Hey guys been a loooong time, have a question.

It has been such a long time since I have logged on. Hopefully some of you are still around.


So I have a question for all of you that use or have used Aspen bedding. I hadn't used it for a long time, used bark, and after that paper towels to house the snakes.

In the last three years I have switched back to Aspen. Have you or anyone you know had any allergic reactions to Aspen? Hives, typical allergy related symptoms?

The reason I ask is because my husband has been breaking out in hives for almost 3 years now. After so long trying to pin down the cause the thought of Aspen occurred to me. I am going to clean it out, wash the cage down and put in some paper towels to see if it helps. I just wanted to check and see if anyone else had experienced this.

Thanks

I have never had a reaction to aspen, but I do to other wood chips... I have horrible reactions to pine and ceder chips. Lucky for me they are not used with snakes... I could see aspen being something that people could be allergic to. Hopefully when you switch your husband will do better.

I know, he's been so miserable. It only happens at home too, so its got to be something here. I am gonna feel like a total dork, if he is getting hives because of my reptiles:)

Hmm this interesting. I have two pets rats I keep on aspen and I get "hives" when I let them crawl on me. I can pet them with no problem. I thought maybe I was allergic to the rats or maybe bacteria from their feet was causing a reaction. But you guys are making it sound like it could be my bedding!

I've never heard of it...I'd just have him roll around in a big pile and see if it gets worse :giggle:

Yeah and see if I let my cresties or my gargoyle crawl on me their feet irritate my skin but only for a few seconds. Nothing major. The geckos don't bother him either. There is only paper towels in their cages. The only Bp in the house is in our room, and there is (or was) aspen in the cage. I just got done stripping it down, scrubbing, and disinfecting. So we'll see if it helps. I just put some clean unused reptile carpet down for now.

I have an allergy to Aspen bedding (or at least that is what I have come to conclude). I have had snakes and many other pets for 10+ years now and have used many types of bedding for many different animals. Every time I have tried to use Aspen bedding it has resulted in minor breathing problems. Also, when I had to touch the bedding for any duration of time I would generally break out in hives. It was never anything serious but needless to say I do not use Aspen as a bedding anymore (Which is a shame, it was a really good product).

Side note - I have had asthma my whole life, when my allergies act up so does my asthma. This may or may not explain the breathing problems that I have related to the aspen bedding.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bassistjon112

Hmm this interesting. I have two pets rats I keep on aspen and I get "hives" when I let them crawl on me. I can pet them with no problem. I thought maybe I was allergic to the rats or maybe bacteria from their feet was causing a reaction. But you guys are making it sound like it could be my bedding!

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In my personal experience, a lot of people (at least that I know of) have the same reaction while letting rats climb on them. I would think its the sharpness of their little feet that would case an irritation and this reaction, but then again this is just a guess. xD

Hopefully someone can clear this up before I have to go looking for an answer. :D