Quick question on corn snake bedding

[Paul-Dominic]

Hi, I have a quick question, my Corn has been on paper towel substrate, but now he is much bigger and I want him on some sort of nice looking substrate. Some sites say pine has a toxin in it, some say use pine SHAVINGS, would the pine shavings for hamsters be ok?

 

[Mysfitz]

no, use aspen, it's safe, smells better, and only costs a little bit more then pine.

 

[Paul-Dominic]

Where would I get aspen shavings? Its like none of the pet stores around here have it.

 

[Nanci]

I order mine on line.

 

[starsevol]

Pine shavings really arent good for any small animal, even hamsters. It contains oils that cause respiratory problems.

You can get nearly anything online these days. Good luck with the "aspen hunt"

 

[Paul-Dominic]

Right, so pine shavings are definetly out then? Would you be able to get aspen at like home Depo or Dollarama?

 

[starsevol]

Right, so pine shavings are definetly out then? Would you be able to get aspen at like home Depo or Dollarama?

Pine shavings are definately out if you want your little buddy to live a long comfortable life with you. I don't think Home Depot or Dollarama sells aspen. Personally, I use newspaper with my crew. It's not pretty but its cheap and readily available and above all, safe! They love the pages to hide between even more than their regular hides.

 

[LBoz]

The larger chains like PetSmart and PetCo have aspen. Another person here goes to a co-op and gets the really large containers of aspen horse bedding for much cheaper than you'd find in the pet stores. I can't remember who that is, though.

Even Meijer sells it in compressed cubes, but it's pricey. Keep using your paper towels until you can find it for a good price, but definitely not pine or cedar. Good luck!

 

[Paul-Dominic]

Alright well I guess until I can locate so aspen, Its paper towel for Carey, thanks everyone for your advice

 

[aislinnciarrai]

i use coconut fibres and moss for mine, he likes burrowing in it, its soft and loks nice. I got them both from Uncle Bills pet shops, i think you could probably get them from petsmart or petco too. The coconut fibres come in blocks, the moss came from a bag, there was plenty of each for both my snake and my sisters snake, and we still have some left over.

 

[Nanci]

Home Depot might have something in the orchid section like Spanish moss or sphagnum moss. I know it isn't commonly used as a bedding, but my snakes like it in their moist hides. I don't see why, dry, it couldn't be used as something to burrow through. Just make sure it doesn't have any fertilizers in it.

 

[Sarynkitamo]

i use coconut fibres and moss for mine, he likes burrowing in it, its soft and loks nice. I got them both from Uncle Bills pet shops, i think you could probably get them from petsmart or petco too. The coconut fibres come in blocks, the moss came from a bag, there was plenty of each for both my snake and my sisters snake, and we still have some left over.

I had coconut fibres for mine, but either I mixed it wrong or something because it was quite damp, and kept the humidity in the cage quite high. Jasper is just a little girl, so I switched her to paper towel.

It's quite pretty, I'm just not sure I did it right.

 

[montanatburg]

Hi,
I use aspen, with store bought green moss, she loves to burrow in it.

 

[Cora]

Sometimes you can get the aspen at garden centers or the other place to check out is like farm stores if you cant find it at your LPS. I love the coco fiber for my display tanks but you need to make sure your squeezing the water out of it before you put it into your cage. it is defiantly something that absorbs and holds moisture. The biggest plus to Coco fiber is that for most reptiles its digestible if they accidentally eat some of it!

 

[aislinnciarrai]

I had coconut fibres for mine, but either I mixed it wrong or something because it was quite damp, and kept the humidity in the cage quite high. Jasper is just a little girl, so I switched her to paper towel.

It's quite pretty, I'm just not sure I did it right.

we just lay ours out to dry in front of a sunny window before putting it in the tank. It took about a week before it was dry enough i think.

 

[Paul-Dominic]

Home Depot might have something in the orchid section like Spanish moss or sphagnum moss. I know it isn't commonly used as a bedding, but my snakes like it in their moist hides. I don't see why, dry, it couldn't be used as something to burrow through. Just make sure it doesn't have any fertilizers in it.

Thanks Nanci I'll try checking that out, I see sphagnum moss at most pet stores here and home depot probably would have it