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Aspen and feeding

D

dawnmarie

New member
I want to switch to Aspen bedding but I feed in my viv. I feed him off a paper plate, so do you think this would be okay? I don't want him to ingest the bedding.
 
Why don't you just feed out of the viv? There is the risk that your snake could drag the mouse off the plate and get substrate stuck to the mouse. HTH :)
 
I use aspen and feed out of the viv. Im considering changing to paper towells as a substrate as it will be a lot more convenient to be able to feed her in the viv. She will definately miss burrowing though :(
 
You won't regret that change! I hate hate HATE aspen! Its annoying, it gets everywhere, its hard to clean IMHO, and it can cause impaction. But remember this is all my humble opinion and aspen IS a fav of many people, just not me :)

bmm
 
You can't go wrong with paper towels...

I have to agree paper towels make an excellent choice...They are cheap, clean, easy to change...My corns seem to love laying between the layers of paper towels...The added bonus to paper towels is you get a white background, and prints if you want to decorate...

No messy apen chips scattered everywhere...No "aspen smell"( I hate the smell of damp aspen)...No possible impaction...BTW I used to use aspen til I discovered the convenience and saftey of paper towels...
 
hmmm, im slowly being convinced. How's about if I layer the floor with double ply towel and then put shredded towel ontop of that so she can burrow? If I make them long and at least 1cm wide then she shouldnt ingest them if fed on a large plate or bowl. I think I saw this suggested somewhere recently.
 
For small snakes in a shoe box size container, I just fold the paper towel. It fits perfectly. The snakes will usually go in between the layers, even when there is a separate hide.

For adult snakes, I use newspapers with 2 or three layers. I just cut about 4 inches off the top, and it fits perfectly in the 28 quart sterilite containers. Again, they sometimes go between layers, but some just stay on top. It's some much easier to maintain and and clean than when I used aspen, and feeding is a breeze in the tank.

Mark
 
I confess...

I still use aspen, and plan to continue to do so - yes, it's messy and gets on the floor, but the snakes use it so much for borrowing, I would not want to take that away from them. It means that effectively they can hide at any part of the temperature gradient.
I feed out of the cage, or occasionally on top of the lay/moist hide boxes inside the cage.
I can't imagine paper towel ever absorbing poop as well as the aspen either.
Skye
 
I agree, I use aspen and I like it alot. It looks better, the snakes like to borrow in it. I never had a problem with it smelling, and I don't find it hard to clean. I feed all of my snakes out of the viv, usually in a rubbermaid. (even my BP who isn't on aspen). They eat, within a few minutes usually, then they go back in the viv and hide under the bedding for a couple of days.
 
I actually find that paper towel absorbs way way more than aspen.

Another aspect I hate is that unless you are doing a 100% aspen change each week, the urine and other fluids/poo can soak into the aspen. A spot cleaning can't ensure this will be removed. But that's just my thing I guess.

I also have had big problems with it. One snake of mine who was NEVER fed in cage I switched from paper towel to aspen. Two months later he died, full of aspen.

So the sterile factor, and the other thing made my personal choice for me.

bmm
 
I guess I won't even try the Aspen then. I was just looking for something more fun for my snake than papertowels. Have you guys ever tried Carefresh or whatever the recycled paper stuff is called?

Thanks for your help.
Dawn
 
Carefresh is HIGHLY recommended by many people who have snakes other than corns as it holds great humidity if you spray it but would also work GREAT for corns since we don't mist them.

Not only does it allow borrowing and its absorbant, but it can actually be flushed down the toilet, and is 100% biodegradable. If you have the chance, I recommend trying it out for sure.

bmm
 
2 words: Jungle Mix
I use this for my corn and he LOVES it. he can burrow very easaly and he can rest on top of it in the heat, so far there havent been any problems with injesting it. but ive only had him for a couple weeks. anyways just a suggestion, its my personal favorite, I'm preety sure it can be found in most pet stores, but i dunno. anyways you should try it

Peace
-Pyro
 
Is this the substrate make from shredded cyprus and hardwood? If so, be very careful. That stuff is designed to be used with high humidity species and not colubrids. I could cause you some long term health issues.
 
A paper shredder can be used to make substrate that snakes can burrow in.I use it under folded newspapers... it seems to do a better job of keeping the rubbermaids clean.Although it will cost a few bucks in the long run it's cheaper than aspen.
 
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