[Loren]

I use aspen for many of my snakes, but I almost always raise young snakes on paper towels. I figure larger snakes can pass or digest bedding easier, where as little guys like baby garters would have much more of a problem if they ingest even a small piece of bedding. Generally I wait till snakes are 15" long or so before switching them to bedding, although I do have a few small species of snakes- ones that do not often exceed 12" or so( ringnecks, night snakes, ground snakes), which I keep on bark or fine sand.