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Emergency feeder/snake question

P

Pygora

New member
I've been trying to raise mice to feed our corn/ball pythons with. I recently got it in my head to try cedar. I just changed it today and *I* had a bad reaction to the cedar so I decided to look up what was wrong. I found that you can't use cedar with mice nor feed it to the snake because it is poisonous. My question is this. They were only in there 10 minutes. Will they poison my snakes? I only wanted to try the cedar for the clean smell. I need to know what I can do or if there is anything I can do. I have re-cleaned the bins and there is only a small amount of dust left in there. Since I had run out of the previous bedding all I have in there right now is newspaper. (Have to run to the store later for GOOD bedding.) I'm now kicking myself because I have 5 pregnant females in the bunch too just about ready to drop any day. :-( Do I have to wash them? Will it wear off? Were they not in there long enough for it to be dangerous? PLEASE HELP! I know it was a stupid thing to do but I am quite new with snakes and mice and really did not know.
 
Last time i checked cedar was fine for mice as long as it was nice and dry. In fact I think some people on this forum use cdear for ther mice colonies and have no issues. I think for the cedar to bother the snake it has to be in direct contact with it for prolong periods of time. Somone who breeds mice on here will probably put more imput. When my dad used to breed mice he just used aspen. Oh and welcome to the forums :)
 
You'll be fine.

The oils from cedar, pine, and such are mildly toxic to snakes. But they aren't like arsenic or anything, limited exposure won't hurt them.

It's unlikely the mice will have picked up more than the slightest amount of oils if they were only on the cedar for a few minutes, and even that small amount should be gone within a day or two.
 
Well that's good to know. I didn't know if it would stay on them or for how long. Never know the stuff might be like antifreeze and only need the tiniest amount and with babies coming I really need to be careful.
I didn't think it would harm but was hoping to get rid of the mice smell. I've tried the carefresh and it doesn't do a thing towards smell. No matter if I have just changed them or its been a few days they always seem to smell. I just didn't think the cedar was that strong until I handled it and I didn't feel good afterwards. I really should've looked it up beforehand but since it said small animal bedding on it I thought it was ok to use.

On the plus side they're having a blast with the temporary newspaper I put in until I can get to the store for a replacement. Shredding, chewing, hiding, etc. As much time as I've put in to get this far I'd hate to use something that would make them sick and maybe kill our snakes.
 
I don't think I would use it even if it wasn't toxic. I'm not sure if it was handling or smelling it that made me feel so ill. I thought I was going to pass out after changing it to the cedar. :-( So then I started researching and it said that it would be toxic to the snakes too. Then I got worried because no one said how long of an exposure or if the oils stayed on the mouse's fur.
 
Cedar is god awful stuff. I know many people use pine for their feeder breeders with no issues, but I'd never recommend using cedar for anything, ever, at all. I don't even have allergies or asthma and that stuff still makes my respiratory system react horribly. Can't even imagine what it's like for the rodents.

Anyway, like Soulwind already said, you shouldn't have any issues as far as it poisoning your snakes. If people who still insist (for whatever insane reason) on using cedar for their feeders don't have snakes dropping dead, then a few minutes of exposure shouldn't cause any harm to your babies or their food. :)
 
Sorry i ment pine... not cedar... I messed that up...and on that note I will revoke my posting privliges for today lol sorry
 
The use of kiln or dry pine, aspen, or newspaper is fine. NEVER cedar, the fumes or aroma of cedar will kill the mice over time. A short exposure to cedar should not hurt your mice or if you feed your mice to your snakes.

I use kiln pine for my feeders and have never had an issue,
 
Is cedar good for anything in the animal world? I mean, they've known it's dangerous for a long, long time. Why do they even sell it anymore?
 
lilmike227 said:
Sorry i ment pine... not cedar... I messed that up...and on that note I will revoke my posting privliges for today lol sorry
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Lol, I thought you might have gotten those mixed up. For sure, cedar is the one that you want to avoid. Like the plague. Pine is fine.

Vamp, I wonder the same thing... It must have some purpose somewhere if they still sell it (and people still buy it in any quantity), right? IIRC, cedar is supposed to have great pest repelling properties. Who knows, maybe that's something to do with it... Though I can't imagine it being a safe bedding option for *any* animal.
 
Cedar oils keep pests away ie mites, so that is why its still sold. But it causes respitory issues and even organ failur in rodents.

I use kiln dried pine, shredded paper, straw and/or hay. Pick up a small bag of alfalfa or timoty hay they help mask the smell of the mice. I also found hemp bedding to be the best to keep the smell down. I can not find it here anymore thought.
 
I think cedar is more comonly used for horse barns and for doghouses for outside dogs. Dont think it has a big effect on larger animals like those even though its not uncommon for people to have allergic reactions to it
 
Hi, everyone. I just had to chime in on this one. Do not use cedar in dog houses. It can cause all their hair to fall out. I got the bright idea to use it a couple of years ago to help control fleas so I wouldn't have to use so much dip and spray. All the dog lost their hair. Went to the vet because I was afraid they had picked up mange. Skin scrapping showed no mange just an allergic reaction. Vet said cedar in dog house was a bad idea. Not all dogs will have that bad a reaction but it can still cause problems. You can tie it up in mesh bags and hang it around the dog kennels to help control flies. I had a bad reaction to it after I cleaned the dog houses out. Too much exposure by any animal is bad.
 
I really wish they would stop selling it packaged for small animals. There's no telling how many animals have gotten sick, or died, simply because they didn't know any better. I mean, it's sold for small animals, so it must be okay, right....?
 
VampMN said:
I really wish they would stop selling it packaged for small animals. There's no telling how many animals have gotten sick, or died, simply because they didn't know any better. I mean, it's sold for small animals, so it must be okay, right....?
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Well i did a quick google search and found an article (dont have the link because i did it on my phone sorry about that) and found that the term clearly toxic is not scientificaly correct because scientist have not fully proven to be toxic to small animals. They said it increcess alergic outbreaks in some animals..mainly humans and that some animals ( gunies pigs and gerbils were used in there example) actualy lived long healthy lives on cedar. This is not my knowledge I just read it from the article. I will get you guys a link to it as soon as i get to a computer. :cool:
 
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