Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm thinking about experimenting with stove pellets (used in, well, pellet stoves). They are made of compressed, extremely dry fir. I use them for all of my 100 or so rats, and I have never had anything grow on it (of course, the rats do pound everything into the ground, and the cages are cleaned regularly).

I have used aspen for my ball pythons, but occasionally find a mold spot where water was spilled, etc. I have used orchid bark and never had mold, but I have not been able to find a supply for large quantities.

Orchid bark is fir bark. I don't know how it is treated, but the stuff I had before appeared to be just fir bark, no additives. So the stove pellets might work well.

Any thoughts on the subject?

The only thing that I could see wrong with them is the dust factor, since snakes have very sensative respritory systems. I can't imagin that a bag of wood pellets is cheeper than a bag of aspen. I my huge bags of aspen for 12 bucks a piece, and that's enough for my 10 snakes for more than a year. Hope this helps.

Dave

I wouldn't..........

and around here the wood stove pellets are a hot commodity...they run out everywhere and cannot get them .......stores limit them.people are stopping using their stoves due to the fact they cannot get them..

anyways....

aspen molds really really fast.,.....I am actually going to grow mushrooms in it it is that good for fungal growth....

CYPRESS..........nice ......cheap.....and doesn't mold....and you can wet it down all you want.......

Lowe's...$2.99 a bag..........

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wood stove pellets are a pine of some sort..........
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..................gottaLuvIt!!

ok...I live in the desert, and have been trying to get cypress mulch for about a month...
I spent an entire day visitting all the nurseries (including Walmart, home depot and lowes), and NOBODY had any cypress mulch. The Lowes here said they couldn't ship it out here...not sure why. Several places said they could get a cypress/cedar blend...oh well for that one! So...

If anyone is interested in buying some for me and mailing it to me, let me know! I'll pay for it, of course! This really stinks!
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Jeremy Conrad
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Isn't it cooler that serpent's don't walk anymore?
(Genesis 3:14)

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OZZYBOIDS

It doesn't matter much if you live in the desert or on a mountain top or in the frozen north (like me) Cypress mulch is definately a seasonal commodity. You'll probably be able to get it again around May/June at which time you should make sure to lay in several dozen bags because it always disappears by fall. In the mean time, use newspaper.

>>ok...I live in the desert, and have been trying to get cypress mulch for about a month...
>>I spent an entire day visitting all the nurseries (including Walmart, home depot and lowes), and NOBODY had any cypress mulch. The Lowes here said they couldn't ship it out here...not sure why. Several places said they could get a cypress/cedar blend...oh well for that one! So...
>>
>>If anyone is interested in buying some for me and mailing it to me, let me know! I'll pay for it, of course! This really stinks!
>>-----
>>Jeremy Conrad
>>_____________
>>
>>Isn't it cooler that serpent's don't walk anymore?
>>(Genesis 3:14)

my Lowe's had 79 bags.....frozen and wet.......but it did stay flat for the trunk......
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..................gottaLuvIt!!

try the caging classifieds of this very site for Cypress in large bags.
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles

use newspaper..........cheap and easy enough..........I used it for 15 years............(I just started with the "mulches" and I still use paper for adult corns.......they are just too messy ....

.
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??? Lowe's also had this other mulch,,,.it was made of 100% recycled rubber it said.........it looked just like tanbark mulch but it said rubber........my tought it.....cool?......you could just re-wash it and it would never wear out..it's rubber........right?........

.............
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..................gottaLuvIt!!

Sounds like a good idea..... but what if the snake swallows some??? Could they pass it???

Do you think it hold moisture well??? I think I might check it out. Might work well... Ill let you guys know

Raul

I wouldn't try it.....they did have it and it looked good on a frozen night through the bag....no idea about it though....

would work well for gardens/shrubbery because it will not rot /grow fungus'
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..................gottaLuvIt!!

Chris,

Try asking around on one of the amphibian forums...especially those that deal with tree frogs or dart frogs. Keepers of these species generally opt for naturalistic looking setups and are pretty good at knowing where to look for supplies.

I know when I used to keep tree frogs and dart frogs 99% of the fun was setting up a vivarium and "tweaking" it until it was nearly self sustaining. Everything HAD to be perfect (both in the way it looked and functioned).

Anyways, I seem to recall that orchid bark was a fairly good substrate for exactly the reasons listed (long lasting, low odor, does not mold, not easily ingested,) and if you poke around on one of those forums you should be able to find someone who knows where to find orchid bark in a fair quantity. I never used it myself so I'm sorry I can't be of further assistance.

I’ve never seen wood pellets for stoves, per se, but I do use what sounds like the exact same thing in my cat litter box (under the name Feline Pine). It starts out as very hard wood pellets with a rather strong odor and breaks down into an extremely fine dust when it is moistened. I like it as a litter box product (although my cats don’t seem to like digging around in it until it starts to break down). But I would never use it in a reptile cage because of the very fine particle size of the dust. I think you would risk harming a reptile’s respiratory system.

-Joan

>>I'm thinking about experimenting with stove pellets (used in, well, pellet stoves). They are made of compressed, extremely dry fir. I use them for all of my 100 or so rats, and I have never had anything grow on it (of course, the rats do pound everything into the ground, and the cages are cleaned regularly).
>>
>>I have used aspen for my ball pythons, but occasionally find a mold spot where water was spilled, etc. I have used orchid bark and never had mold, but I have not been able to find a supply for large quantities.
>>
>>Orchid bark is fir bark. I don't know how it is treated, but the stuff I had before appeared to be just fir bark, no additives. So the stove pellets might work well.
>>
>>Any thoughts on the subject?