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RE: ? Wondering about pine bedding

piggielover21 — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 11:04:44 GMT

Absoulutely Not! But dont worry! I was using it for 3 months before I found out! Just get it out before bad bad things could happen! Use aspen or carefresh.

RE: ? Wondering about pine bedding

bellalol — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 15:54:37 GMT

DANGER, KEEP OUT,

[center][size=6]DON'T KEEP THAT STUFF
that stuff is BAD!!!!!!!!! [/size][/center]

RE: ? Wondering about pine bedding

swirly87 — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 21:17:36 GMT

Personally, I use a combination of Carefresh Ultra and Critter Country (made by the same company as Cat Country, but the pellets are made of straw, not wheat grass) for my guinea pigs. Granted, most of my little ones' cage and playpen is lined with soft towels, but that's because they're litter boxed trained.

I use the Carefresh Ultra in their wooden house and in their eating area's litter box because it's nice and soft, and thus comfortable to sleep and rest on. I use the Critter Country in the other two litter boxes in their cage (small litter box) and playpen (large litter box) because it's great in terms of absorbency and odor control, but not that comfortable to stand on. When I first used Critter Country, my big girl Cocoa would occasionally eat it. Nowadays, neither of my girls even snack on it.

I find that as long as you spot clean the cage regular (1-2 times a day), there's barely any odor. I don't use pine and cedar because of the dangers of the aromatic oils in them. I don't use kiln pine either because my little ones are rather sensitive to the dust. That, and for some reason, it tends to stick to their butts.

RE: ? Wondering about pine bedding

urofan — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 12:13:44 GMT

I use Sunseed fresh world bedding made from recycled newspaper and magazines. I do not like Carefresh or Aspen bedding.

RE: ? Wondering about pine bedding

cabodi63 — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 13:03:57 GMT

I have tried Carefresh also and it doesn't impress me a bit. I was wondering.... Has anybody tried Cell Sorb plus? It states that it is 400% more absorbant than wood shavings.

RE: ? Wondering about pine bedding

BlancDeHotot — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 17:07:58 GMT

Please don't use it! I've had a rabbit get extremely sick from eating wood chips. They have an oil toxic to animals.

RE: ? Wondering about pine bedding

Rwhiting — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:16:12 GMT

Pine is not harmful for small animals. Carefresh is made from the sludge of the paper pulp making process and does not absorb ammonia well at all. Please look at these sites - the first is an independent study done that shows how harmful Carefresh can be to respiratory systems, nasal passages etc. due to poor ammonia absorption. The second has lots more up to date information about pine, as opposed to the outdated, misleading info that is frequently posted about pine.

http://www.aalas.org/pdfUtility.aspx?pdf=CT/43_04_02.pdf

www.pineisfine.com

RE: ? Wondering about pine bedding

abbywolf — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:14:18 GMT

I used pine litter the very first time I filled up Wiggles's cages, but I ran out, so I put Carefresh on top of it. I am never using pine again after what I've heard about it. It can cause respiratory problems if it is not kiln-dried, like a lot of people have been saying. Carefresh is good. I like Carefresh, because it comes in colors.

RE: ? Wondering about pine bedding

animalfreak123 — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:04:27 GMT

do not give them pine shavings! limke many members have said and i have heard. no no no!

RE: ? Wondering about pine bedding

Rwhiting — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:22:37 GMT

The post that said pine is bad and Carefresh is safe is incorrect on both counts. The "conventional wisdom" that pine is bad because of aromatic oils is outdated and has been disproven. Ask any breeder what they use and the majority will tell you kiln dried pine bedding.

Another concern is that Carefresh does a really poor job of absorbing ammonia. In an independent study of various beddings, Carefresh had to be discontinued because the ammonia levels rose to toxic levels so quickly. See the study on this link:

http://www.aalas.org/pdfUtility.aspx?pdf=CT/43_04_02.pdf

RE: ? Wondering about pine bedding

urofan — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 00:20:26 GMT

Yesterdays news is a great litter for cats, but it is a potential choking hazzard for guinea pigs, rabbits and ferrets. I think that it is a very bad idea to use it for any small animal.

RE: ? Wondering about pine bedding

Aileen — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 20:56:59 GMT

I have been using cheap cotton rugs instead of litter, the boys (Bert and Jack ) seem to like it and stay cleaner than with litter. Bert is a long haired guinea pig and litter of any type is a night mare with him. I buy the rugs at wal-mart and wash them so it is actually cheaper than buying litter in the long run. If you decide to use rugs besure to buy larger than cage size as mine did shrink quite a bit.

RE: ? Wondering about pine bedding

rocky4545 — Wed, 06 May 2009 14:09:18 GMT

the bedding we have is pine (i think), but it is kil-dried

RE: ? Wondering about pine bedding

Yukari_Angel — Tue, 05 May 2009 23:20:48 GMT

When it comes to wood beddings, the huge no-no is Cedar. Next after cedar is Pine bedding that is not 'kiln-dried'.

Cedar (softwood) holds phenols (or oils) that are very hazardous to small pets. Pine bedding is a softwood as well, but the phenols are not as strong as cedar. Because they are not as strong, when baked (also called kiln-dried), and so far, there has been no case against pine bedding that is kiln-dried.

Some people do not wish to take the risk of using pine of any kind because there is a safer alternative for just a few dollars more (usually $3 to $4 more), then pine. This safe alternative is Aspen and is a hardwood bedding.

With pine bedding that is not kiln-dried, I have seen animals get respiratory infections, skin irritations/infections, and eye infections.

I have had one customer who stated that cedar killed her rabbit.

I have yet to see a problem with aspen, only that some small pets are allergic, but this can happen with any bedding including carefresh.

RE: ? Wondering about pine bedding

rocky4545 — Sat, 02 May 2009 12:22:22 GMT

is yesterdays news the paper or a brand of bedding?

RE: ? Wondering about pine bedding

animalgirl — Fri, 01 May 2009 17:15:18 GMT

NO NO NO NO NO PINE IS NOT GOOD!!!!! It causes respiratory infections and the death of animals! Eating it is even worse! Avoid pine and cedar! Try Carefresh or Yesterday's News litter. They are the best brands of litter.

RE: ? Wondering about pine bedding

rocky4545 — Fri, 01 May 2009 17:12:19 GMT

i would like to know the same thing, i use pine for my rabbits drop pans is it okay for guinea pigs?

? Wondering about pine bedding

busybusy425 — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 10:02:35 GMT

I recently bought a hugh bag of pine bedding for my daughter's 1 year old guinea pig. Now I would normaly use paper bedding for him but I was at the store and found this. I have used pine bedding before with my small pets and they were just fine.

But I was wondering is pine bedding really ok for guinea pigs? Also if so is it ok for them to eat it.

though I think he is bored and now that it is getting warmer he well be able to go out side. I need to get him some toys to play with.

Please help me I want to be sure I have made the right choice in geting the bedding. ( oh insite the pine bedding does smell a bit pine but the bag said no chems in it? not sure if it is kindle dry???) Please help

Thank you to anyone who can help me with this subject.

P.S. he is a cute little balck and white short hair one by the name of patches for the big balck patch over his right eye

Adding this bit of infor he stopped eating the bedding once I gave him a carrort (which he loves) and also put new carboard in there for him to chew on and he has now turned is attention to that. I think the reason he was eatting his bedding is he is bored and needs more attetion. but I would still like to knwo if it is ok for him. You opions would be very much welcome. Thank you to all.