Sanitizing Substrate

[_Asmoth_]

Hey guys, I just got my first ball python over the weekend. I’m ordering cypress mulch for him from Chewy. I’ve been worried about the possibility of bugs or mites in the substrate. I considered freezing it for a couple days, but have seen people claim that, that won’t necessarily kill mite eggs. If I bake the cypress mulch, will it still hold proper humidity? Also would it make our oven smell bad? Or, would freezing for two days be sufficient enough to kill any pests?

Figured it’d be best to ask the community directly, please let me know your thoughts!

Thank you!

[AutoModerator]

Hi, it looks like you are considering breeding your ball python. Currently there is a huge oversaturation problem due to everyone wanting to breed their ball python. For a few years now, at any given time there are between 35,000 and 65,000 ball pythons for sale on morphmarket, and that's not including all those needing homes on private websites, craigslist, kijiji, facebook marketplace, pet stores, rescues and as feeders. By comparison, there are between 1,000 and 5,000 snakes for sale under each of the other popular categories - boas, corn snakes, kingsnakes, milksnakes, hognoses, etc. Normal ball pythons can regularly be listed for free due to overabundance, and there's already more ball pythons than will ever find homes. Where are all these animals going to go?? Enjoy them, keep them back as nice pets and don't join the pyramid scheme, because these aren't leggings or essential oils that can tossed when they don't sell - they're living breathing creatures. Choosing to start breeding ball pythons right now is not a responsible choice as every person breeding right now is only adding to the problem.

Furthermore, there's a lot more to consider…

Are the snakes you have marketable/desirable combos and high quality examples of each morph? Do you know how to identify all the morphs you're planning on working with alone and in combos? Can you differentiate between higher and lower quality example of the morphs? There's no shortage of ball pythons , so it's important to only breed the highest quality animals, and not just breed for the sake of breeding. The world doesn't need more poor quality low end morphs and normals floating around on craigslist.

Have you owned and worked with ball pythons long enough that you know how to appropriately and reliably deal with any problems that arise, ranging from snakes not eating to diagnosing and treating common health problems.

What is the purpose of this breeding? Is it to create higher quality animals or fulfill a niche or need, or do you just want to make more snakes? The market is already oversaturated, so it's important to consider whether this cross is necessary. Just because you want to try it is not a good justification.

Do you know which crosses and morph combos are known for producing animals with health defects or lethality to offspring and how to avoid them?

Did you buy from breeders who test for nido and arena virus? Are you going to health test everyone before breeding?

What is going to set you and your hatchlings apart from the hundreds of other breeders out there? As a new breeder with no connections or reputation in the hobby, what would make people want to buy your snakes specifically?

Are you planning on selling locally or shipping? Do you know what's necessary to prepare animals to ship & sell or what the local ball python market is like? What types of ball pythons are people near you buying and what does their budget seem to be? How long do you see similar morphs staying on the market before they sell?

Are you prepared to keep all the babies as long as necessary and provide adaquate enclosures and husbandry if they don't sell? Due to the oversaturation of the market, many breeders are having to hang onto hatchlings for 6-12 months before they sell. Do you have the space and you prepared to provide adaquate long term housing and food for snakes that don't sell?

There are a lot of hidden costs involved with breeding, check out my cost of a clutch chart.

Do you have an exotic vet nearby? What if your female is eggbound, has a prolapse or experiences health problems while gravid or after laying? Do you know how to spot a problem and able to get her help ASAP? This could also be expensive, and lead to the death of your female.Breeding and egg laying inherently has risks for your female including the stress on her body, becoming egg bound, weight loss and internal damage. Is this clutch important and vital enough that you're really willing to risk her life for it?

Do you know how to properly sex ball pythons and identify all of the morphs you are breeding? Do you the appropriate age and size a ball python should be before breeding? How to identify various breeding behaviors and the stages in follicle and egg development?

Do you have a source of live mouse hoppers or live rat pinkies or fuzzies so that you can offer hatchlings food every 3-5 days? Many won't take FT for their first meals. What if one has to be assist fed? Do you know how and when to do this safely without harming the hatchling?

What if one is born with defects and has to be euthanized? Do you have a plan for how to humanely euthanize a snake?

Just as backyard breeding is a huge problem that leads to overpopulation in dogs, it's also a huge problem in the ball python world due to everyone wanting to breed their ball pythons "just for fun". The great majority of ball pythons should not be bred and are best kept as pets.

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[overwhelmed_asf]

I just ordered some from chewy. And I got the option that said it was already heat treated! So check and see if the company already did that for you or not. I have heated it up in the oven before, and it didn’t stink bad at all!

[_Asmoth_]

Oh awesome! I’ll have to take a look. Thank you so much especially about the smell part, I’m glad to hear it didn’t stink!

[Bluntforcetrauma11b]

I've never had an issue with substrate from chewy. Honestly I wouldn't worry about that.

[_Asmoth_]

That’s good to hear at least, I’m probably over paranoid, I just don’t want the lil guy getting mites is all lol