Allergic to Aspen Substrate?

Okay, so i got a substrate for the first time today....and when i was putting it in, i just couldnt breathe! At first it smelled good, then i just couldnt breathe and had to leave the room, i finally finished it, but when i misted it, and the aspen got wet it was even worse! i had to leave again.
Has anybody else ever experienced this reaction?


thanks for your input!

never heard of anything like that. you did remove it right?

haha. no i didnt remove it. im too stubborn to do that. i just aired out the room, and left for a while, i went back in, it is settled now, so im fine, and my head is not stuck in the cage. haha.

But what could be bothering you might be bothering the snake even more!


~mike

It doesnt seam to bother him at all, hes exploring and looking as happy as normal, i have allergies though, and i didnt know aspen was one of them, but most of mine are from trees and plants, so it makes sence

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Originally Posted by Amy1217

It doesnt seam to bother him at all, hes exploring and looking as happy as normal, i have allergies though, and i didnt know aspen was one of them, but most of mine are from trees and plants, so it makes sence

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Now be prepared for that to happen everytime you change his substrate.If it continues you can use newspapers it works just as fine and will not cause problems for ya:) .At least i hope not.Do you get the paper everyday? Just want to make sure it will not bother you.

I'd have to reccomend carefresh for substrate. I think it's just shredded carboard or newpaper or something. It comes in brown, blue, pink, and maybe green? T-rex makes stuff called desert snow. Petco stopped carrying it, not sure why. But I thought it was perfect for spot cleaning. It's just shredded up white paper or styrofoam. You may be able to find it online or at small local pet stores. (thats where I had to find it) I don't like using cypress mulch or apen shaving. I think it's a pain in the bum to clean out of cages. It leaves a lot of dust. Carefresh and desert snow are virtually dust free.

Hope I helped!

You might've gotten an extra dusty bag of aspen, and definitely possible you are indeed slightly allergic.

I'd recommend newspaper, or Kraft paper (Wally World has brown kraft paper real cheap).

-Jason

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Originally Posted by Shaffer

I'd have to reccomend carefresh for substrate. I think it's just shredded carboard or newpaper or something. It comes in brown, blue, pink, and maybe green? T-rex makes stuff called desert snow. Petco stopped carrying it, not sure why. But I thought it was perfect for spot cleaning. It's just shredded up white paper or styrofoam. You may be able to find it online or at small local pet stores. (thats where I had to find it) I don't like using cypress mulch or apen shaving. I think it's a pain in the bum to clean out of cages. It leaves a lot of dust. Carefresh and desert snow are virtually dust free.

Hope I helped!

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My petco still carries care fresh (or were you talking about the desert snow??)

~mike

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Originally Posted by Shaffer

T-rex makes stuff called desert snow. Petco stopped carrying it, not sure why

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Just a guess.:P

I can't use it. Something about it makes my throat tighten, my eyes water, and I start to sneeze.

I thought I was the only one who couldn't be around the stuff.:D
Try cypress if you want to use a wood substrate.

that is the one reason I stopped useing aspen, I had a few bags that were extremely dusty and had to quit useing it because I couldnt handle the amount of dust in the bag.

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Originally Posted by wildlifewarrior

My petco still carries care fresh (or were you talking about the desert snow??)

~mike

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Well its nice to know that im not the only one.....I dont know if i can get another substrate, because the only place near me is Petsmart, and i only saw the corn kind, and the Aspen...i'll see next time i go to the Herp store if i can get a diffrent kind. As long as i dont enhale too much when i pour it in, and same with when i wet it, ill be fine. So i will just be careful....because it is the only thing that i have for now. I dont want to use newspaper because my snake is very active, and i dont want him to turn funny colors. lol.

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Originally Posted by Amy1217

I dont want to use newspaper because my snake is very active, and i dont want him to turn funny colors. lol.

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LOL....Mine is on newspaper and I've never seen a speck of "funny color" on her lovely white belly. ;) I think it's the oils on our skin that make the ink rub off on our hands....a problem that snakes don't have.

oh...i was reading an article, and it said that if you have an active snake it could turn then funny colors- i didnt think about the oils though...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Amy1217

Well its nice to know that im not the only one.....I dont know if i can get another substrate, because the only place near me is Petsmart, and i only saw the corn kind, and the Aspen...i'll see next time i go to the Herp store if i can get a diffrent kind. As long as i dont enhale too much when i pour it in, and same with when i wet it, ill be fine. So i will just be careful....because it is the only thing that i have for now. I dont want to use newspaper because my snake is very active, and i dont want him to turn funny colors. lol.

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You should be able to find unprinted newsprint paper. You might even check with your local newspaper printer. Maybe they could supply you with their waste from the end of a run???

Steve

This might be a stupid question to ask, but are you by chance asthmatic?


I have asthma and for some reason "pine" bothers me. When I work in my workshop I have to where a resporator when I cut wood (pine) with a saw. The sawdust triggers an asthma attack every time.

There are many triggers that can cause lung irritations like that. It's definately nothing to fool with.

I would HIGHLY suggest not putting up with the Aspen and switch right away to something else.

Yeah...when i was little they told me i was asthmatic, but for some reason my parents didn't believe me...so i never got an enhaler or anything like that. I really should though...
anyways...what kind of substrate do you use? i want to use the Coconut bark, but it seams like it is a lot more expensive...I was thinking about the newspaper, but i asked my local news paper, and they are not aloud to give it out...idk....they gave me a reason, but i thought it was stupid so i didnt really listen. lol.

Thanks!

It is quite possible that you are allergic to Aspen. I have a friend that used to use pine shavings for his rodents, he is a huge supplier of rodents, and he switched to Aspen. He could not even go into his building because of the reaction that he got from the Aspen. Therefore, he switched back to the pine shavings, and no more problems. I would definitely switch to another type of bedding.

Amy,

Wow, I just took a stab at that. Don't mess around. I developed asmthma in my adult years about 5 years ago. I always considered myself having "better than good" lungs, mainly because playing trumpet for over 30 years. I was dumb founded when I had my first trip to the ER for an attack one morning. Call your family physician and get it checked out. Take the warning sign serious.

I use "Jungle Mix" on all my snakes, it's bascically a cypress mixture. I also do NOT feed any of my snakes in their enclosures for precautions against possible ingestion of any substrate. We feed in an empty cardboard box.

All the best Amy!

Yeah, i will at the end of the month. i dont have a bad reaction to it as long as it isnt fresh, like when i poured it out of the bag, i started having a reaction, but today, when i went to get my snake i didnt have a reaction.