My first post and my first snake!

I was wondering if you visited the pet shop you got your snake from, to warn them about using pine.

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Originally Posted by Blink

I was wondering if you visited the pet shop you got your snake from, to warn them about using pine.

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No I haven't visited them. I can call them though. I took their business card. They're called Amazon Reptile Center in Montclair, CA. Their website is amazonreptile.com

I know that a lot of professional herp keepers use aspen bedding. It's safe, because it's a hardwood tree and not a pine. Pine bedding has phenols in it that can be harmful if continuously inhaled by your herp. If you merely smell the pine bedding, you can see what I mean; though it smells good to us, there could be fumes being given off that can cause respiratory problems in rodents and reptiles alike.
Aspen is a perfect bedding, if you want something made out of wood. I prefer newspaper, because it lets you clearly see any urates or feces, so you can make sure they're not runny and are solidly packed. runny stools indicate parasites.

Here's an update. I dumped all the pine and cleaned the tank. I put in newspaper for now but I also have reptibark. From what I read it's hard to find feces in the reptibark so I might return it and stick with newspaper. Can I use felt ?? I think black felt would look nice.

Well, today is one week since I had him so I held him in my hand for about an hour then I fed him in his tank. Here are some pics of my setup and his first meal. He seems to be doing fine! Sorry for all the pics I got excited.

http://www.cpixel.com/picdir/p/playi...icksURCyRD.jpg
http://www.cpixel.com/picdir/p/playi...icksMTXfMA.jpg
http://www.cpixel.com/picdir/p/playi...icksSWjakQ.jpg
http://www.cpixel.com/picdir/p/playi...icksyVGFAC.jpg
http://www.cpixel.com/picdir/p/playi...icksQAwwnL.jpg
http://www.cpixel.com/picdir/p/playi...icksgJxwdY.jpg

He's a little cutie for sure! If you want to use a nicer-looking substrate than newspaper, you might consider using outdoor carpeting or AstroTurf. You can buy it inexpensively at home improvement stores, cut it to size, and have a couple of spare pieces ready to swap out at cleaning time. Just make sure to bleach and rinse it thoroughly before using it the first time to get rid of any strong chemical fumes it may be carrying from the manufacturing process. $6 will get you enough for several pieces.

WELCOME to the site!

Yeah nice looking fella - get him off those phenol fuming chips tho! There are a few wood-based products that can be bad for all snakes - mainly due to the phenol fumes - such as cedar pine and beechwood among others.

Rally nice pattern on him and he looks well proportioned - any clue what they were feeding him?

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Originally Posted by Smulkin

WELCOME to the site!

Yeah nice looking fella - get him off those phenol fuming chips tho! There are a few wood-based products that can be bad for all snakes - mainly due to the phenol fumes - such as cedar pine and beechwood among others.

Rally nice pattern on him and he looks well proportioned - any clue what they were feeding him?

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Thanks Smulkin.
I did take him off the pine shavings, for now he is on newspaper until I decide if I want to use the reptibark I have or go with carpet or turf.

They were feeding him small hopper mice since he hatched. The pictures above show his first meal since I got him one week ago.

Hey everyone when is a good time to give him his second snake?? Last feeding was Sunday.

Thanks

Second snake? I think you mean mouse ;). You definitely want to wait a week between feedings, so Sunday would be good :)

LOL yeah I meant mouse. I read in the "ball python manual" to feed young ones every 5 days, but I will feed him Sunday thanks led!