Rabbit Pellets. The alternative substrate?

A long time I read an article in a book or magazine (I can't remember what article as this was over 12 years ago when I read this) about the benefits of using rabbit pellets as a substrate for keeping reptiles.

I personally have used rabbit pellets almost exclusively with no ill effects on any of my snakes and with few drawbacks (which I will mention later).

I did try using an astroturf substitute for a very short duration but I was not satisfied with it nor did my snakes seem to like it either as they were less active. So back to the rabbit pellets I went.

According to the article I read and/or remember, the benefits of rabbit pellets were:

1. Non-toxic (considering it's a food source)
2. Safe to ingest/digest (it's mainly just alfalfa)
3. Easy to clean (clumps like cat litter, they are very absorbant)

I've also found these to be relatively true of rabbit pellets too:

4. They are smooth enough to crawl upon but offer some roughage for aiding of shedding.
5. They are easy for any size snake to burrow in (I've only witnessed my Kingsnakes from hatchling to adult burrowing in them, I have never seen my Corns do this).
6. They seem to displace the heat from an UTH quite well although you do not want to go over a depth of 1 1/2 inches. I've found that an inch is much better.

The article I read did state one potential negative aspect of using rabbit pellets of the poorest quality:

1. In case of poor quality pellets that contain a lot of "dust", respiratory problems might occur. (I have never had this happen for the 13+ years I've been using rabbit pellets).

I have also found a few minor problems using pellets:

2. They can be a source of mold/fungus if they are allowed to become soaking wet (like if the water bowl spills onto them) and not cleaned out over a lengthy period of time. Even then, they usually clump together after a couple of days and are easy to clean up. I have never witnessed any mold/fungus wet problems from snakes that soak in the water bowl and then crawl about as the snakes don't seem to hold water well enough to their scales when they crawl out.

3. They can be a medium to host bugs. The only problem I have ever had with this is with very small beetles (not sure what kind these are) that seem to hatch out of the pellets once a year and become a minor nuisance just flying around the house. The interesting thing is, when I lived in Southern California, I never ever had this problem nor had I ever heard of it. But when I moved to Washington, that was when I started having this happen. So, the beetles must be endemic to this part of the region, perhaps due to the humid and wet nature of the habitat. I have no reason to believe that they pose any threats to my snakes as I have now been living with in Washington for 7+ years and have yet to have any health issues with my snakes. And if the infestation gets out of control, I just change out the old pellets with new and this seems to curtail the problem.

Here's some potential problems to consider:

1. For those with humidity problems and like to mist their snakes habitats, this could be a mold/fungus issue with using rabbit pellets for obvious reasons stated above.

2. Water bowls and heavy hides should be put completely on the bottom of the tank so ensure that a burrowing snake cannot get underneath a heavy item and then displace it enough to have it crush them.

While I have yet to see anybody in recent articles or forums mention using rabbit pellets as a substrate, I used to see these used frequently at a few local reptile stores in Southern California as well, although mainly for land turtles and small tortoises.

Another thing I would like to point out is that rabbit pellets can either be very reasonably priced or very expensive depending on where you get them. I have found that Feed stores offer much better prices than a pet store ever has. I can usually get a 50lb bag at a Feed store for $10-15 whereas a pet store usually charges $20-30 for a 50lb bag. And of course the bigger bag you buy, the better the savings.Of course your mileage may vary depending on what's available to you

Other than that, I would be highly interested to hear what others have to offer in regards to using rabbit pellets and/or their experiences (if any).

I know a pet store where they have some kind of kingsnake and they used rabbit pellets. The lady told me to use them, but I decided to stick to aspen. She told me she only changes the bedding like once a year. But I've heard of problems such as mold growing in the pellets. So I just stick with the aspen bedding.

I tried pellets years ago, but here in Florida it is just too humid. I had a lot of mold / fungus problems and had to give up the experiment pretty quickly.

Alfalfa pellets work well enough for rodent bedding, assuming you don;t mind the strong hay smell.

I don't really see the point in using them for snake bedding. It's not like snakes have the high volume of waste that rodents produce.

Flagg said:

...assuming you don;t mind the strong hay smell.

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This is true, fresh rabbit pellets can have a bit of a hay odor, but I find that the smell does abate after a few days (or perhaps we just get used to it).

I don't really see the point in using them for snake bedding.

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The main reason why I chose rabbit pellets all those years ago and continue to use them is because of a snake ingesting an item (ie bark, shaving) that might pose a problem.

Naturally the argument would be that in the wild any animal would be posed with this problem, but since these animals are not in the wild, it's almost a moot point

But when you even consider the amount of information we now have access to including the diverse amount of breeders now than there were 10-15 years ago, you had to make decisions based on what was available information wise and product wise too. Back then, quite a bit of the information found in books and magazines in regards to keeping snakes often recommended pine shavings or crushed corn cob or nut shells. These days if someone mentioned crushed corn cobs or nut shells, you'd be seriously concerned about the knowledge of the keeper, but that was the standard recommendation at the time.

So, with all that said, I think rabbit pellets, even by todays standards, are still a viable and quantifiable option worth considering or trying (especially if your store is out or doesn't carry the product you want), if even for a short while.

very interesting. thanks for sharing your experience!

I would worry a lot about the dustyness, snakes respritory systems are extremely senstive (they only really have one lung), and I would imagine it would be harder for them to burrow in as compared to aspen (corns naturally spend most of their time burrowing, so seeing them not burrow in it could be a sign). Also about the ingestion part, you have to consider that snakes arnt made to digest plant matter so its impossible to tell just how well its broken down, and sometimes what can be digested hangs around in the stomach longer then that which cant be, which passes right through; and doesnt the pellets expand when wet? That combined with slow digestion could cause a problem.

They stink as well...

Never considered them for snakes.
We were using them for the tortoises but like Kathy said, in Florida...

How about yesterdays news(cat litter)? Would it work the same? it is pellet like but made with recycled paper instead of hay.

Carrie

I know some people are also allergic to rabbit pellets... so that's a potential drawback.

I used rabbit pellets long ago with a green iguana, I like them for the most part. It was messy when the iggy decided to take a bath but was easily cleaned. I don't think I would like them too well for a snake.