Waste Disposal

So as I am cleaning out the 25+ rat tubs today (and thinking that I needed to clean out the aspen in the snake cages) it started me thinking what does everyone else do with all the waste. For me I will end up with (2) 55gal trash drums of soiled aspen. As my "heard" grows so does the amount of waste to be dealt with. Before I could just throw it away in the garbage but now it is too much so I have used some for mulch but now that is filled up so I am starting to think of other options.

So just curious what does everyone else do? I am sure if you have a small collection the trash is the best option but what about those of you beyond a bag here and there?

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Originally Posted by lord jackel

So as I am cleaning out the 25+ rat tubs today (and thinking that I needed to clean out the aspen in the snake cages) it started me thinking what does everyone else do with all the waste. For me I will end up with (2) 55gal trash drums of soiled aspen. As my "heard" grows so does the amount of waste to be dealt with. Before I could just throw it away in the garbage but now it is too much so I have used some for mulch but now that is filled up so I am starting to think of other options.

So just curious what does everyone else do? I am sure if you have a small collection the trash is the best option but what about those of you beyond a bag here and there?

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Well I use news paper for my snakes and I use the dried corn cob chips for the rats so I use only one lawn and leaf bag per cleaning :D

Sean,
It happens to be easy for us, since we live in the country, but it may help someone, so I'll fill you in on how we do it. As for the Aspen from the snakes, I generate about 40 gallons worth of trash a week. I take this stuff about every other week, and burn it with my household burnables in a big fire. As for the pine bedding and poop from rats, I put it in a manure spreader. We used to have horses, and already had a spreader for getting rid of horse waste and their bedding. We generally fill the speader about twice a week. I have included a link to where we got our spreader, as I think it is a great deal for smaller work.

http://www.newerspreader.com/

Hope this helps,

During the winter I just put everything in a big heavy duty trash bag. During the spring-fall I take all of my snakes and rats bedding down to my uncles house a few doors down. He uses it for his compost pile.

I usually fill a 35 gallon garbage can with aspen every other week. What I can put out for the garbage goes, what i can't gets burned in a chimenea

11 bins of rats a week, all that aspen goes out to mulch my yard. Believe it or not, there isn't any real smell once it's dries, and when it rains, I don't notice an odor. Of course, I'm spreading it along the woods side first, but so far it's working great.
I have a few people who have expressed an interest in taking it for real mulch for composting, but not interested enough to come get it(they want it delivered!!)
Burning might give you some very rich ashes for a compost pile too.
Wolfy

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Originally Posted by muddoc

Sean,
It happens to be easy for us, since we live in the country, but it may help someone, so I'll fill you in on how we do it. As for the Aspen from the snakes, I generate about 40 gallons worth of trash a week. I take this stuff about every other week, and burn it with my household burnables in a big fire. As for the pine bedding and poop from rats, I put it in a manure spreader. We used to have horses, and already had a spreader for getting rid of horse waste and their bedding. We generally fill the speader about twice a week. I have included a link to where we got our spreader, as I think it is a great deal for smaller work.

http://www.newerspreader.com/

Hope this helps,

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Thanks for the link Tim...Interesting idea but living in the city I can't think of anyplace to "spread" it without getting yelled at. LOL

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Originally Posted by wolfy-hound

11 bins of rats a week, all that aspen goes out to mulch my yard. Believe it or not, there isn't any real smell once it's dries, and when it rains, I don't notice an odor. Of course, I'm spreading it along the woods side first, but so far it's working great.
I have a few people who have expressed an interest in taking it for real mulch for composting, but not interested enough to come get it(they want it delivered!!)
Burning might give you some very rich ashes for a compost pile too.
Wolfy

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I have been doing the same thing (and agree on the smell) my problem is I am now filling up the areas where I can use it (around plants, along fence line, etc). We can't burn waste here...so that is a no go.

Guess I am off to the dump every couple of weeks.

Thanks for all the ideas.

I used to dump it out at the horse manure pile. it is easier to just toss it out in a garbage bag with the trash weekly though. Sometimes I burn it if we have a big, hot bonfire going, but if it is just a small fire, the shavings tend to douse it out because they are moist :(

I've been throwing my bedding out and I hate doing since it seems like a waste. I live in "town" also but am thinking about an area I could do a small compost. Does anyone happen to know if aspen and rat/reptile feces is ok for grass? I've got some areas where I have a hard time starting grass and if I could "re-use" the soiled bedding that would be sweet but it probably needs to be broken down in compost first. With us trying to sell the house it probably isn't a good time to start a compost pile LOL.

Hm.. a friend of mine composs, and she has a small postage-stamp-sized backyard. I am going to have to pump her for info.. I too have wanted to compost. We have a large area to work with; I thought of just tossing the organic matter into one can, the inorganic into another, and piling it out behind the trees..? I know that they make cylinders out of metal with a crank, and they rest sideways on a stand; you put the compost in and crank it every so often? I saw some at a nature preserve up in Buffalo (but was too busy looking at milk snakes and frogs to give t much attention, lol.)

Now that we've got the land, I'd looooooove to compost, but I've been warned not to use the snake or rat bedding b/c of risks of the salmonella and other bacterias in the rat/snake poo and raw veggies eventually growing and getting contaminated.


Right now it's going into the landfill w/my household garbage. We have limited (seasonal...during the "wet" season) yard burning...no household trash (:rolleyes: yeah, riiiiiiiiight) but they'll nail you to the wall for it too with heavy fines when they get you. The prev. ppl left different trash/ash/rubble piles, but I'm looking into getting an actual barrel for the paper stuff that doesn't recycle...then putting the bedding into it.

Wow! That is pretty stringent for burning rules; but we are off the road more. We burn everything; couches, a boat, a small garage that we tore down.. whole trees cut-up.. I like to get a nice hot fire going and burn our garbage. I am usually just too lazy to tote it all the way up the driveway via Atv, because it always slips off and I have to stop and get it and usually there is garbage strewn all over the driveway by then..
I am just going to keep tossing mine out with the garbage if it is a wet week and we don't burn it.