Killer TOXIC SAND!!! Please Read!!!!!........! SERIOUS

Daggit_Columbian · Honored Member Joined: Oct 10, 2006 Posts: 251

When i got my first snake, it was a 50-50 cal king. i put it in a tank with hlf sand and half shale, it was a ten gallon tank. My little snake died in 6 days, his name was Slick Rick. his temps were perfect, he gladly ate two pinkys that week. he was fed outside his tank both times. After about three or four days, he became hardly ever seen, and didn't come out to bask on his log as he did the first few days. by day 6 he was dead. Thinking that there was something wrong with the snake and i had been sold a sickly one, i called the breeders. They gladly sent me another. This was a banana king. we named him bruiser.(get it bananas have bruises??) he was put in the same kind of set up, everything was cleaned and disinfected, new sand new shale....... He died in 5 days. I was completely at a loss of why they were dying. almost exactly the same thing as the other, arrives healthy, lastsa week, dies. It was only a few weeks ago that i figured it out. My aunt gave her Pipidai (sp) frog to a friend of hers. She was not prepared to deal with the expense. She had purchased auquarium sand every time for the exorbant amount it costs. Her friend thought that the sand was a gimmick and purchased cleaned white children's play sand from like Lowe's or somrthing. The frog died in three days. It is my theory that there is and antibacterial or anticlotting agent in PLAY SAND for sandboxes. the sand in my snakes tank was slightly damp. ANY thoughts on this would be appreciated. DO NOT use PLAY SAND in your herps tanks. It is not an alternetive to expensive reptiles products like the cypress mulch we use for tegus. I am not by any means an expert on things like this but 2+2=4 and i believe it is the sand.

Sooooo..... what do you think??

Dimebag_Disciple · Member Joined: Sep 15, 2006 Posts: 13 Location: San Diego

WOW!

I've been using washed play sand from homedepot for a couple years now with my Uros. No side effects yet. I let it dry out before using in cages.
The only problem I have heard associated with washed play sand was impaction. Never anything chemical related.
Using wash play sand is debate on many forums. Some have used it for several years with out any deaths and others will strongly recomend not using it for fear of impaction. But that can be said with many substrates used that aren't digestable.

I myself don't believe the playsand had anything to do with the snakes death or else you would hear of a lot of people in the reptile community claiming that there snake/lizard/frog died within a week of introducing playsand into their cages.

Or maybe they were bad batches of playsand?? If that kind of thing can happen.
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toad · Posted: Wed Oct 18, 2006 8:14 pm Post subject:

I used play sand with some tortoises a while back with no ill effects. They also were fed outside of the enclosure. Not sure if the sand was the issue but, that sucks about the snakes!!
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nicolerussell · Posted: Wed Oct 18, 2006 8:28 pm Post subject:

unless it was silica free playsand --it's highly toxic to children and animals.
It was proven to cause cancer in kids who played on it --so I would think any animal would have a hard time breathing it in 24/7.
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VARNYARD · Posted: Thu Oct 19, 2006 12:08 am Post subject:

I do not like using sand at all, regardless of what type. Play sand is sometimes bleached to make it whiter. This could have something to do with it as well. It would be the chemicals used to bleach the sand.
Or as Nicole stated.

But like I said I would rather use a different types of substrates than sand.

Uros do great with a substrate consisting of 100% bird seed. They will also feed on the seed. With beardies and leopard geckos, I use paper towels. These also work great. You can also use unprinted news paper for your snakes. They will sell rolls rather cheap at your local news paper printers.
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Daggit_Columbian · Honored Member Joined: Oct 10, 2006 Posts: 251

yeah and then my friend gave me cornsnake and my brother took it out toplay with it and LOST it

he will pay

JK he won't pay my mom wont let me LOL anyways i am so done with snakes for a while.... i am a good for nothing snake killer