Good Substrate

[J.huff23]

Would hamster bedding be a good substrate for a corn snake?

 

[xchondrox]

Just use paper towel or news paper. Its alot easier to clean and you wont have to worry about the oils in the bedding or your snake ingesting any during feeding.

 

[Kid Dragon]

Hamsters are better for corn snakes than hamster bedding. Ingestion of the bedding can be problematic.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

Would hamster bedding be a good substrate for a corn snake?

There are about a dozen different things people can use for hamster bedding, what are you talking about? I'll say right off, though, that pine and cedar shavings are toxic to ALL small animals - hamsters included - but pet stores still sell them anyway. So if that's what you're asking about, the answer is no.

Aspen is neat.

 

[J.huff23]

Aspen

Aspen is neat.

So aspen substrate would be good? I want to use something that looks natural in the cage.

 

[JohnEDove]

For a real naturalistic substrate you can try Eco-Earth (coconut fiber) or peat moss.
I've experimented with about every substrate tha I can think of including shredded paper and news print or paper towels are the easiest clean, aspen is excellent but for a natural look you have to go more toward soil looking types like Exo-Earth.
Regardless of what you use I would suggest that you feed your snake in a seperate container with paper substrate to avoid the snake swallowing any substrate which could cause impaction.

 

[J.huff23]

So any kind of shredded pape would work? Even newspaper?

 

[harveythefly]

For a real naturalistic substrate you can try Eco-Earth (coconut fiber) or peat moss.
I've experimented with about every substrate tha I can think of including shredded paper and news print or paper towels are the easiest clean, aspen is excellent but for a natural look you have to go more toward soil looking types like Exo-Earth.
Regardless of what you use I would suggest that you feed your snake in a seperate container with paper substrate to avoid the snake swallowing any substrate which could cause impaction.

i definitely recommend eco-earth /bed-a-beast for inverts but my experience is that it's not that great for snakes...when it's dry it's way too dusty and fine-grained...it can sometimes cause respiratory problems and it can get between the scales and cause skin irritations...i use cypress bark for my nerodia sp water snakes and aspen for my boids...they're both semi-easy to clean and keep it looking natural and the snakes seem to like it

i did manage to keep a mud snake successfully on bed-a-beast but i kept it really really wet for him because they like to wallow in...well...mud lol

and yes feeding in a seperate tank is always a good idea...not only does it lessen the risk of impaction but it can help keep your snake from becoming cage aggressing because he won't see your hand entering his enclosure as a feeding response

just my two cents
Harvey

 

[J.huff23]

I went to the local pet store and picked up "aspen snake bedding". The package says "...safe for all snakes....no toxic oils like cedar and other similar wood shavings...provides a safe, naturalistic substrate that allows snakes, lizards, and small animals to form burrows and nests as they would in the wild." I was thinking "It's perfect!" I get my new snake tomorrow. Thanks to everyone who had the patience to help me.

 

[reverendsterlin]

the reason I don't like wood shavings is because they can be ingested if you feed in that enclosure, newspaper and indoor/outdoor carpet were always good for me. In display tanks I found a recycled paper product in the garden section of Home Depot that resembled bark, it also worked well.
Rev