Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,
I breed rats and mice. and i was wonder what is safer.. Ceder chip or pine...I know i should use aspen but the wal-mart or k-mart doesnt sell any..and im 50 miles from a petstore...(my parents dont go to jacksonville very often)..
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Anthony

1.0 Ball Python
1.1 Columbian red-tail
My Email

You should not use Cedar it has an oil that can harm the snake that eats the mice and rats. If you can get aspen better yet. But if not pine is okay but it also is not good but better than cedar. Carefresh is another product it can be found in the cat litter isle. The product called Gentle Touch Bedding is the best and it can be found in some Animal Feed stores. Call 402-371-3311 to see if there is someone near you that carries it. A 45 # bag cost about $13.00.

Good Luck

Honestly, neither. Before I would kill me animals with that crap, I would just shred them up some newspaper and change their bedding more often.

I USE PINE BEDDING, IT WORKS WELL FOR ME AND SOME OF MY REPTILES GET IT FOR BEDDING AS WELL. MYSELF AND A FEW FRIENDS ALSO USE IT WITH NO PROBLEMS.

than cell-sorb plus

check out their website

http://www.cell-sorb-plus.com/

You know about 15 years ago there was a study that showed the oils in cedar shavings can cause liver problems in rodents. Some where along the way the story grew to include pine, but that was never part of the study nor have I ever seen a study that linked pine to any problem.

I have keep rodents and snakes on pine for many many years. I know lots of other breeders who have as well. I have never heard of anyone having a problem where they could say that the pine caused it.

I think it is all a nasty rumor spread by the manufactures of aspen bedding.
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Wade's Weptiles & Wodents

i use cedar for my mice. just make sure there're no little bits on the animal before it is fed to the snake. as for substrate for reptiles (as that has been mentioned in previous replies),
i use pine for both of my pythons, aspen for both of my venomous, coconut bark for my red-sided skink, combination carpet and repti-bark for my nile, lizard litter for the blue tongue, and walnut shell for the agama.
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currently have:
blue tongue skink (skinky),
pygmy rattlesnake (gordon),
nile monitor (dick),
reticulated python (mousetrap),
egyptian painted agama (george),
ball python (snake'n'bake),
red-sided skink (skinky jr.)
mozambique spitting cobra (fluffy).

I used rabbit pellets and will use them again in the future. 1/2" is all it takes. It lasts a long time and is great in the garden, so it doesn't become garbage.

It might not be cost effective if you have to buy it in little bags in K-Mart or Target. The best way to buy it is at a feed store. Any alfalfa based pellet will do, as long as it doesn't have added molasses.

DeMak