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 Posted - 18/01/2010 : 07:56:54
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| Ok, guys, thanks to gingerpony, I now know that I'm using Orchid bark in my viv. The thing that has had me wondering a bit, is I noticed that when I'm working with it there is a lot of dust. Does this does bother their respiratory system? I was uncovering Snickers everytime I saw her burrowed because I thought she would get sick. I never knew snakes burrowed. I'd used artificial turf until I got this viv and it is too large to use it in. |
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danbaylis35
Hatchling
United Kingdom
161 Posts |
Posted - 18/01/2010 : 15:03:53
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| not to sure my self i use aspen cos its easy for mine to dig and have fun hiding lol its quiet dusty but hasnt caused any probs dont see why orchid bark should be id wait and see what other people have to say about it :) |
mr.chunky (amel),ssssssteve (western hognose),Cruela (dwarf boa) |
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Posted - 18/01/2010 : 16:00:27
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| WHen I bought Sliny-T-F-B she came with orchard bark (which in ALL honesty I didnt like from the start...) but with the 1 week No Handling and then her first feed- then she shed so it was a good few weeks before I managed to get the aspen in (cooked it first in case of any nasties!!). I read on here (im pretty sure it was here..) that Orchard Bark can cause the humidity of the tank to rise. (PLEASE correct me if Im wrong Guys and Girlies!!) I also found one day (before the changeover) that the inside of one of her hides had enough condensation to wet the inside of the hide! So with the fear of an RI in mind I went and bought Aspen- which I think looks nicer - especially as the Viv does not look so dark! And Ive had no condensation problems since then. |
Slinky-Tallulah-Fairy-Bell
"My Heart has joined The Thousand for my friend stopped running today" |
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SexyBear77
Fully Grown Corn
United Kingdom
3796 Posts |
Posted - 18/01/2010 : 16:09:35
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Skorps is spot on about the humidity problems, but you can bake it in an oven on a low heat to take out all the moisture and you shouldnt hace an issue.
However, I would be VERY concerned about the dust, its not good for the breathing and may cause an RI. You could always put it in a loose weave bag and shake the dust off outside. |
9.11 Cornsnakes
1.1 Hogg island boas
1.0 Dwarf Burmese python
Location: Watford
Website- http://rassnakes.yolasite.com/ |
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Posted - 18/01/2010 : 18:33:42
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quote:
Originally posted by SexyBear77
Skorps is spot on about the humidity problems, but you can bake it in an oven on a low heat to take out all the moisture and you shouldnt hace an issue.
I would have done... Only I made the Mistake of Buying Snake and Viv on the SAME day... *slaps own hand* so didnt have everything set up for a week checking temps before hand... which IF I get another snake I WILL NOT do again! - I was calling Home every half an hour to get people to check on snake/temps etc (yes- I did have a thermostat!!)
xXx |
Slinky-Tallulah-Fairy-Bell
"My Heart has joined The Thousand for my friend stopped running today" |
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Posted - 18/01/2010 : 20:05:54
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That's a good idea. I bought Snickers and a complete first setup kit. She survived.quote:
Originally posted by Skorps
quote:
Originally posted by SexyBear77
Skorps is spot on about the humidity problems, but you can bake it in an oven on a low heat to take out all the moisture and you shouldnt hace an issue.
I would have done... Only I made the Mistake of Buying Snake and Viv on the SAME day... *slaps own hand* so didnt have everything set up for a week checking temps before hand... which IF I get another snake I WILL NOT do again! - I was calling Home every half an hour to get people to check on snake/temps etc (yes- I did have a thermostat!!)
xXx
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Posted - 18/01/2010 : 21:13:23
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I would also be a bit concerned if you are feeding in the viv? If you do he could be ingesting dust or small particles (eating or not I guess). I do prefer aspen too.
If it was me and in my opinion, I would get some aspen, do a viv clean and replace with the aspen instead. Also to answer an earlier question, snakes love to burrow. Especially corns. I think the biggest "burrowers" are hognose snakes hence the "hog" nose.
Some people do use orchid bark and I'm sure it is good, its just personal preference for me to use aspen. If I had, say, a Rainbow Boa then OB would be fantastic.
If you're that concerned in meantime (if can't get aspen straight away) then just replace with kitchen towel for few days. Doesn't look fantastic but will do job plus help dry the viv.
Also high humidity isn't good at all if you have a wooden/melamine viv as it will fall apart quite quickly.
I use a similar method to SexyBear and "sift" aspen through a fine net type material to remove a lot of the dust. |
0.1.0 Anery corn- LegLess
1.0.0 Carolina corn- NoFeet
1.0.0 Syrian hamster- Jabba
0.2.0 Albino ferrets- Mable & Sue
1.0.0 Cat- Ned |
Edited by - n/a on 18/01/2010 21:19:12 |
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gingerpony
Queen Bee
United Kingdom
10455 Posts |
Posted - 18/01/2010 : 22:45:29
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the dust shouldn't be a huge issue although it's not ideal. unless the snake is particularly active and burrowing a lot (not easy to do with the bigger chunkier substrates) and basically churning up a load of dust i don't think i'd change it
what i think everyone has missed is that i'm assuming you've baked it already (as it's now dusty) so high humidity shouldn't be an issue 
i think it can look nice but personally it's a bit of a faff, but then i thought beech chippings became a bit of a faff after a while too........newspaper's great  |
cornsnakes, ratsnakes, bullsnakes, boas and day geckos
Location:Leeds/York/Selby area |
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Posted - 19/01/2010 : 13:38:25
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She has been doing her burrowing since I set up the new viv. For her first year of life with us I had indoor/outdoor carpeting. This is her first time with substrate that she can burrow in. I was concerned because everytime I found her and uncovered her, her body was very dusty. She is not having a problem burrowing in this stuff, but she is not a tiny baby any more either. No, I didn't bake it. I didn't have any idea concerning that. To be honest, I'm trying to figure out why there is so much concern about the humidity when they live in a high humidity environment naturally in NC down through Mississippi. We had on the average 30-40% humidity on a good day. When it rained and it did regularly, the heat of the summer caused that humidity to rise. That's why I wasn't too concerned about it until you guys started talking. I'm a bit confused about the humidity discussion. I grew up with corns and garter snakes living in our barn keeping the rodents out of our horse feed. Granted they burrowed in our haystacks and hid under stacks of wood, but I have the idea that people think that area of America is like a desert. Except for NC being warmer the humidity level is like Germany. I'm not trying to be obstinent, but when I get information contrary to what I know,I have to question why the information is so different.  quote:
Originally posted by gingerpony
the dust shouldn't be a huge issue although it's not ideal. unless the snake is particularly active and burrowing a lot (not easy to do with the bigger chunkier substrates) and basically churning up a load of dust i don't think i'd change it
what i think everyone has missed is that i'm assuming you've baked it already (as it's now dusty) so high humidity shouldn't be an issue
i think it can look nice but personally it's a bit of a faff, but then i thought beech chippings became a bit of a faff after a while too........newspaper's great
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Edited by - n/a on 19/01/2010 14:35:47 |
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378 Posts |
Posted - 19/01/2010 : 15:46:47
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| How you measuring humidity here? I use digital hygrometers and get readings between 40-55% with aspen "as is" which is ideal. Britain is very wet and humidity is usually 50% ish. Therefore this is the reason why no other "help" in the form of raising the humidity is needed (unless aid to shedding). You said "we had humidity 30-40% on a good day... bit higher when rained" that is why we are suggesting to not use anything to raise it further here in UK as orchid bark (unless baked) will increade humidity considerably. So the average humidity levels are not that disimilar. |
0.1.0 Anery corn- LegLess
1.0.0 Carolina corn- NoFeet
1.0.0 Syrian hamster- Jabba
0.2.0 Albino ferrets- Mable & Sue
1.0.0 Cat- Ned |
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352 Posts |
Posted - 19/01/2010 : 16:28:07
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ok...Now I understand. Thank you for clarifying. I didn't think about the difference between the humidity in the bark from England and what we get here. That is something I will need to think about if his company indeed sends us there. I appreciate your patience with me. I read somewhere that someone said that where the cornsnakes are naturally is dry. I guess compared with England it would be. I'll need to keep that information in mind when reading your advice I guess. Thanks again for your patient explaination.quote:
Originally posted by bengy_s
How you measuring humidity here? I use digital hygrometers and get readings between 40-55% with aspen "as is" which is ideal. Britain is very wet and humidity is usually 50% ish. Therefore this is the reason why no other "help" in the form of raising the humidity is needed (unless aid to shedding). You said "we had humidity 30-40% on a good day... bit higher when rained" that is why we are suggesting to not use anything to raise it further here in UK as orchid bark (unless baked) will increade humidity considerably. So the average humidity levels are not that disimilar.
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378 Posts |
Posted - 19/01/2010 : 16:51:41
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| No problem at all. Its always better to ask a question and get an answer. I always hate that nagging thought in your head when your just not quite 100% sure of something! |
0.1.0 Anery corn- LegLess
1.0.0 Carolina corn- NoFeet
1.0.0 Syrian hamster- Jabba
0.2.0 Albino ferrets- Mable & Sue
1.0.0 Cat- Ned |
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352 Posts |
Posted - 19/01/2010 : 18:28:59
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And no, I never feed her in her viv. She hasn't eaten in her viv for several months now. She feeds in a little critter keeper for now. She has at times eaten on the floor and when she was young she ate in my hand.quote:
Originally posted by bengy_s
No problem at all. Its always better to ask a question and get an answer. I always hate that nagging thought in your head when your just not quite 100% sure of something!
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elament
Yearling
United Kingdom
942 Posts |
Posted - 19/01/2010 : 20:49:06
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For my own two penneth I will say this....
When I got Colin the viv came as a set up from the shop and the substrate was orchid bark. After discovering this site and learning orchid bark can cause Ri's i phoned the shop and was told it was dried orchid bark and totally safe. Unconvinced i removed it and put him on beech chippings but to me that looked dangerous in case he accidently ingested some of it (although I ALWAYS feed him out of the viv). Colin was fine on both substrates but it wasnt to my taste so i went back to the shop and got some aspen and Colin discovered burrowing. My own opinion for what its worth is that aspen is the best substrate of the three I have tried and it gets a 10/10 from colin,
cheers
steve
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1.1.0 Amel Corns Colin and Xena
1.0.0 Dog Talan
1.1.0 Cats Wotsit and Willow
1.0.0 Ferret Chaos
Location: Lowestoft Suffolk |
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352 Posts |
Posted - 19/01/2010 : 21:08:10
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Snickers has enjoyed burrowing since I got the real substrate. I figured out something tonight though. When she was crawling around under my laptop, she was moving it and raising it with her body. With that kind of strength, I don't think she will have too much trouble burrowing in any kind of substrate. I will be replace the orchid bark with aspen over time. When it has to be replaced due to her messing it, I'll be replacing it with Aspen. I was thinking of mixing the two now since i've got some Aspen now...not enough for the entire viv, but some.quote:
Originally posted by elament
For my own two penneth I will say this....
When I got Colin the viv came as a set up from the shop and the substrate was orchid bark. After discovering this site and learning orchid bark can cause Ri's i phoned the shop and was told it was dried orchid bark and totally safe. Unconvinced i removed it and put him on beech chippings but to me that looked dangerous in case he accidently ingested some of it (although I ALWAYS feed him out of the viv). Colin was fine on both substrates but it wasnt to my taste so i went back to the shop and got some aspen and Colin discovered burrowing. My own opinion for what its worth is that aspen is the best substrate of the three I have tried and it gets a 10/10 from colin,
cheers
steve
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Orchid bark
