Any issues with using pine pellets in feeder bins

Is it okay to mix pine pellets (for deodorizing abilities) in with Aspen for my mice and rat feeders?? I believe I've heard of some others using this product.

I just remember hearing that pine was bad for snakes - is it okay if their food is exposed to it before feeding.

Just want to be sure.

Thanks.

I have been using pine pellets, but have not been using it for all that long. I give them some aspen in the corners to make beds. Hoping it's fine, hard for me to beat 40lbs of pellets for $6!

New rats did sneeze for a little while till they settled in.

My concern would be that residue from the Pine Pellets could transfer to my snakes during feeding - is this possible.

Anyone else that can chime in about this.

I use pine pellets for all my breeder rats and mice and for female that are nursing babies under two weeks old I do 50% Pellet 50% Pine shaving (as the dust can clog the babies nostril leading to significant losses)

Never had any problem doing so, and I have produced and fed several thousands of feeders since I started breeding my own in 2007 ;)

Hi Deborah,

I knew someone had told me about pine pellets but I couldn't remember where I had read it - thanks for that update.

So as long as I use it sparingly in the tanks with babies - I should be fine?
:):)

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Originally Posted by L.West

So as long as I use it sparingly in the tanks with babies - I should be fine?
:):)

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Absolutely the only issue is that the dust get in the babies nostrils leading to suffocation, which is why I always recommend to use a small amount of pellet with babies that are below two week of age, after that they are fine and can be house exclusively on pellets.

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Originally Posted by rperry03

Hoping it's fine, hard for me to beat 40lbs of pellets for $6!

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$5 for a 5.5 cubic feet of pine shavings at McCoys;)

I am currently using Aspen - is there any suffocation threat to the babies with this product?

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

$5 for a 5.5 cubic feet of pine shavings at McCoys;)

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There are no McCoys around here, so it's still hard for me to beat ;) Im sure if I had a place to store something in bulk I could find it cheaper.

Aspen is fine, won't hurt them. Kiln dried pine is fine too. The little bit of product that would make it to your snakes on normal feeders (ie, not wet), shouldn't cause issue.

I really liked the pine pellets and the way they smelled nice and fresh even after a couple days. The issues for me were that they were hard to get hold of at times (didn't have much space to store extra), and that everything would end up coated in a layer of dust from the pellets rather quickly. You can put a layer of wood shavings on top to minimize it, but it still can get dusty.

Of course, it may not have helped that I use serious fan-power to move air around down there and keep things circulating. :rolleyes: But next year when the snakes/rats will have their own buildings, I'll be using them again definitely. At least in potty corners. For now I'm just using kiln dried pine bought in bales at the local feed store.