Is "Tractor Supply Pine Pellet Stall bedding for horses and small animals" safe for guinea pigs?

[Mikatelyn]

Hi all! I saw this at Tractor Supply. It says it's safe for rabbits, but then it says it's made out of pine.
What's the general consensus on this?
I want to use it as a cheaper alternative to paper bedding underneath all their hay in their kitchen area, to absorb urine. It's ridiculously cheap: $6.29 for 40 pounds of the stuff!
I have fleece in the rest of the cage.
Here's a link:

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/tractor-supply-pine-pellet-stall-bedding-40-lb

Thanks in advance!

 

[Lady Kelly]

I've just looked at the link and someone has asked the manufacturer that very question

I know kiln dried pine is safe for piggies. Wouldn't have a clue why it is safe and whether that applies to rotary dried pine. Hopefully another member can shed light on this

 

[h.h.lovecraft]

Hi! I use wood pellets in my girls litter tray under the hay in their run. Mine are meant for fireplaces, but they are essentially the same thing. They are safe as long as they're kiln dried and there are no chemicals/additives, so those pellets you linked look pretty good. They're extremely effective, cheap and last a long time, I would absolutely recommended wood pellets in a litter tray/kitchen area.

I do put one or two paper towels between the hay and the pellets though for a few reasons. First, so that they aren't digging down into the wood pellets while eating the hay. I don't think they would eat them or anything anyway, I just like to be on the safer side, plus it's an extra bit of padding for their little paws. It also makes it really easy to clean up because the hay goes bad before the pellets get used up. I can just roll up the paper towel to get the hay out and mix up the pellets a bit and the litter box is fresh again. I might try to cut out a piece of fleece and use that instead of paper towels as that would be more cost effective. When most of the pellets are broken down, I just empty the whole thing and add a good thick layer of pellets and a fresh paper towel on top.

 

[Mikatelyn]

Thank you both! I will give it a go!

 

[davhamm]

Just wondering

Hi all! I saw this at Tractor Supply. It says it's safe for rabbits, but then it says it's made out of pine.
What's the general consensus on this?
I want to use it as a cheaper alternative to paper bedding underneath all their hay in their kitchen area, to absorb urine. It's ridiculously cheap: $6.29 for 40 pounds of the stuff!
I have fleece in the rest of the cage.
Here's a link:

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/tractor-supply-pine-pellet-stall-bedding-40-lb

Thanks in advance!

Just wondering if you have an update on this product? And how it turned out.

 

[Mikatelyn]

@davhamm
Seems to work great! I've been using it since shortly after the original post. I spread a layer of the pellets, then put a bunch of hay on top (also from tractor Supply). The piggies end up flattening the hay on top of it, so I think it drains the pee then gets absorbed by the pellets. Keeps the smell way down and I'm not constantly changing out fleece anymore. I sort of just keep piling hay on top every day and they keep flattening it out, then eventually I do a big cage clean and dump it all and start over.
Although you may have seen my other thread where I'm concerned one of my piggies could have a urinary tract infection or some bladder issue, so I'm wondering if I could be doing something wrong. Waiting on a vet visit for a verdict on that particular issue.

 

[davhamm]

@davhamm
Seems to work great! I've been using it since shortly after the original post. I spread a layer of the pellets, then put a bunch of hay on top (also from tractor Supply). The piggies end up flattening the hay on top of it, so I think it drains the pee then gets absorbed by the pellets. Keeps the smell way down and I'm not constantly changing out fleece anymore. I sort of just keep piling hay on top every day and they keep flattening it out, then eventually I do a big cage clean and dump it all and start over.
Although you may have seen my other thread where I'm concerned one of my piggies could have a urinary tract infection or some bladder issue, so I'm wondering if I could be doing something wrong. Waiting on a vet visit for a verdict on that particular issue.

Thanks, No I had not seen that. I was thinking of laying the fleece over the top, change the fleece weekly is what most say in this method. Are you still using the Tractor Supply brand, someone else said they stopped because of a strong pine smell. But I really can't find other options in my area.

 

[Mikatelyn]

Yep, still using it. Just went to the vet, my piggy's issue wasn't a urinary tract infection.
I have a "kitchen" area with the horse pellets with hay over it. That is about 1/4 of their cage area. The rest I use fleece, to give them some options, but they mostly stay in the kitchen area since I put hides and their water there too. I also have them in the living room and turn on HEPA filters regularly, so that helps to dissipate any pine odors I guess. At least, I haven't noticed any respiratory issues, and the vet said my that one piggy's lungs sounded fine today.