Feeeding Question

your welcome . :D

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Originally Posted by markface

the problem is that wood and bark are composed of cellulose and lignnin , both of which are nondigestible . when broken down into very small pieces(ie chewing) its ok ( we call this fiber) . since snakes dont chew , it can be a problem for them .

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Actually, the gastro-intestinal acids of snakes are some of the most poweful on the planet ... they are designed to break down fur, bone, and the thich tough heart muscles of their prey ... small amounts of fiborous bedding containing cellulose and lignnin won't pose a problem.

-adam

If you have had your female in that enclosure for a while, the aspen should be pretty pressed down from her moving around on it. If not, just press any fluffed bedding down some time before you feed. It shouldn't be a problem, especially if you are feeding f/t. If you are feeding live, it probably still won't cause a problem.

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

Actually, the gastro-intestinal acids of snakes are some of the most poweful on the planet ... they are designed to break down fur, bone, and the thich tough heart muscles of their prey ... small amounts of fiborous bedding containing cellulose and lignnin won't pose a problem.

-adam

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you could very well be right Adam . i'm only going by what i was told by a biology professor . he did admit that reptiles were not his specialty though .

I've been feeding my BP on some aspen for almost a year now and as far as I know everything has gone perfectly well (I haven't watched ALL of them). There was one feeding in which he tossed and turned and SPLAT, landed the mouse in his water dish. A few pieces stuck to the wet mouse, but they didn't make it down his gullet. They slid off when he was either moving around or when it hit his lips.. (Lips..?) ;)

Every other time they've gone down fine with nothing interferring at all.

I use aspen on all of my sub-adult and adult BP's. I feed live and I have never had a problem with ingestion of the aspen.

I've had a few end up in the water dish, though..soggy dead rats..!!