Pine shavings???????

[CAcornguy]

I was just reading in another post about Pine shavings being bad for snakes. Is this true?? I thought Cedar was the one you are not supposed to use. Now I am worried because it is all I have been using for months. Please let me know if this is no good, so I can switch to something better if I have to. Thanks everyone!
-Don

 

[pinatamonkey]

Some people have reported problems with pine, others have used it for years without problems. I've never tried it.

I don't know.

In any case, I think pine, if it is "bad", is nowhere near as dangerous as cedar (which WILL kill a snake.)

 

[Tim Madsen]

I have used pine for years with no problem and I know a lot of other breeders who have used it also, with no problems. All the people I've heard say pine is bad base their opinion on unsubstantiated annecdotal evidence ( they heard it from someone else or the problem could not actually be linked to pine). IMHO

 

[bmm]

agreed

I don't use pine for my snakes, but I have been using it for my rodent colonies for years now.

I am not sure what it supposed to do to rodents, but mine have produced, and lived on pine just fine. I have one mouse right now I keep as a pet and we are coming up on year three, on pine.

bmm

 

[Alicia]

I also used pine for a long time. Unfortunatley, for me it was not a trouble free experience. I was advised by a vet to take my animals off of the pine and things got much better. I continued to use it for my Guinea Pigs but not long ago changed them too. I used newspaper for a while in the snake cages then switched to Aspen. I know people who still use pine for their snakes and things seem to go fine for them. Here is an article on pine that is interesting. Just food for thought

 

[bmm]

?

What exactly were you having problems with that lead the vet to tell you to get off pine?

I would like to know so I could look for the same problems in my mice, although at this time they have none.

bmm

 

[Alicia]

Well this happened some years ago before aspen was popular.
The snakes I was keeping at that time had some recurring respitory problems. After taking apart and anaylizing my husbandry it was determined that I was doing all the right things.
The vet suggested that the pine might be the problem and to try something else. I did and no more problems. Pine has things in it that are known irritants to the skin and respitory system. I think it was just a process of elemination to get to the root of the problem. As far as my Guinea Pigs, they have stopped the excessive (I thought) scratching and sneezing.

These are just my experiences and I don't mean to imply others are wrong for using pine

 

[bmm]

Well

I certainly wouldn't use pine for snakes. But thats just because I prefer aspen if I must use any type of wood shavings. Although I really hate even aspen.


bmm

 

[noe]

Here is an article on Pine and Cedar Toxicity: http://www.ratfanclub.org/litters.html
Here is another: http://www.afrma.org/rminfo2a.htm#pine
And here's one with more hardcore science: http://www.trifl.org/cedar.html

Personally, I would never use any aromatic softwood as a bedding for ANY animal, period. It may not cause noticable symptoms in some animals, but I don't see any reason for risking an animal's health when there are so many other good substrates available.

I can't imagine why any of you would want to, either.

 

[bmm]

well

kiln dried pine is not often mentioned and I believe this has been proven to be a safe substitue which is what I happen to buy when I buy my pine.

I didn't see it listed in any of those tests or articles. But they are good information. thanks.

bmm