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This this non-snake specific apsen "bedding & litter" safe?

TriggerHappy101

TriggerHappy101

New member
Hi - I went to a local petstore and I found this "Kaytee - Aspen Bedding & Litter" for my snake. Ive been perviously using "Aspen Snake Bedding." However this stuff I picked up is about 1/4 the price for the same ammount.

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I picked up two 52 liters pack of the "Kaytee - Aspen Bedding & Litter" for $7.99 each. Or I could of gotten roughly 23 liters of "Aspen Snake Bedding" for 17 dollars.

Do you think think this stuff is safe for my baby corn? It says its "100% Natural Apsen w/ No Aromatic Oils." It does not say if it is safe for Snake use on the package anywhere. Just mentions birds and small animals.

Is it safe to use? :shrugs:
 
Same stuff I use. It's fine. It sometimes has large chunks of wood in it, but otherwise it works well.
 
Agreed. Any aspen will work just fine. I've used Kaytee Aspen, Nepco Aspen Shavings, Nepco Aspen Chips and Harlan Aspen Sani Chips.
 
I want to try Sani-Chips eventually, but my guy is currently using the exact same product you have there. I buy it in bulk and use it for all the small critters.
 
I've used sani chips too, but they tend to be more messy as they are much lighter weight than the aspen. I've probably tried every bedding in the book and always come back to aspen for the corns.
 
TriggerHappy101 said:
Hi - I went to a local petstore and I found this "Kaytee - Aspen Bedding & Litter" for my snake. Ive been perviously using "Aspen Snake Bedding." However this stuff I picked up is about 1/4 the price for the same amount.
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This is what I use as well, but I find it a bit coarse to the touch, so I mix it with the same brand of pine bedding, two parts aspen to one of pine.
 
I thought pine was toxic to snakes?

I won't risk it. I use the Katee aspen as well. I'm happy with it so far.
 
v_various said:
I thought pine was toxic to snakes? I won't risk it. I use the Katee aspen as well. I'm happy with it so far.
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While many hobbyists repeatedly claim that pine is toxic, the facts don't support the level of hysteria surrounding the claims. Pine contains drastically less of the volatile aromatics than does cedar, and most of what pine does contain is released during the initial processing of the shavings. I encourage those with questions to read to read this page:

http://www.geocities.com/heavyhitter1.geo/Pine.html
 
jaxom1957 said:
While many hobbyists repeatedly claim that pine is toxic, the facts don't support the level of hysteria surrounding the claims. Pine contains drastically less of the volatile aromatics than does cedar, and most of what pine does contain is released during the initial processing of the shavings. I encourage those with questions to read to read this page:

http://www.geocities.com/heavyhitter1.geo/Pine.html
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Well, considering that the expert is a rabbit breeder and not a snake breeder, I'm not willing to take her word that its perfectly fine for snakes.

I use pine for the horses and it smells awesome...which means that some of the aromatic oils must be left in it or it wouldn't have a pine smell.... or at least to my way of thinking.

I think I'll stick to woods without those kinds of oils.
 
While pine is not considered toxic to snakes, it is still strongly suspected to be a respiratory irritant. For most animals, pine would be perfectly ok, but then they don't have their faces in it all day like a snake does, now do they?

For me, it's just not worth taking any chances. I'll stick with what is known to be safe.
 
BeckyG said:
While pine is not considered toxic to snakes, it is still strongly suspected to be a respiratory irritant. For most animals, pine would be perfectly ok, but then they don't have their faces in it all day like a snake does, now do they?
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You are confusing two issues. The respiratory irritation is from SAWDUST, not SHAVINGS. As the KayTee pine bedding is shavings rather than sawdust, that isn't a consideration. The supposed danger of phenols is with how they are processed in the livers of small animals. Again, there is little evidence to indicate that pine shavings are in any way harmful to snakes, other than the risk of impaction if ingested. As that same risk exists whether the shavings are aspen or pine, that is, again, not a consideration. Continuing to tell people not to use pine, a cheap, readily available and SAFE alternative, does them no favors.

The reason I don't use pine alone is that the snakes don't like to burrow in it as much as they do aspen. They also didn't like burrowing in cellulose products or pellets, so I don't use them either. They do like burrowing in the aspen/pine mix, the mix feels softer to the touch, and it saves a bit of money. There is no proven, scientifically justified reason to stop using pine shavings if a hobbyist likes it.
 
From what I understand strong smelling oils such as what are found in cedar and pine and eucalyptus are considered toxic. I've seen first hand what happens to snakes that are kept on cedar so I know that it is toxic. The snake had bizarre behavior that reminded me of neurologic disorders. If the substrate smells strongly of pine, I wouldn't use it. The Aspen is pretty darn cheap and my animals are too valuable to me to take a chance with possibly making them ill.
 
MegF. said:
From what I understand strong smelling oils such as what are found in cedar and pine and eucalyptus are considered toxic. I've seen first hand what happens to snakes that are kept on cedar so I know that it is toxic.
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KayTee pine bedding is kiln dried. The phenols have already been released, which is why the bedding has very little smell.
The Aspen is pretty darn cheap and my animals are too valuable to me to take a chance with possibly making them ill.
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Aspen costs $8.99 for the same size bag that costs $4.99 for pine. Having read the literature, I don't believe my use of an aspen/pine mixed substrate poses any risk to my snakes.
 
As I said....if it has a strong scent, I wouldn't use it. If it's kiln dried and the phenols are released, have at it. You use what you want, and I'll use what I want. I missed the fact that you said the Kaydee bedding in your other post. I was thinking of regular pine shavings which I use for my horses. They smell quite strongly of pine. Either way, I'll stick to the aspen. If I really can't afford the aspen I'll use paper, and if it comes down to $4 making a difference, then I really shouldn't own what I have as I couldn't afford to properly care for them anyway.
 
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