Wild Crystal substrate for snakes

[Dan40D]

Hi all,
I noticed an ad in S&T for Wild Crystal substrate, [ no links thanks ] I've done a search but there isn't much info on people using it, only one or two using it for lizards. The product looks great and sounds the goods, would like to know from those that are more experienced as to whether it would be a suitable substrate for snakes. Any pro's and con's??

Cheers,

 

[ron_peters]

Hi
I have also wondered about this stuff although it kinda looks a bit Aquarium-esque lol but still nicer than newspaper and others.

 

[Dan40D]

Anyone else have any input??

 

[Deb64]

Dan check out the lates thread on Wild Crystal....

 

[hugsta]

There was another calcium based substrate that was on the market and this caused the death of a few beardies. the calcium sand would clump hard inside the gut, if it was ingested and would then cause a gut impaction in the animal which eventually killed them. There was an X-ray floating around showing a beardy with a hole heap claci-sand in its gut that had to be operated on. I personally don't like the stuff for the reason and prefer to keep them on more natural substrates. JMO.

 

[Blackstik]

If you have a look on their website (just google wild crystal substrate) they claim it is fully digestible, so the impaction troubles shouldn't happen, in theory...
Of course, they aren't going to say that their own product could potentially kill the animals living on it.
But at $25 for 5kg, I reckon I'll give it a go. I'm currently using sand, so in terms of impaction risk it can only be better I would imagine.
Now the only question is: what colour should I get to put in with my woma?!??

 

[cwebb]

wow this stuff looks really nice. id give it a go

 

[starr9]

Id try it 2 but what grade would be good for a stimmie?!

 

[miss2]

i love the look of it but we have no suppliers in canberra so have to do an order and then pay for shipping. what grade would you recommend for dragons? i prefer the look of the fine

 

[Blackstik]

I reckon I'll go medium for my woma, (he's about 10 months old) so it won't be too fine like sand but won't be so big that theres too much risk of him swallowing big lumps of it

 

[jakawak]

i think the medium one is the best for everything, not to fine and not to rocky. depends really on what u and ur reptile like, if it likes to dig maybe a medium to fine, i think the large grade stones is for bigger reptiles like a monitor or adult python, but i dont think it really matters like i said is all up 2 u.
(great stuff tho makes cleaning the enclosure sooooo easy wen it doesnt stick and clump and smell lol )

 

[miss2]

anyone in the ACT want to get some to save on shipping? pete doesnt stock it

 

[hugsta]

If you have a look on their website (just google wild crystal substrate) they claim it is fully digestible, so the impaction troubles shouldn't happen, in theory...
Of course, they aren't going to say that their own product could potentially kill the animals living on it.
But at $25 for 5kg, I reckon I'll give it a go. I'm currently using sand, so in terms of impaction risk it can only be better I would imagine.
Now the only question is: what colour should I get to put in with my woma?!??

That's fine...in theory. But this pic is a reality. it was kept on play sand with the top of it being covered in calci-sand. it couldn't pass the calci-sand as it compacted. This stuff may be different, but I wouldn't like any of my animals ending up like this. Up to you what you do with your animals.....

 

[MesseNoire]

anyone in the ACT want to get some to save on shipping? pete doesnt stock it

I was thinking of getting a bag or two next week....

 

[jase75]

anyone in the ACT want to get some to save on shipping? pete doesnt stock it

I am thinking of getting a few bags, it would look great in my Woma Tank.

 

[Deb64]

That's fine...in theory. But this pic is a reality. it was kept on play sand with the top of it being covered in calci-sand. it couldn't pass the calci-sand as it compacted. This stuff may be different, but I wouldn't like any of my animals ending up like this. Up to you what you do with your animals.....

Very true Hugsta, we have to be so careful about what substrate we use for young dragons etc as they are very delicate and prone to impaction... I have shuddered over the years at some of the substrates I have seen people use.... Even what looks like very fine safe sand can cause huge damage internally... What some people don't realise is that some fine sand is rounded and travels safely through the animal whilst other sand are actually very sharp and cut like glass... Each grain is so microscopic that the naked eye can't detect it.... But saying that, I believe there has been a lot of intense research go into developing this product with the animals best interest foremost in their minds.... Rather than put it in the too hard basket I think we should check it out for ourselves first..... My feeling would be though that the mid and coarser grains would be less suitable than the very fine grains for very young dragons....

 

[hugsta]

Of course Deb, that is why I said this stuff 'may' be different. However, I am not rally sure how much difference you can get with calci-sand. In any case, it should only be adults that are kept on this stuff as the risk of impaction in juveniles is quite high. I would be interested in seeing how this goes after a year or two. I hope it doesn't cause these problems as I am sure it would be a good product to use. Not for me though.

 

[Ramsayi]

calci-sand and this wild crystal stuff is made up of the same substance from what I can see (calcium carbonate).If one is problematic then I would guess so is the other.

 

[Wild~Touch]

Calcium Sand Substrates are dangerous. They should not be on the market and certainly shouldn't be used as a substrate for reptiles. This page is designated to explain the risks of calcium sand substrates and will even inform you of some things they would rather you not know.

The average enthusiast that strolls into their local petstore is often met with an employee who tries to help them choose a suitable substrate for their reptile. In many instances, they lead the enthusiast directly to the calcium sand they sell, and go on to explain how it is 100% digestible and safe for use. The employee and customer know this must be true, because it is printed directly on the bag.

The bag isn't lying. Calcium carbonate (Calcium Sand), which is what these sands are made of, is 100% digestible in moderate consumption. Unfortunately, the bag doesn't list the situations in which the substrate is no longer digestible and why it poses a health risk to you and to the reptile it is being used with.

 

[Blackstik]

calci-sand and this wild crystal stuff is made up of the same substance from what I can see (calcium carbonate).If one is problematic then I would guess so is the other.

Actually not to get too scientific but there are several forms of calcium carbonate, including calcite (less dense, higher melting point) and aragonite (more dense, lower boiling point). Limestone, chalk and marble are all different forms of calcium carbonate and if you look at each one obviously they are very different from one another so one form may not be problematic like another is.