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I've been using the stuff 5 years & love it, but I just got a big bag yesterday & think something's wrong...does anyone think the manufacturer could have gotten mixed up & put pine bedding in an aspen bedding bag? When I opened it, it was very aromatic. I've never encountered any smell from it before. It seemed slightly damp to the touch & the shavings weren't the nice "peelings" shape...they were kind of mashed, rolled up & wouldn't compact. Is there a good way to tell the difference between aspen & pine shavings? If it turns out to be pine shavings, is it ok to keep it in my sterlite snake boxes with duct taped lids anyway? Or is it something that'll kill them? I have a lot of holes drilled in the boxes & tops, but there's not a lot of ventilation in them & I definitely don't need 5 snakes keeling over in a few days! Any info would be useful! Thanks!

Aspen bedding is more course, less smelly and more wood like. Also more whitish.
Pine is smelly, softer, fluffier and yellowish. It is in more of a shaving than the aspen. The aspen is kinda shredded, like cut peices. Pine is like someone was taking little layers like slicing chese.
Hope that helps.
The pine can cause respiratory infections. I would not use it, but that is just me
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I've gotten aspen in a pine bag for my mice. So I know they sometimes get the bags mixed up.

Aspen is just that aspen wood. A huge grove of trees up in Wisconsin as it grows in a root system.

Aspen is chipped across the grain. I'm not sure why? But it's used for a lot more than bedding. Evaporator pads, blocks for archery etc. It should have no aroma since it is NOT in he conifer family.

Pines are in the conifers and usually chipped with the grain, like a jointer or surface planer. More by product of lumber industry.

The main aspen maker does not work with pine as far as I know? but who knows, they cut miles of trees. Who’s to say there wasn't a few SPF in there (SPF Spruce, Pine Fir)

If you can get 2 close ups of the wood I might be able to tell.

also grossly over priced.

tom

I personally like kaytee aspen but,it is way over priced.Go to a farm supply store,it's a lot cheaper there.I get mine from Tractor Supply.

Thanks for the responses guys. I still can't decide if I have aspen or pine but considering what I've read, I'll assume it's aspen until I see negative effects in my snakes (none after 3 days). I think what happened is the plastic bag it was packed in at Kaytee wasn't sealed entirely & a little moisture got in, that's why it smelled awhile after opening but I took some out & put it in a paper shopping bag - which seemed to help the moisture & reduce the woody smell if nothing else. I now only notice the smell a few minutes after entering the room, then don't smell it anymore. The other thing that had me worried is it wasn't compacted in a tight block as normal - which may be a factor of the moisture? Thanks for the tip on buying it at a feedstore rather than a petstore! I should've known better for 5 years!

A little late, but someone said they liked kaytee. Yea different compaanies seem to cut it slightly differently, maybe machine settings or just diff machines.

We once bought aspen at $6 a bale. Although very cheap, it was just a bit coarse. I thought about regrinding it, but never got to it.

Key is educate where is is mainly used, it IS NOT herps. Then buy through them. I think the good aspen is made by sun seed? I can check that is you like.

tom

thanks - I'll have a look & see if I can find a website for Sun Seeds & see if they ship.

Here's what the last aspen bedding I bought looks like.It was about $8.00 for 2 cu. ft. compressed. jeff

Thanks for the pics. It looks a little darker brown than the Kaytee I've used 5 years - which is very light yellow to white. I think I'm gonna buy it somewhere else from now on & get a different brand - see what it's like. Fortunately, my snakes do not seem to be suffering any ill effects from what I picked up Fri. that's supposed to be Kaytee Aspen Bedding, but I think it got wet somewhere along the way & was still damp when I got it - which may account for the funny texture & smell too. Thanks for the time & effort!
Goyotle
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