Please Help I found a snake spinoff aka The great pine debate

To all the people acting rude, I was by no means being rude. I was simply giving my opinion based on experience as well as the medical aspect. As far as poking fun at the errors in my post my ipad tends to like to autocorrect things into totally different words. Yes I said repricarpet. For people that have only one or two reptiles reptile carpet is a good substrate. It's easy to clean and reusable And some people don't like the look of paper towels or newspaper. Everyone has the right to their own opinion. I have worked with and owned reptiles for over 20 years so I am by no means a noob nor am I dumb. You may have used pine for years without problems but for most the use of pine does cause issues. Pine has a chemical in it that when wet especially can cause respritory issues and issues with irritation of the scales. The facetious comments are by no means needed. We are all hear for a common reason and that is to help people by giving them advice based on experience and education. I am sure the OP will do what they feel best and use the advice they feel is best suited for them, the snake, and their situation.

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Originally Posted by 200xth

Careful. You're gonna end up being cited as a source for pine being dangerous to snakes.

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Well thanks to both you (200xth) and Skiploder I have had a really good laugh today! Isn't that what we all should be doing? Having a good laugh. Seriously. Thanks again! :gj:

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Originally Posted by shaneswife828

You may have used pine for years without problems but for most the use of pine does cause issues. Pine has a chemical in it that when wet especially can cause respritory issues and issues with irritation of the scales.

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Next time I trek through some pine woods after a good downpour I'll remind all the herps I find that they oughta be more irritated. :P

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Originally Posted by shaneswife828

To all the people acting rude, I was by no means being rude. I was simply giving my opinion based on experience as well as the medical aspect. As far as poking fun at the errors in my post my ipad tends to like to autocorrect things into totally different words. Yes I said repricarpet. For people that have only one or two reptiles reptile carpet is a good substrate. It's easy to clean and reusable And some people don't like the look of paper towels or newspaper. Everyone has the right to their own opinion. I have worked with and owned reptiles for over 20 years so I am by no means a bube nor am I dumb. You may have used pine for years without problems but for most the use of pine does cause issues. Pine has a chemical in it that when wet especially can cause respritory issues and issues with irritation of the scales. The facetious comments are by no means needed. We are all hear for a common reason and that is to help people by giving them advice based on experience and education. I am sure the OP will do what they feel best and use the advice they feel is best suited for them, the snake, and their situation.

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Rude?

Please. Your quote:

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Originally Posted by shaneswife828

Any "good" reptile owner will tell you to avoid pine at all cost

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My "facetious" comment was in response to your rude, insulting and presumptive one. You have just called out a lot of experienced reptile owners as being the opposite of "good".

Help me out with that - what is the opposite of good? Wanna wager on how may people on here you just slapped in the face? A couple of Moderators? Moderatrixes? A couple of keepers and big breeders with decades of experience....?

ReptiCarpet.......:rofl:

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Originally Posted by John1982

Next time I trek through some pine woods after a good downpour I'll remind all the herps I find that they oughta be more irritated. :P

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Those stupid pituophis ruthveni living their entire lives in longleaf pine savannahs....

You know, those long leaf pine forests that are so rich in flora and fauna. Guess the Rat Lady, the Bunny Babe, the Gerbil Goddess and all the other people who draw incorrect conclusions about fairly complex hepatic data have never visited one.....

Ad I stated I was by no means being rude. I was simply coming from a veterinary background. When I said "good" it was in quotes not to belittle anyone but to use a common phrase. I didn't want to say that anyone with reptile knowledge, or common sense was dumb If they used it. As far as about trekking through the woods. Pine shavings are by no means like pine needles. The milling process brings out the chemicals much more. Have you ever put up a Christmas tree and itched from it afterwards? That was caused likely by the chemical irritant I am referring too. Just as you shouldn't smoke, use heavy cleaners, or burn incense in the area of your reptiles because of the chemicals the same can be said about pine and cedar as they too have chemical irritants.

by the way ask some of the greats like Brian from BHB what they think of the use of pine. I'm pretty sure in one of his YouTube shows he said pine was not recommended.

Not to get involved in the debate of whether pine is a good substrate or not; I'm a botanist and my work centers around trees. Yes, pines do have essential oils and resins that could probably be considered irritants, but at nowhere near the concentration that cedars do (this is one reason pines decompose so much more quickly than cedars). I just personally wouldn't recommend pine because I've never used it.

If pine is considered bad by so many, why use it at all when there are so many other options?

People often use pine because it is cheaper than the alternatives. I would rather spend more on something else. I am the type that would rather pay more than take a risk.