>>Just my thoughts on newspaper. All newspapers are bleached white using chlorine. When the snakes urea mixes with this a toxic gas is the result. I would guess frequent changing avoids this, but if you're away for a few weeks the buildup can affect your snakes, especially babies. There are alternative papers to use where chlorine is not used: Paper towels, napkins sold in health stores, whole food markets, etc., where no bleaching of any kind is used.

>>

>>Mike



Wikipedia what your are saying inst actually correct as far as bleaching using chlorine.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleaching_of_wood_pulp

Newspaper is made by mechanical Pulps and bleached using Alkaline hydrogen peroxide.

A snip from the article;

"The brightness gains achieved in bleaching mechanical pulps are temporary since almost all of the lignin present in the wood is still present in the pulp. Exposure to air and light can produce new chromophores from this residual lignin.[6] This is why newspaper yellows as it ages."



I have been using newspaper for almost 20 years with NO ill affects on any of my snakes. These include snakes with higher humidity requirements and snakes with lower humidity requirements.
-----
Jason A.

"Long time Herper, first year Breeder `07."

My 2008 Care Sheet & The BRB Stats. Username: brb@kingsnake.com

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