Aspen ingestion?

[GarterGeek]

I have been using aspen as a substrate. So far, I have not had any problems with it whatsoever. I feed my snakes in a separate container to avoid ingestion; however, I recently caught two new snakes and they are not yet comfortable eating in a separate container, but they will eat in their enclosure. Small bits of aspen cling to their food and they swallow it. I'm very concerned about this.

Aside from being sharp and puncturing innards, what other problems can occur from ingesting aspen?
Does the size of the pieces ingested matter? The pieces my snakes are swallowing are small.

If this is a major problem, does anybody have any suggestions what I should do? I would prefer to avoid changing substrate, but if I must: What would be a safe, cheap and attractive alternative?

Any information on aspen and it's potential problems is appreciated. Thank you!

[gregmonsta]

I don't like Aspen at all, it can also cause blockages. The smaller the snake the bigger the problem. I use a mixture of repticarpet and 'Supreme Carefresh' bedding. A much safer option.

[Zephyr]

I've been using aspen for my male snakes. They've only eaten a few small pieces of it and it does pass, however I'd be super careful when feeding on it, especially with worms or other sticky prey. You could always put a dish with the food in it on top of some paper towel placed on top of the substrate.

[DrKate]

What would be a safe, cheap and attractive alternative?

It's nowhere near attractive, but you could just use a couple layers of newspaper and/or paper towels as a temporary substrate for these guys until they're more comfortable being transferred to a feeding box. I had two layers of newspaper covered with one layer of paper towels, and I'd change the paper towels out as they got dirty. If you went to a Costco or Smart & Final and got one of the big packages of restaurant/industrial paper towels, they'd even be a fairly natural brown color...

(Remember if you switch to a much thinner substrate like this, though, that any under-tank heating you have is going to be a whole lot warmer.)

[GarterGeek]

Hmmm, I may have to use newspapers or something for a while. Thanks everybody for the advice.

What about peat-moss? I've used a mixture of peat-moss and sand for tree frogs and brown snakes. Peat moss holds moisture well, looks natural and is cheap. Are there any problems with accidentally ingesting it? Has anybody used it before?

[Stefan-A]

What about peat-moss? I've used a mixture of peat-moss and sand for tree frogs and brown snakes. Peat moss holds moisture well, looks natural and is cheap. Are there any problems with accidentally ingesting it? Has anybody used it before?

There shouldn't be. I never had any problems like that when I used it.

The only drawback I can think of, is that when it dries completely, the very fine particles could possibly cause respiratory problems. But that never happened to my snakes.

And if your snakes are swimmers, they'll drag peat moss into the water bowl.

[GarterGeek]

There shouldn't be. I never had any problems like that when I used it.

The only drawback I can think of, is that when it dries completely, the very fine particles could possibly cause respiratory problems. But that never happened to my snakes.

And if your snakes are swimmers, they'll drag peat moss into the water bowl.

Thank you!!! I'm making the switch to peat-moss as soon as possible. I'll just remember to keep it moist.

My snakes are always pooping in their water, peat-moss couldn't possibly be worse - I'm changing their water all the time either way.

[mustang]

well good luck with a substraight i gave mine time then readily eats in different enclosure i left it in seperate enclosure overnight with only a water dish and food and when the food was gone i put em back in his cage...i gotta get this off my chest
oooo ASPEN
Heart burn
Indegestion
Upset stomache
Diareah

[GarterGeek]

well good luck with a substraight i gave mine time then readily eats in different enclosure i left it in seperate enclosure overnight with only a water dish and food and when the food was gone i put em back in his cage...i gotta get this off my chest
oooo ASPEN
Heart burn
Indegestion
Upset stomache
Diareah

I do something similar with Brown Snakes. I leave the snake overnight in a container with just peat moss and worms. In the morning, some of the worms have mysteriously disappeared, and the snake has magically gotten more fat!!!! ...