• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

Paper Shreds for Substrate

Bug22baby

Bug22baby

Snakes and more Snakes
I was curious, with all the shredders on the market today, would using the shreds for substrate be a good idea??? I was thinking about getting a shredder and was wondering if I could use the shredding for substrate for my corns??? Do you think it could be too dusty?? Anyone ever try this, let me know.

Thanks Amanda
 
I've recently started using a pelleted newspaper product that has no colours, bleaches, purfumes or anything in it, it's just old newspapers that have been soaked, pulped and pressed out into pellets. I'm super happy with it and it is great for odour control as well as ease of scooping. The hatchlings I have on it find it quite easy to burrow through it and that's an added bonus for them.

With Shredded paper I think it would be a little more light weight and easy to push around and burrow through (great) but would end up in the waterbowl (not great) but you can try it in a couple of 'test-vivs' and see how it goes. I'm sure you can find someone to give you a test bag of shredded paper to try before you buy a shredder for yourself.

Tell us how it goes...
 
is that the stuff that also advertised as cat litter? I was wondering how a snake would like that stuff, it just looked cleaner than the aspen chips. though the chips make it look more natural :/ lol
 
aspen is the best you can get i recommand it for corns or any another snake its awsome stuff
 
Yep, aspen has been great. Problem is I can not find it in bulk anywhere and with 11 snakes it takes 2-3 bags at 8 dollars a piece to do one cleaning. So if paper shredding was a good way it would be cheaper for me and all my extra school work or bills could be used for substrate instead of just trash.
 
I might be a little concerned about the ink and pigments in the paper possibly affecting the snakes.

I would imagine that you could get plain news print (very cheap from any art supply store) and shred that up and use it.
 
I was using plain newspaper type paper (without printing on it) for a long time but as far as odour control goes it was worthless. Small snakes make small poops that evapourate quickly into a little dry mess that doesn't smell and is easy to clean. Big snakes do more substantial poops and I was finding that they were getting very stinky. I use the newspaper pellets in my tubs, so aesthetics are less of an issue but in my big display viv I use beech chips which are 'pretty' but not nearly as effective at odour control as the paper pellets. And yes, they are the type that's marketed as cat litter but make sure you get non-bleached and fragrance free.
 
I have used shredded newspaper...

What I did was go to the local newspaper and asked for the end rolls. These are the last bit of paper on the roll that there is not enough of to print a paper on. This has no bleach and no ink. There is usually about 50-100 feet on each one. The local papers wherever I have lived have always given them away for free. This has worked well for me in the past.
 
Do you have a PetSmart in your area? You can get aspen in a larger size that would last a lot longer than what your saying and for about $12 bucks..

Regards..
 
Actully I dont have a petsmart in the area. But have been there before and never found aspen, just aspen pellets which were not sold in bulk. I will have to check next time Im in a Petsmart location to see if they have bulk aspen now. Thanks Amanda
 
I also think that at Wal-Mart they had bags of Aspen for ~$4. I saw that you said you were paying $8 a bag, until you can find an alternative or buy in bulk Wal-Mart might be an option.
 
Yep I keep being told that walmart actully sells aspen. Yet everytime I vist the store they only have pine. I will have to check that out again, I would like to stick with aspen if I can find a cheaper product then 8 dollars for a small bag. Thanks Amanda
 
blueapplepaste said:
I might be a little concerned about the ink and pigments in the paper possibly affecting the snakes.
Click to expand...

I doubt that would cause a problem, since people use printed newspaper and that ink comes off easier than with regular paper.
 
Great thing about Walmart is they will normally honor customer requests. Go to customer service and tell them you would like them to carry aspen. Usually they have a product request form (or something similar) for you to fill out and they work pretty quickly on getting it stocked. Worth a try at least!:)
 
Bug22baby...Where in Michigan are you....i know a place in ohio...about 2.5 hours from Toledo that has Bulk aspen....40 lbs bag for $4.75 ea. I can tell you where it is...its about a 30 minute drive from Cedar Point.

Mitch
 
Im located in Mt. Pleasant Michigan. The closest I go to Ohio is to Taylor for the Michigan Reptile show. So a trip to cedar point if almost a 6hr drive from here! I go to Dayton Ohio at christmas time and thats about it. Thanks
 
Understand....well if your in the area let me know. Also Wallmart does sell 5 lb bags for around 4 dollars...but not all walmarts carry it....so check around at different locales...also do a customer request.

Mitch
 
Be careful with the aspen that Wal-Mart sells. I've used it and its kind of dusty and course. I'd recommend sifting it or something. Its a brand called "AlfaPet" Not the greatest stuff to use, but in a pinch it will work
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top