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beach chippings?

C

COOP

New member
hey ppl, for a couple of months now ive been using beach chipping as my substrate, its what my local pet store said would be ok. today ive been to pick some more up but my local store didn't have any so i had to go to a different store for it. when i got the new chippings home i read the small print on the lable and it said not suitable for snakes! im now worried that what ive been using may be toxic, there shouldn't be any danger of him swallowing the chippings as i feed him out of the viv. can anyone tell me if im ok to carry on using these chipping? my corn seems really healthy so what ive used in the past doesn't seem to hurt him.
 
If it were my snake, I'd switch to a known safe substrate such as aspen. I can't tell you about beech, though.
 
Beech chips should be fine. Beech is a hard wood with a non-resinous sap.

The stuff you need to watch out for comes from conifers - pine and the like. Does the new stuff say what it is on the bag? I suspect this might be the problem.

Also be careful with bags of any kind of bark or wood chips from DIY or garden centres, as they can be treated with fungicides, pesticides and weedkillers.
 
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Honestly, I don't have experience with beech as a substrate and can't remember really ever hearing it mentioned much. When I googled it 8 of the top 10 links were all internet sites in the UK, so it's possible that it's more popular there than here in the US.

I didn't see anything off-hand that said they were bad, but I didn't really do any reading on the subject. I would just google it and find as much info as you can.


FWIW, if something is considered to be harmful, just because you haven't had any bad experiences YET, doesn't mean that something bad can't happen tomorrow.;)


After all, it'd be a real beech to have something happen to your snake because you didn't take all the necessary precautions. :rolleyes:
 
zwyatt said:
After all, it'd be a real beech to have something happen to your snake because you didn't take all the necessary precautions. :rolleyes:
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you made that "pun intended" post very clever. :grin01:


i would swith to aspen if you can find it, it seems to be the most popular choice and you would be certain there wouldn't be any problems.......... :cheers:
 
When I googled it 8 of the top 10 links were all internet sites in the UK, so it's possible that it's more popular there than here in the US.
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Spot on. Aspen is more difficult to find here in the UK, because it's not a commonly-grown tree. Most reptile suppliers here use beech chips as their standard offering for Corn Snake substrate.

I've used it for years without any ill-effects. There's no evidence I've ever seen to suggest that it's harmful to snakes, unless they're fed on it and end up accidentally swallowing bits - but that's the same for any substrate made out of small pieces.

if something is considered to be harmful, just because you haven't had any bad experiences YET, doesn't mean that something bad can't happen tomorrow
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By the same token, just because something isn't familiar to you, doesn't necessarily mean that it's dangerous! :)
 
bitsy said:
By the same token, just because something isn't familiar to you, doesn't necessarily mean that it's dangerous! :)
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And I never said likewise;)

I was referring to the fact that COOP him/herself had said that they had read that beech was not suitable for snakes, but that he/she had never had any problems. I was just saying that, if it is supposedly harmful and just because he/she hadn't yet experienced problems, didn't mean that something couldn't still go wrong in the future. :)


The point you make about not being afraid of trying something that is unfamiliar is something that I've argued in another thread here on cs.com (regarding supplements), in which case I was making the very same statement you did.
 
In a similar vein, as I can't get aspen without a 2 hour train journey and paying silly prices, I tried the beech chippings but didn't find them absorbent enough. I switched back to paper towels, then decided to try chopped hay. No ill-effects so far, the snakes can burrow away to their hearts' content, it's absorbent and as a bonus it looks and smells great
 
thanks everyone for your imput, sorry ive taken a while to post again.

ive decided to carry on using the beach chipping, i too find aspen difficult to get hold of and the beach chippings always seem to be availble. they're not at all dusty so i think the main danger would be of it getting swollowed, i feed my corn out of the viv to counteract this problem.

thanks ppl :cheers:
 
Coop, if I were you I would ask some more questions about why the new stuff (sorry, assumed from your first post that it wasn't beech) is labelled "unsuitable for snakes". If you didn't buy it from a reptile outlet, then it could have been treated with harmful chemicals that could kill your snakes. If you DID buy it from a reptile outlet, then the guys in the shop should be able to tell you why it's marked as unsuitable and advise an alternative.

I wouldn't risk it if the packaging clearly states that it shouldn't be used for snakes. Personally, I'd use newspaper until your usual supplier gets more of your usual brand.



I was referring to the fact that COOP him/herself had said that they had read that beech was not suitable for snakes
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Not so. Coop's post said that the new stuff is labelled "unsuitable for snakes". He didn't state whether the new stuff was beech. Nowhere did he post that he'd read that beech was unsuitable.
 
COOP said:
hey ppl, for a couple of months now ive been using beach chipping as my substrate, its what my local pet store said would be ok. today ive been to pick some more up but my local store didn't have any so i had to go to a different store for it. when i got the new chippings home i read the small print on the lable and it said not suitable for snakes! im now worried that what ive been using may be toxic,
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What he said implied that he went to a different store in order to find something similar to what he had been using, which was beech. Then he said that he got home and read the fine print, which said unsuitable for snakes. He said he was worried that what he had been using (which was beech) might have been toxic. The only reason he should worry that the beech he had been using was toxic was if the new bag of "unsuitable" stuff was also beech. Not to mention the thread title was about beech chippings, which implies that the entire paragraph was about beech and not two different kinds.:shrugs:

If I've misinterpreted all this, then so be it. If I'm wrong, then this all was pretty misleading.
 
Sorry guys, i didn't make my post very clear, im a bit new to this.

The new chippings i got are beech chippings from a replitle suppys, they looked exactly the same as what i had been using previously but on the lable it said that they were not suitable for snakes, but is suitable for other reptiles ie lizards ect, i cant remeber the exact wording as i dont have the packaging any more.

I will go back to where i got them from at the weekend and see if i can find out why it would not be suitable for snakes.
 
No need to apologize. I understood what your post was saying. It probably wouldn't hurt to investigate to find out why it says it's not suitable, but I wouldn't hold my breath about store employees knowing what's going on (unless maybe it's a specialty shop).
There's probably no need for too much worry if they are just beech, since several other UK-based members have chimed in saying that beech is suitable for use with corns when you can't get aspen. Just my .02 :)
 
zwyatt said:
No need to apologize. I understood what your post was saying. It probably wouldn't hurt to investigate to find out why it says it's not suitable, but I wouldn't hold my breath about store employees knowing what's going on (unless maybe it's a specialty shop).
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Lol your probably right about them not knowing what is going on but i guess it cant hurt to ask. ;)
 
Deffo agree with your approach & the advice above. Checking back with the shop is the way to go.

Please keep us posted about what they say. As a regular beech user (11+ years, also supplied by a specialist reptile shop) I'm keen to know if it's now viewed as inherently unsuitable or whether that particular brand has been treated with something at source.

Also, if unsuitable for snakes, why is it being sold in a reptile shop? Could be that the shop hasn't realised and will be grateful that you've brought it to their attention.

All the best.
 
bitsy said:
Also, if unsuitable for snakes, why is it being sold in a reptile shop? Could be that the shop hasn't realised and will be grateful that you've brought it to their attention.
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Thats a very good point.

Ive not got chance to get to the shop until the weekend but as soon as i find out more i'll keep you posted.
 
Hi COOP,

I used to use beech chips when I had fewer snakes to house but with the numbers I keep now it would be too costly so I use a pelleted recycled newspaper product-

Beech chips are great as they don't give off fumes, absorb moisture, are generally non-dusty and they look pretty!!!

One precaution I would reccomend you take if keeping your corns n beech is that you MUST feed your snakes in another container as beech chips would probably give a nasty impaction if swallowed. I always feed on plain tub bottom or on paper towel.
 
princess said:
Hi COOP,

I used to use beech chips when I had fewer snakes to house but with the numbers I keep now it would be too costly so I use a pelleted recycled newspaper product-

Beech chips are great as they don't give off fumes, absorb moisture, are generally non-dusty and they look pretty!!!

One precaution I would reccomend you take if keeping your corns n beech is that you MUST feed your snakes in another container as beech chips would probably give a nasty impaction if swallowed. I always feed on plain tub bottom or on paper towel.
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Hey Princess

Thanks for your advice, like you say beech chips are great for all those reasons and are easy to spot clean :) . i dont really want to stop using them unless im in some way harming my corn.

I just got a bit worried after going to a different supplyer to get them and the lable saying not suitable for snakes, the ones i used before were suitable for snakes :shrugs:

As for feeding i always feed my corn out of the viv to prevent impaction, my real worrie was that the beech chips maybe toxic to snakes in some way, like pine and cedar?

It seems like they are generaly fine to use and are a good alternative to aspen, maybe the ones i got that were not suitable for snakes had been treated with something? I will try and find out at the weekend and let ya all know.

Cheers everyone
 
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