BP eating substrate? Dangers?

[lunasjy]

I used to use plain newspaper as substrate for all my ball pythons. I have a few ball pythons who tend to crawl underneath the paper, and when I go to get them out, they snap at me because of the movement of the paper. I want to get rid of the paper and possibly move them to ?aspen? or something else if you know of one that you think is better.

I am worried about them eating the substrate. I feed them in their enclosures, not in a "feeding tub", so what are the risks of them eating the aspen bedding?

[200xth]

Not much risk at all.

EDIT: Just to clarify. They will definitely get some in their mouths during feeding from time to time. There is not much risk associated with them ingesting it.

[arke95]

what i do is i put a pre-killed mouse on paper towel, so the substrate doesn't get attached to the mouse when feeding.

[Eric Alan]

The risk is more of a perceived risk by owners than an actual risk to the snakes. If they do accidentally ingest a bit of substrate, and they will, their digestive systems are typically robust enough that it doesn't cause an issue.

It's not like they've been finding paper towels to eat on in the wild and they've been doing just fine for quite some time now.

[Kris Mclaughlin]

I used aspen for a long time before i decided i hated it. Poor for humidity... i do the same thing for my frogs, snakes, and lizards.

I use my own home blend of natural soil, tropical soil bedding, coco fiber, charcoal, and a few other things. Its bioactive so i scoop out big poop and mix the rest in. Im a picky man so i havent put real plants in yet. But.... i moisten it once a week and it keeps perfect humidity with the diy foil top, or like i did, make a custom lid... almost never have to change it if you maintain it.

Point being yes i think its more paranioa than anything. Even before i went full time feeding in a separate tank i had no problems. Vents always clean and no digestion issues. I mean theres dirt in nature... so... Aspen and soil alike compact after the snake wanders a bit around the bedding. Its more personal opinion than anything i think

[Borgpython]

They can digest the substrate no problem .

[ROACH]

I use Aspen also, but like Kris McLaughlin said....Poor on Humidity! I am in the process of switching all of mine over to Cypress Mulch. Mine have eaten some aspen and no problems!

[Baba Fett]

Just googled the topic because my black pastel had some in his mouth as he finished off an asf... I managed to get out two pieces with tweezers before he was done. Relieved to hear it isn't a huge issue to worry about.

Fast Shadow

[kitedemon]

The only substrate that I know to have caused a problem after injection is paper towels. My vet has been forced on a few occasions to operate to remove it. There is no way for the snake to pass it.

[Albert Clark]

Just googled the topic because my black pastel had some in his mouth as he finished off an asf... I managed to get out two pieces with tweezers before he was done. Relieved to hear it isn't a huge issue to worry about.

Fast Shadow

Yeah, that is what I do! I try to monitor the swallowing as much as I can and remove substrate where I can. Its not easy if you are feeding numerous animals at the same time though. I use cypress mulch so most of it falls off during the swallowing process.