Wood mite chances?

Sorry to ask ANOTHER question today, but we just switched from paper to aspen and now I'm reading that quite a bit there will be wood mites in the bedding.

I was wondering how often this tends to happen? I bought mine from Petco, the Petco brand in fact.

I really hate bugs of any form and I really dont want to deal with wood mites, so if this tends to be a huge problem I think I'll just go back to paper and paper towels.

Thanks so much guys!

It really shouldn't happen at all if you get it from a good source. Pet store bedding might have bugs in it from time to time, but not the kind that will harm your snake.

You can bake the bedding in the oven on 250* for like 20-30 minutes, or you could treat it with provent a mite prior to putting it in the snake enclosure.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kaorte

It really shouldn't happen at all if you get it from a good source. Pet store bedding might have bugs in it from time to time, but not the kind that will harm your snake.

You can bake the bedding in the oven on 250* for like 20-30 minutes, or you could treat it with provent a mite prior to putting it in the snake enclosure.

---

What should I look for/ask about if I am getting it from somewhere other than a pet store? I've never had to worry about this before lol. I always just used pine when I bred guinea pigs and never had a problem, but I guess with snakes it's different now.

I loved the easiness of just paper and paper towels but I feel like I should use bedding to help the humidity until I can get them in their own room w/ a humidifier. (Which would have been today but now my BF's friend might need to move in with us for a bit.... :mad: not thrilled....)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AcePythons

What should I look for/ask about if I am getting it from somewhere other than a pet store? I've never had to worry about this before lol. I always just used pine when I bred guinea pigs and never had a problem, but I guess with snakes it's different now.

I loved the easiness of just paper and paper towels but I feel like I should use bedding to help the humidity until I can get them in their own room w/ a humidifier. (Which would have been today but now my BF's friend might need to move in with us for a bit.... :mad: not thrilled....)

---

To be honest, the aspen won't make much of a difference then the paper towels in terms of humidity.

You don't really need to ask anything when getting a bag. Just buy from a place that looks clean and is reputable.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kaorte

It really shouldn't happen at all if you get it from a good source. Pet store bedding might have bugs in it from time to time, but not the kind that will harm your snake.

You can bake the bedding in the oven on 250* for like 20-30 minutes, or you could treat it with provent a mite prior to putting it in the snake enclosure.

---

Exactly. Whenever I do a tube cleaning and full bedding change I always throw some Prevent A Mite on the new aspen to try to avoid any problems with any type of bugs.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kaorte

To be honest, the aspen won't make much of a difference then the paper towels in terms of humidity.

You don't really need to ask anything when getting a bag. Just buy from a place that looks clean and is reputable.

---

Really?? I thought maybe, bein in the desert and all, that if I sprayed it daily that it would help a bit more than just, say, newspaper?

Hmm...well I might take that into consideration then, cuz if it wont help I very much like just using paper. It's convenient and free for me (dad owns a moving supply company so I use the packing paper) but I dont doubt the snakes would much prefer the bedding to be able to move around on. More natural I suppose.

If you live in the desert, perhaps aspen will help a little bit. I think cypress mulch would be a much better bet though.

I know I'm new at this, but I have to say that I use cypress mulch and am very happy with it. It seems to hold the humidity very well and is clean and slightly softer than aspen. I am finding that it's really easy to pick up after her too - just use a small scoop to remove any waste for routine maintainence. It also looks a bit more "natural" if asthetics is important. Ella likes to make tracks in it... :)