carbonate based sand.

I WOULD NEVER house my corns on sand.

Cheers,
Adèle

:cheers:
regards,
Dale
(btw.....what's an Aussie living in Sweden doing with a University of Wisconsin sweatshirt ?)

 

[Alias47]

IMO,The only animals I can see housing on sand...are animals whose wild distribution is in sand/desert areas.

Sand boas...Sandshark skinks (they have to have sand to burrow...made for the stuff), etc.

Any captive animals that can do without SHOULD...
Why gamble with potential health risks?

I have seen many beardies successfully raised on sand with NO ill effects.

 

[Skye]

I have kept beardies on sand in the past and although we no longer have the beardies on sand, we do keep uros on sand now. I think sand has it's place, but is only suitable for certain animals. I also keep many, many whiptail lizards on sand and I have never had a problem.

I agree that sand can cause impaction in certain cases, but I also firmly believe that there are many, many cases where a reptile dies unexpectedly and the cause is stated as impaction - with no necropsy to prove it. It is just a nice convenient reason to avoid blaming the keeper's husbandry or the genetic make-up of that particular animal. I would put money on the fact that there are way more predictions of "impaction" than there are actual cases.

If you want to play safe - don't use sand, if you want to be fair - don't use sand for non-desert creatures, if you want natural coloured reptiles, never use artificially coloured sand, but otherwise, it is personal judgement on each environment you set up.