Substrate and Shedding of Sand boas?

Question

All right i'm posting my pictures of my snake along with its substrate

http://img166.imageshack.us/my.php?image=imgp24721pw5.jpg

http://img443.imageshack.us/my.php?image=imgp24881ii3.jpg

http://img516.imageshack.us/my.php?image=imgp24811fr8.jpg

Just copy paste this link on new windows to see ^^

See the sand substrate? Is it safe to use for sand boa? Actually it's the sand used for hamsters but it has no aromatic odor. But i find it very dusty as you can see from one of the pictures above. Look at my finger and its nose when i handle it, some of the sand is on its face & nose as well as on my thumb, is it ok? I'm worried it may get respiratory problem or impaction (well it hasn't eaten yet for 3 weeks with me thus it hasn't eaten anything on that sand substrate).

Also, i'm just curious, is it in shedding period from the pictures above? Well i don't know how it looks like if a sand boa is gonna shed (obviously because i've never had sand boas before). Could u guyz probably show the pictures of the eyes of a pre-shed sand boa?

Thanks a lot ^^

Answer 1

I personally think that that sand looks too finely ground...but here is a helpful website...read the substrate portion as well as everything else. When I frist bought my snake the Move into a new cage and climate put him into shock a little but and he wouldnt eat for a month...but eventually came around and ate :)

http://www.kingsnake.com/sandboa/captive...

http://www.kingsnake.com/sandboa/housing...

Answer 2

I agree with the above poster. The substrate you're using is so fine that it's becoming lodged in your snakes scales which will certainly irritate the skin and eyes. I've not seen anything like this for hamsters. Perhaps you meant chinchillas? It looks like the volcanic ash/dust they use to bathe themselves.

This irritation could very well be the reason why it's been refusing to feed. You might do better to use a thick layer of double-shredded aspen bedding. It's not sand, but it's cleaner and the snakes don't seem to mind so long as they can still burrow down into it. When your snake is going into a shed cycle, you'll notice the eyes will become hazy or blue and the skin will look dull. A day or so later, the dull look will fade away and about a week after that the snake will shed its old skin. If it doesn't shed in a single piece, you may need to provide a humidity hide in the cage. Just clean out an old margarine tub and fill it about halfway with dampened vermiculite or sphagnum and put a hole in the lid so the snake has easy access in and out.

I definitely wouldn't feed it on your current substrate because it would certainly be consumed with the feeder and could pose an impaction risk. When you feed, you'd probably have better luck incorporating a bare-bottomed feeding container or bin for the sole purpose of feeding your animal.

** Edit to add **

You could use a warm, damp wash cloth to gently wipe away the excess sand dust on your snake. A tepid bath wouldn't hurt, either.