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Is Walnut Shell Ok?

P

Pandora

New member
I have some left over (new bag) of walnut shell i used with one of my lizards. is that ok to use as floor covering as long as she isn't eating in that cage?
 
I don't think walnut shell, Lizard Litter as it's called, would be appropriate for snakes. I think it might work good for a display substrate (shows & pics), but not for everyday long-term usage.

It's got quite a drying property to it. When I used it with my bearded for a while, he had terrible sheds and I would have to manually remove pieces of skin, so I stopped using it shortly thereafter.

Plus I've read around where people using it found that extra small pieces would work themselves between the scales and cause some irritation to the snake.

So I wouldn't use it based on those facts alone. Plenty of other acceptible substrates I prefer anyway. Aspen, Repti-bark, Carefresh, etc.
 
thanks. i have some sorta repti bark. it expands when you put it in water it's pretty cool. guess i'll just stick with what iv'e got. i thought the sand would look cool.
 
hehhe...yea...

i use the kind that expands, it is neat. last night i put a brick of it in a bucket and the stuff nearly overflowed. you get a really great amount of bedding when you go for this, mine is coconut fiber, i forget who makes it, but i recommend it. i got three bricks in a pack for about 7 bucks. i'll be able to fill my ten gallon for the new snake i'm getting and my twenty gallon for norbert easily with just one bucket full.
 
Well, I use the walnut shells on my beardies...they seem to like it, and I haven't had any prolems with sheds. But I agree with Taceas. It doesn't hold enough moisture. It seems to be for herps that are more desert type than forest/woodland type.
 
I use a mix of Magnolia/Cedar/Pine chucks for all of my Subtropical Snakes. Mainly Corns, Rats, and Boa's. However I use Beach Sand from Cali on all of my Desert snakes. Such as my Cobra's and Rattlers.. Either way they need to be able to hold moisture. Those expandanding Grounds that you guys are using have a tendacy to get attached to your snakes belly whenever he goes across the water. And Can lead to some minor health problems. In my opinion the bark always worked better. With some really smooth stones. Good luck!! :crazy02:
 
Cedar and Pine "SAP" are Toxic to some snakes. However the dried mulch from them isn't. It also has it's own chemicals that fight off mites and some of the other bacteria's that Aspen based materails do not.
 
Cedar, Pine, and any other softwood beddings are toxic to just about every animal. It's not just the sap, it's the phenols (stuff that makes them smell good). Pine and Cedar are especially toxic to feeder mice and rats, because they have very delicate respiratory systems. ;)
 
lockshockbarrel said:
Cedar, Pine, and any other softwood beddings are toxic to just about every animal. It's not just the sap, it's the phenols (stuff that makes them smell good). Pine and Cedar are especially toxic to feeder mice and rats, because they have very delicate respiratory systems. ;)
Click to expand...


Pine is definitely not toxic to mice. I had a colony going last year on pine shavings and they did just fine. I also had my corns on pine for quite a while and had no problems. I've seen two people say pine is toxic to snakes----where's the proof? I havent seen an article yet saying that. I know the reptile store down the road uses pine chips and all of his snakes seem to do just fine.
 
I have also used pine with no ill effects to any of my snakes. I would definitely stay away from walnut shell. I learned the hard way when a hatchling Amel ingested some trying to break her shed. I got the stuff out of her mouth, but she must have swallowed enough to cause an impaction. She died with her next meal still in her. A stupid mistake that could/should have been avoided.

Mike B
 
Supposedly, the phenols in pine and cedar make the snake more susceptible to RI. I'm not sure I buy that, since corns in NJ are only found in the Pinelands. I believe sandy soiled pine forrests make up the majority of a corns prefered natural habitat. I do play it "safe" however and keep all my snakes on aspen.
 
That may just be adaptation. A resistance build up over generations. Or perhaps the pine/cedar is treatet in a way that makes it toxic. I've read enough about corns dying on Pine bedding to not take a change.
 
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