Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I didn't realize this was a problem until just now. I got a 2.5 foot california kingsnake yesterday plus a cage (20 gallon long) heating lamps, etc.. and "aspen snake bedding" from zoomed.

Today I pushed all the bedding to one side and put the mouse on the other "clear" side, snake took it and started moving around the cage with it while swallowing it, thus picking up little pieces of the aspen bedding.

Didn't mean to turn this into a whole story and obviously from now on I'm going to feed him outside the cage, but in the mean time, is this something I should be worried about?

It happens.

The aspen will pass through the snake's digestive system..

Just make sure none of it got stuck in the snake's mouth/teeth. That can lead to mouth rot.
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Mike
KingPin Reptiles Inc.
www.kingpinreptiles.com
^ Updated 6/1

As long as the snake is capable of closing its mouth there shouldn't be a problem.

Aspen is quite soft and splintered in a way which makes the chance of sustaining an internal injury quite slim...

I usually feed my snakes outside of the terrarium... large quantities of the thing can lead to intestinal blockage... which is not an easy thing to solve in a snake.

All in all I don't think there's any reason to be worried.

.....I've lost a few to aspen bedding.

I still use it but sometimes they can't pass it, contrary to others experiences.

Be careful,

Chris

With snakes, they can tolerate a little, but I would watch them like a hawk if you feed on aspen.
I have been trying hardwood pellets for snake bedding now, and so far it rocks.
I almost lost a sulcata to an impaction of aspen, if a sulcata can get plugged up, then anything can get plugged up. Period. Those animals can power poop.

Hey Chris, I was just curious what lead you to think you lost them to aspen ingestion. Randy W.

I had a baby that ingested aspen stuck to a pinky and it made a weird lump, that snake died and it is reasonable to assume it was the aspen.

I lost an eastern king that was found on its' back w a mouthful of it (now it COULD have filled its' mouth in its' death throws but it is also just as likely that it ingested the aspen).

Tom Cook opened one up with an exacto knife and found a bellyful of aspen a few years ago.

it happens from time to time. I won't quit using it as it has served me well but it is a concern.

Chris

Slight correction...
It wasnt a belly full, it was a single piece that had speared the stomach lining causing hemorrhage. But, it WAS aspen, and the snake is still dead. It was my first "garage floor necropsy"

I do what I can to thaw my mice out in hot water and dry them off a bit to reduce aspen stickage
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Tom

"The more people I meet, the more I like my snakes"

Easiest thaw possible:
Years ago when I was in the gun business, I had a very large crest ultrasonic cleaner.
I was so enthralled with it, I got a smaller one to keep at home.
It has an adjustable heater, thermostatically controlled, a drain, and it's the easiest thng in the world to throw a half dozen mice in a ziploc freezer bag, fill up the ultrasonic with warm water, turn the heater on, and come back in a few minutes.
The mice/rats are thawed thoroughly, warm to the touch, not cooked, and dry.
They have many small ultrasonic cleaners with heaters on ebay, for ease of thawing, but to really help out, get one with a stainless basket that you can use to keep the mice fully submerged.
I would get rid of my microwave, and keep my crest, if there were only room for one of them.....

And when you're done thawing mice, the ultrasonic is already filled and warmed up, add a squirt of dish soap and sterilize your utensils, rodent nozzles, thermometers, silverware, etc. Ultrasonically.

What size do you have? I found a 5.29 pint one on ebay. I feed rats so was wondering if that was a good size.

Thanks,
Miller
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0.1Florida King
1.1 Eastern Kings
1.0 Black Milksnake
0.1 Honduran
1.1 Kankakee Bull Snakes
1.0 Chow Chow (2003 Papi)
0.1 Cats (Shug)

Mines a crest 690HTA.
It's listed as 2.75 gallon. Yeah, it's big, but it's not the industrial 6 gallon model we had at my old job.
Most of the small ones don't have heaters, or if they do, it's an on/off deal.
Crests all have either a graduated volume knob or digital display. Mine could thaw a dozen rats easily. Maybe 2 dozen, never tried.
And if you think it's only good for thawing rats, you should see it clean guns or scavenged brass for reloading...
Seriously, a small one would work, but make sure it's heated and has some way of controlling the temp of the water so you don't cook the rats.
You'd also need a way of keeping the rat submerged, since most cheaper ultrasonics won't come with a basket....
If it does then you're golden, just fill with warm water, turn heater on, drop a rat in a bag, drop in, keeping top of bag out of the water, put basket over rat, weight with something in basket then seal ziplock bag.