Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Anybody have any simple tricks they use to get rid of the excessive dust from Aspen? I use the Harlan type shredded and sometimes it's WAY too dusty. I like that you can just use an inside out sandwich bag and pick up the clumps but feel bad about the amount of dust the animals are living in.

I've been thinking of making some kind of large homemade lottery type screend basket like they spin the small ping pong balls with the numbers on them, putting it behind my shed and emptying the bag into it, spinning it and then just reloading it into the large Rubbermaid Bins I keep it in without the dust..

Anybody have any similar simple easy to do method to get rid of the dust?

Thanks,

Bob.

Funny that you mentioned that Bob, because I have wondered about that very same thing before. That is basically how factories do it, only on a much larger scale with tumbling, air and exhaust. The only other way I could see it being done is like how the natives get the dust and husks out of their grain by tossing(winnowing) it up in the air over a large tarp on a fairly windy day, or sprinkling it out above their heads and let the light wind carry the finer dust particulates away and leaving the heavier material in a pile.

~Doug

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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

my website -Serpentine Specialties

I used to shake it in a basket of fine hardware cloth but man! What a task! Once I switched to other brand(s) I had no problems...Also, I get the bags of sanichips...but ya know, I'm cheap, so I ask for discounts on open or damaged bags...

:Mark
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Surrender Dorothy!

crimsonking.piczo.com/

Thanks Guys.

I'm trying out the Sani Chips too. It's one of the things I like about them, there seems to be no dust. A liitle aprehensive about them ingesting so many little peices when they eat.

I'm back to using newspaper too for some cages. Labor intensive but inexpensive and makes me feel a little better about recycling? But I use so many paper towels I'm not sure it makes a difference kiling tree wise. LOL.

Can you reccomend any brands that have less dust that are readily available? Spot cleaning really does make keeping easier.

Bob.

Guess I could always get an old dryer and only use the cool air blower!

NAH !!1111 LOL

Hey Bob, I feed all my snakes in paper bags. The kind we used to carry our lunch in. This keeps them from eating anything but rodent. I cringe everytime I see people feed their snakes on substrate! Walmart has the regular lunch bags in packs of 100, and a giant size for my adult snakes in packs of 50. Not expensive at all.

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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
Jorge Sierra

My Site > www.Sierrasnakes.com

Great idea, Jorge. I have used little brown bags for neonates that are slow to start eating, but not for juveniles and adults. Currently I feed my animals in empty cages without substrate, but the bag idea will require less space.

Tom

The bags double as a hide too. There so cheap just throw them away when they get soiled. Don't worry about the trees Bob, paper companies replant more trees then they cut down. It's only smet business, or they know they will work themselves out of a job.
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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
Jorge Sierra

My Site > www.Sierrasnakes.com

I've been using Nepco. It's fluffier. Kinda like pine as opposed to the tiny shreds of aspen from Harlan....I get mine at feed stores...It may be a bit more expensive but I like it pretty well. One thing is that snakes tend to move it around and get some in the waterbowls.
:Mark
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Surrender Dorothy!

crimsonking.piczo.com/

here's some info
distributors

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Surrender Dorothy!

crimsonking.piczo.com/

Hope you are all enjoying Spring!

The Native Earth Shredded formally Harlan that I have been getting is not very dusty at all. I would notice that, too, as dust makes me wheeze. Maybe it varies from batch to batch?
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Bob
Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire
Keeping cats allows man to cohabitate with tigers. Keeping reptiles allows man to cohabitate with dinosaurs.