Ball Python & Sand

Question
I have a female ball python, she is 3 1/2 feet long, she weighs approximately 2 lbs, and she is almost 2 1/2 years old and we normally use wood ships for her tank, we have recently picked up colored sand which the manufacturer says has silica in it... however they said its safe for aquariums and terrariums, my husband has a friend that says silica sand killed his tarantula and we should not use it for our snake, the lady at the pet store in our city says it shouldn't harm our snake in anyway because the snake has no eye lids. I recently read different pages online, and did research and as far as I can tell everyone has mixed emotions on silica sand. Some say never never NEVER use sand or dry substances, and the others say dry materials are fine. She has a 55 gallon tank, and a water container which holds almost 3 liters of water. If you could answer this question for me it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your time.

Answer
Hi Tasha, Sand, silica or otherwise, is really not a suitable substrate for a ball python for a number of reasons.  Ball pythons are native to the scrub forests, grasslands and savannahs of west Africa. They are not desert animals and are not adapted to living in loose sand. Even many "desert" reptiles like bearded dragons actually live more on a hard packed sandy soil. Some reptiles like the sand boa and the sand skink have evolved to live in loose sand but they have particularly adapted scales, eyes, nostrils and methods of locomotion for this purpose. This provides them protection from the irritation, drying effects (shedding problems), and potential respiratory problems that your ball python would likely develop over time in such an environment.

I believe that silica sand (which is much finer then natural sand) is used safely in aquariums where inhalation is not an issue. I would avoid it for any terrarium even if sand were appropriate for the critter. Tarantulas have external "book" lungs on their abdomen that would quickly become blocked with something as fine as silica. How sad that your friend found that out the hard way.