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#2247577 Jon whittington View Profile	Aspen is bad for reptiles Say Guys and Gals, I saw a vet the other day and she was telling me that aspen has a lot of dust in it and can give your snakes upper resp.I kinda believe her cause I have had problems with it and a few of my snakes.Anyways I threw out about a cubic yard or so in the garden for mulch.I saw a lot of dust also.I was wondering why it came back on a couple snakes,so Iam going to stick with newspaper.So many people say that ASPEN is so good.Has anybody else had this experience or herd about this? Jon Whittington
12/18/11  09:02am
#2247650 Naz420 View Profile	Message To: Jon whittington   In reference to Message Id: 2247577  Aspen is bad for reptiles I started using Aspen about 2-3 months ago and now my 5.5 year old has his first RI. I think I’m gonna get rid of it. Did vet recommend a bedding? I have always used indoor/outdoor carpet but I was looking for a more natural look
12/18/11  11:03pm
#2247702 Jon whittington View Profile	Message To: Naz420   In reference to Message Id: 2247650  Aspen is bad for reptiles Naz420, So far the vet said only newspaper and that indoor outdoor carpet.Anything else will get to dry and will have dust.I am going to call her up today and ask her about anything else I can put in a tank that will look pretty and will not cause Upper Resp.I never knew that this stuff caused Upper Resp.in till I took a lot outside and threw it in the garden.Then I saw the dust,a lot of it.I wonder why so many other people use it in the reptile trade? Amie, What do you think about this? Jon Whittington
12/19/11  11:33am
#2247866 Bazzer View Profile	Message To: Jon whittington   In reference to Message Id: 2247702  Aspen is bad for reptiles The vet is talking rubbish IMO. Aspen has been around for years. It’s not the dust that causes RI’s, its the condition that a snake is kept in, such as temperatures, sanitation, feeding, stress, hygiene etc etc. For example: If a snake were kept in conditions of too lower temperature (ie a temperature below it’s preferred optimum temperature zone), then its immune system would not function correctly or to its maximum potential. As with any animal, if you have a lowered immune system, and then subjected to poor hygienic conditions, your chances of illness increase. The only issue I have with aspen types of substrates, is that some people choose to treat it as a golden ticket to not having to clean out too often, and would rather spot clean. This does not get rid of that bacteria and this leads to poor hygienic living conditions. Also aspen is a breeding ground for mould and bacterias so needs to be changed regularly, especially if animalsneeding higher levels of humidity are kept on it. so in short, aspen isn’t bad for reptiles just as long as you keep the animal and its environment clean. It’s like when you hear someone say to ’up’ the temperatures when treating a snake with an RI. This is also nonsence. If you make the setup too warm at one end, the snake will not thermoregulate correctly. Too hot and they risk neurological issues; also they will avoid the warm end, which will lead to them getting stressed. Stress worsens RI’s/ can lead to RI’s.
12/20/11  02:47pm
#2247894 Jon whittington View Profile	Message To: Bazzer   In reference to Message Id: 2247866  Aspen is bad for reptiles Bazzer, You could have a point there,that’s why I threw out about 35% and keeping the rest on newspaper.I have a question for you.Sometimes when I take a snake out of one of my tanks I can here it exhaling when she is breathing.Does that always mean that they have upper resp?or do they have to have the other signs also? Jon Whittington
12/20/11  08:32pm
#2247945 TheSurfer View Profile	Message To: Jon whittington   In reference to Message Id: 2247894  Aspen is bad for reptiles I agree with Bazzer. I used aspen for years and never had an issue with RI’s. I use newspaper now b/c it’s way easier to clean, and I can have as many newspapers as I can fit in my bag. I get the ny times from the university I go to. So free bedding is the main reason. I did have a boa develop an RI b/c my humidity was set too low for too long.
12/21/11  02:02am
#2248007 Bazzer View Profile	Message To: Jon whittington   In reference to Message Id: 2247894  Aspen is bad for reptiles Quote: Bazzer, You could have a point there,that’s why I threw out about 35% and keeping the rest on newspaper.I have a question for you.Sometimes when I take a snake out of one of my tanks I can here it exhaling when she is breathing.Does that always mean that they have upper resp?or do they have to have the other signs also? Jon Whittington Could be a number of things mate. If it’s a heavy bodied animal it could be the fact that the snakes heavy and being held. Bound to put some pressure on the air ways. It could be that the snake is coming us for shed or has a bit of shed stuck in a nostril, could be slightly stressed and slightly hissy. The one occasion that I had a snake with an RI, was noticed just after it arrived home and i opened its mouth, to check all was clear, and noticed a few bubbles coming out its trachea. More serious RI is noticed with wheezing, bubbles coming from the edge of its mouth and out the nostils, sometimes coupled with a lack of appetite
12/21/11  04:22pm

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