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just swtiched from newspaper to aspen

P

palmiro

New member
it's been a bit less then a week that i switched from newspaper to aspen bedding.. and i noticed something strange.. my snake was usually pretty active, now that i've swtiched to aspen he looks "numb".. he's always on the same side (cold side), doesnt move during the night and i just fed him and he was very very slow.. i thought of shedding initially but it's been three days hes behavinglike this and he has no signs of shedding.

and im so worried for the side he chooses.. he prefers the cold side like ALL the time! he's always on the cold side!! the temp on the hot side il 29° under the aspen and i have a thermostat!

any thoughts??? i hope he's not sick
 
A couple of things came to mind while reading your post...

As long as you are sure it's actually Aspen, I can't think of any reason for you to be overly concerned. Literally millions of snakes have been raised from cradle to grave on Aspen. Keep an eye on it of course and make sure your snake is still feeding regularly, defecating etc...

Corns are relatively sedentary when there is no reason to move about. Especially this time of year. Mine roam when hungry, on sultry summer nights and during breeding season, but it's normal for them to hang around a favorite spot for extended periods. It's possible that your snake feels more secure with some Aspen to dig into and what you are observing is a good thing.

What is your cool side temp, is your snake eating and is it going to the warm side to digest???

Again, what you are observing is not cause for alarm on it's own. My snakes are almost never on the hot side except for the 48 hours period after a meal.

If all else is normal, my guess is that the snake is just still adjusting to the new substrate....

Scott
 
the cold side is room temperature, but when the heaters are off (half of the day and during the night) it gets to 20° . he very often digests on the cold side too! and never had problems.. but still, it's weird.

and yes, it's actually aspen bedding. it's this one:
aspen.jpg


what i thought is that his vivarium changed quite a bit.. from newspaper to aspen and i bought him a new hide.. maybe it's too much of a change and he's "confused" and settling in?
 
Look for small holes in the aspen, i found when we changed from chips to aspen we didnt see our lil un because he had become an earthworm and was burrowing like mad, its fantastic when u see them digging around and good from them to have the option of burrowing and climbing :)
 
palmiro - the problems is the Aspen. Look at the picture, that Aspen is for milksnakes. What you need is Corn snake Aspen bedding. LOL :poke:

Seriously, my Corn snakes are always on the cool side. My cool side temp is 68F (20C). Some of my Corn snakes seem to even digest their meals on the cool side or I just happen to see them on the cool side all the time.

The thing is that you have a good warm side temp so if the snake needs to get warmed up for digestion it can. Also, remember to have a warm side hide.
 
Fatman608 said:
palmiro - the problems is the Aspen. Look at the picture, that Aspen is for milksnakes. What you need is Corn snake Aspen bedding. LOL :poke:

Seriously, my Corn snakes are always on the cool side. My cool side temp is 68F (20C). Some of my Corn snakes seem to even digest their meals on the cool side or I just happen to see them on the cool side all the time.

The thing is that you have a good warm side temp so if the snake needs to get warmed up for digestion it can. Also, remember to have a warm side hide.
Click to expand...

mine does the same!!! he always digest on the cool side!! you know what i did?? i moved his favourite hide on the warm side and guess what? this morning he was on the warm side :)

anyway i have another question about aspen: i can't find any poop.. he's pretty regular with pooping.. the second day after he eats, he poops.. but i still can't find any.. im not sure if he pooped or not.. if not, that's not normal for him..

is it easy to see poop on aspen bedding or do you usually "look" for it?
 
There should be enough black matter in the poop for you to see it. With Aspen, it's common for the snake to relieve itself way down in a corner at the bottom of the substrate. I usually just do a quick weekly search while my snakes are in thier feeding containers. One of the benefits of Aspen is it dries out the poop quickly. It doesn't become a swampy mess like it can on newspaper...

It's generally considered less than ideal when you snake has to choose between comfort and temperature. I would get a second hide and keep one at each end of the tank.

Good luck, and get rid of that Milk Snake bedding :D
 
hahaha stop it with the milksnake bedding cmon :D
i do have two hides! i just moved his favourite one on the warm side ! :)
 
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