Reptile & Amphibian Forums

has anyone had problems with aspen dust. I've been using news paper and i'm switching to aspen but the air in the tubs seems "thick." When I put in the new aspen there was a lot of dust. I let the dust settle but the air still seems thick...

I had a strong urge to reply to your message about this. Last year we changed up Aspen. We usually use Kaytee but we ran out and went with a wal-mart brand because we didn't feel like driving all the way to where we usually get it. We bought a small bag and changed out 2 cages. A week and a half later, both pythons had respiratory infections! I was dumbfounded at first but then remembered that we had cleaned their cages in the same day with a new brand of aspen. Though I did not notice it at the time but this brand did have alot of dust in it. I ended up losing one of the pythons and the other recovered. The dusty aspen was the only link between the two and their enclosures were no where near eachother. I would not use that dusty aspen if I were you and go to a different brand. I recently tried the big bulk brand from Petco (can't remember the brands name) and it works well and was cheaper than Kaytee.
Hope this helps,
Severa
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1.3 leopards( 1 tremper albino,1 high yellow,1 blizzard, 1 tang)
1.0 African fattail
1.1 r. ciliatus (Harlequin flames)
0.0.1 r. auriculatus
1.0 Beardie (50% German Giant x Cawley Red X Hypo Red/Flaming Tiger)
1.0 mexican red knee tarantula
1.0 albino sonoran gopher
1.0 eastern painted turtle
0.1 sun conure
3.3 Ball pythons (1 pastel,2 het for albino, two normal, one granite)
0.2 chihuahuas
1.0 Weeny dog
0.1 spouse

i'm using Harlan tek shredded aspen which should be ok but i'm taking it out anyway.

I to get the big bag at petsmart and it is KAYTEE . We have been using it at our Rescue for years and with out a single incident of any kind .David of DS Reptile Rescue

the Aspen I use is chipped but it is the bigger chips than Sani-chip . David

the air seems thick? i have used aspen and the only reason the air would seem "thicker" is due to the the fact that the aspen holds humidity better than newspaper.

aspen is a very commonly used substrate, i wouldnt worry too much.

I use paper towels...even with adults. The towel's properties make them easy to use and easier on the reptiles (being so absorbent they tend to keep the bad stuff contained hehe) you can see exactly what is dirty and where to clean weithought having to replace/clean the entire tub.

when I put the aspen in I could see dust coming into the air and when I started to take it out of the cages it made me cough is this normal?

The dust was a big reason why I switched from using shredded aspen - although I do think it is bothersome to us, but once it settles into the tubs it's not a big deal.

After trying a bunch of the other substrates I really couldn't find anything that I liked them as much as the aspen until I tried chipped aspen (aka Sani-chips) and love it - works as well as the aspen but without the dust.
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Tosha
JET Pythons

(CJBianco explaining the origins of the BP market.)
"In the beginning Bob created the Ball Python market. And the market was without morph, and wild traits were upon the industry. And Bob said, Let there be morph, and there was morph. And Bob saw the morph, that it was good; and Bob divided the morph from the wild trait. And Bob called the morph Albino, and the wild trait Normal. And the Albino and the Heterozygous Albino were the first investment.
-- Christopher 1:1-1:5"

Shredded Aspen is very dusty switch to Harlans Sani Chips.
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The Crawl Space

When I put any amount of new aspen to a cage, I have the animal OUT of the cage. I then spray with a light spray of water to bring down any dust that may be airborne. I wait a minute or two...during which I am washing out the water bowl and refilling....and then replace the animal. I have not had any problems with Ball Pythons. I use Harlan Teklad shredded aspen on adult animals. I still use paper towels on hatchlings and newspaper on yearlings. Just my way of doing it that works for me!

Susan
SSNAKES Reptiles

The sani -chip I used a wile back was made by T-REX. David

I just switched from aspen to disposable cage liners. And am very happy with the switch. The aspen was dusty, and I always seemed to drop it on the carpet while cleaning or refilling the tubs. Hope this helps.