Is carpet okay for the bottom of a snake cage?

It might not harm the snake but it will collect odors and other stuff after repeated poops and pees in it. Possibly carpet fibers might not be good either.

It’s not recommended. Go with a pine bark or sand based substrate.

I used to keep reptiles.

No. It would harbor disease, and smell to high heaven.

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard Multiple websites say not to use pine bark or shavings. A snake can accidentally eat a piece while feasting.

What if I cleaned it in the washer machine every week?

Nope. It’s not practical. And it would still harbor disease.

I’m pretty sure that it would become saturated with urine.

Animals need homes as close to nature as they can get. Your version of a Howard Johnson’s isn’t going to work.

What would work? Something not to expensive.

@rock4ever How did your mom take the snake question? She was okay with it? If so that was a nice surprise I’m sure!

@BBSDTfamily Yeah I just cleaned the house really good and told her I’d keep it out of sight from her. Took a little convincing, but I got the yes. :D

@rock4ever I googled ‘snake pet cage’ and got this :

http://pet-snakes.com/homemade-snake-cages

the video shows him putting together a big plastic bucket, drilling some holes in, applying a heater, filling it with peat moss mix for reptiles, some leaves and some water and food to keep it going.

$60 it cost him.

This is what I would consider the bare minimum for a house snake… even though the guy knows what he’s talking about, it doesn’t look very nice for a snake to live in.

Carpet is a really bad idea though, as those above have said.

Go to your local zoo’s reptile house and see what they choose.

I used to use the carpets, and they worked ok, but I don’t think the snakes liked it very much. they seemed a lot happier when I switched to wood bark, and it needed to be cleaned less often. With the carpets you have to scrub the cage at least once a week, because the snake will go underneath the carpet and poop directly on the bottom of the cage, and because carpet is a really welcoming environment for bacteria and fungus. With bark, you can grab the surrounding bark along with the poop whenever the snake poops, and only have to actually scrub the cage once or twice a month.

@rock4ever You should be feeding your snake in a separate container than the cage it lives in, especially if the snake accidentally eating the bark is a worry for you. It also helps the snake be less aggressive, and to not associate it’s home with feeding so when you put your hand in it is less likely to think you’re edible.

ALSO! Please Please Please always do thorough research before bringing new animals into your home. Every kind of snake has species specific needs.

@FluffyChicken I think I’ll go with the wood chips. How much does it cost typically?
Oh and I know to do a lot of research, just from last night I have over a page worth of notes from research. I’ll be doing much more.

Thanks all