Aspen bedding..

[Skeptic]

Is that the stuff they grow on what used to be rainforest country that was previously only used for a few orangutangs? Environmental cost? What's that?

There aren't any Orangutan's in Sri Lanka but I get your point. The environmental cost of production in a country where corruption is rife would be huge. Then add the environmental cost of shipping to Australia and your snakes bedding starts to seem unsustainable. Thats because it more than likely is.

 

[Vixen]

Although allowing your snake to consume anything other than its food just confuses me.

I'm sure snakes in the wild would be ingesting quite a bit of foreign matter with their prey aswell?

I think what happened to Brad was just a very unfortunate occurrence ~

 

[saximus]

Just comes back down to common sense. In what way would it work? I'm just not seeing it.
For everything else such as the cleaning part then yeah it's great. Although allowing your snake to consume anything other than its food just confuses me.

For people with large collections its just not really feasible to move every animal into feeding tubs just in case they ingest it. I know plenty of people (myself included) who use other loose substrates and feed on them without any problems. For people with only a couple then yeah it's probably perfect though

 

[saximus]

Is that the stuff they grow on what used to be rainforest country that was previously only used for a few orangutangs? Environmental cost? What's that?

Isn't that palm oil?

 

[andynic07]

Is that the stuff they grow on what used to be rainforest country that was previously only used for a few orangutangs? Environmental cost? What's that?

Leaves and flowers for medicinal purposes , fibre for clothes and rope and snake bedding. That should reduce environmental impact and your reptiles carbon foot print unless they decide that the weather in PNG is better for growing marijuana and they cut down more rainforests there to commercially grow it. Your point is valid about hemp being a better product as long as it is farmed in a responsible way.

 

[Skeptic]

I'm sure snakes in the wild would be ingesting quite a bit of foreign matter with their prey aswell?

I've recently been involved in a project to address this very problem. We have been laying newspaper in known snake hotspots in an attempt to 'train' the local reptiles to eat off it. The one's that do are more likely to survive the eating process and therefore more likely to reach reproductive age and pass on the behaviour.

Now I wouldn't call myself a hero per se, just someone doing their part.

 

[andynic07]

I've recently been involved in a project to address this very problem. We have been laying newspaper in known snake hotspots in an attempt to 'train' the local reptiles to eat off it. The one's that do are more likely to survive the eating process and therefore more likely to reach reproductive age and pass on the behaviour.

Now I wouldn't call myself a hero per se, just someone doing their part.

I am also involved in a project to run power out to the bush for heating and we are considering placing a freezer full of rats and hot water system for thawing but the bloody snakes can't open the freezer without arms.

 

[wokka]

Isn't that palm oil?

It could well be but the point I was trying to make is that there are more things to consider than the dollars you pay for substrate in Bunnings.

 

[PetPac]

Hey, just FYI. The ZooMed Aspen is a shredded product without sharp ends and as it isn't a 'chip' the absorbency is terrific. The long fibres are much less likely to stick to food or get caught in a reptiles mouth. 'Chipped' wood is really manufactured for small animal bedding, maybe good for your rats and mice
Unlike any wood substrates from a garden supply/ nursery the ZooMed aspen in thoroughly cleaned in a giant 'tumbler' to remove any dust and/or fine particles. To enter the country it has to be sterilised so zero chance of bugs, mites etc...
I've been using it on pythons for a while now and spot clean when required and change it every few months, it can go quite a long time if you spot clean regularly.
It doesn't hold and then re-release moisture as well as bark so if you want to use a dry substrate that you periodically wet down the ZooMed ReptiBark is better - a fir bark.
Both products are farmed so minimal impact on the environment.

 

[andynic07]

Hey, just FYI. The ZooMed Aspen is a shredded product without sharp ends and as it isn't a 'chip' the absorbency is terrific. The long fibres are much less likely to stick to food or get caught in a reptiles mouth. 'Chipped' wood is really manufactured for small animal bedding, maybe good for your rats and mice
Unlike any wood substrates from a garden supply/ nursery the ZooMed aspen in thoroughly cleaned in a giant 'tumbler' to remove any dust and/or fine particles. To enter the country it has to be sterilised so zero chance of bugs, mites etc...
I've been using it on pythons for a while now and spot clean when required and change it every few months, it can go quite a long time if you spot clean regularly.
It doesn't hold and then re-release moisture as well as bark so if you want to use a dry substrate that you periodically wet down the ZooMed ReptiBark is better - a fir bark.
Both products are farmed so minimal impact on the environment.

I think that aspen would be too expensive to use for rats as it gets changed a lot more regularly than snake substrate but that is just my opinion and not from trials.

 

[wokka]

Both products are farmed so minimal impact on the environment.

My understanding is that the major environmental impact relates to carting the product half way around the world rather than from the production process.

 

[Marzzy]

Isn't Aspen like the most expensive bedding yet ? I see it at expos and there's no way I'd pay that much for a tiny bag. The cost to do all the enclosures would be silly.

 

[KaotikJezta]

The bags hold more than they appear to. It spreads out nicely and goes a fair way.

 

[Tsubakai]

Hemp sounds very good but its a bit of a pointless discussion if there is nowhere to buy it from. Is anyone marketing it as a bedding product? If not, what sort of businesses would stock it or be able to source it?

 

[Tesla]

My understanding is that the major environmental impact relates to carting the product half way around the world rather than from the production process.

I hope you ride a bicycle, only use energy which is produced without overseas manufactured components, type on a computer and use a mobile phone which doesn't contain coltan and finally grow or process everything you eat.
I doubt you do the above so ripping on someone about their substrate choice and the environmental impact seems a little hypocritical.

 

[Ratatouile]

The sponsor of this forum, Reptile Direct (Simon), sells hemp bedding both on his website and on eBay. I bought a bag off him at Penrith expo and it's great.

 

[dragondragon]

Atleast his doing something to reduce his carbon footprint or carbon tracks

 

[MesseNoire]

Hemp sounds very good but its a bit of a pointless discussion if there is nowhere to buy it from. Is anyone marketing it as a bedding product? If not, what sort of businesses would stock it or be able to source it?

Petbarn stock it under "agrisorb" which is what I'm using. But reptiles direct stock it too and their service is fantastic

 

[wokka]

I hope you ride a bicycle, only use energy which is produced without overseas manufactured components, type on a computer and use a mobile phone which doesn't contain coltan and finally grow or process everything you eat.
I doubt you do the above so ripping on someone about their substrate choice and the environmental impact seems a little hypocritical.

I am sorry if you took my posts intent to be ripping users for their choice of substrate. My intent was to encourage people to make informed choices. You'd be amazed how many users dont realise that Aspen comes from the other side of the world. Hemp on the other hand is grown in many places in Austrlia including the Hunter Valley , where I live.
My bike riding days are over unfortunately. The idea is to make choices having regard for the environment. i think they call it tripple bottom line accounting! If there is a lower impact alternative I use it, particularly if it is local.

 

[andynic07]

My bike riding days are over unfortunately. The idea is to make choices having regard for the environment. If there is a lower impact alternative I use it, particularly if it is local.

Everyone has to find their own balance between expense , place of manufacture and impact on the environment whilst considering their reptiles. You choose to not ride a bike for your own reasons whilst others choose the bedding they do for their reasons. In a perfect world the local product that is the cheapest is also the best for the environment and your reptile and the choice would be easy but different people place bigger emphasis on different things for their own personal reasons.