Not Supposed To Use Shavings?

Status
Not open for further replies.
cavy clicker

cavy clicker

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Nov 3, 2015
Messages
449
Reaction score
365
Points
380
I've read in so many places that wood shavings are bad for critters because they can cause respiratory problems, yet so many people seem to be using them. So, is it really safe? What are your thoughts on this?
 
I've been advised against it :hmm: then ended up throwing out a big bag of them onto the garden :doh:
 
This is what I used
attachment.php
 
Apparently it takes oils from the feet too, leaving them susceptible to infections, cracking etc :3 I used to use it though and the boys were fine with it, until Joe started getting respiratory issues :)
 
Myself, I have always used it, (with a layer of straw on top in the winter as my guys were always outdoor piggies) and never had a problem with any of my piggies. (had 40 at one point!)
However, we now have our kids indoors and the smell and mess of shavings was too much... we found that the smell of ammonia was very strong after only 24 hours, and when having their mad half hours, all 3 would kick the majority of their beds (including poops and wee corner wet shavings :rolleyes: ) out of the sides of their houses, so we now use wood pellets, which are far more economical and smell soooooo much better!
 
So how would you figure out which shavings are the best and healthiest?
 
cavy clicker said:
So how would you figure out which shavings are the best and healthiest?
Click to expand...

Go for Dust Extracted, and Vacuum Packed. In big bales, the brands to go for are Snowflake, Thoroughbred, Bedmax (they do small and large flake shavings, and I loved the large flakes for both horses and the piggies) or Woodpecker.
Any brand sold in small bales in petshops will be vacuum packed and dust extracted, so you should be fine with those, but look for the cleanest, whitest flakes.

Hope that helps! x
 
I've always used shavings and not had any problems. I don't find they smell (and the boyz are in our living room), but I do cover the shavings with a thick layer of timothy hay, both as a kind of "floor" and also for them to eat, plus I also put meadow hay in every day.
 
I suppose it depends on the type of shavings. I'm never going to support a pet store again if I can help it though :)
 
I've used shavings in the past with no problem. They are very variable though. I find it best to get bales from a horse/farms supplies shop and go for shavings with large flakes that are dust extracted rather than the smaller flaked bales that look more like sawdust.
 
l wouldent chance it , l slill have a bag of fury frienly shaving form years ago, and l just dont feel happy using it , not when there are
things like vet bed
 
i'm a bit torn on the issue really, because when i first got my rabbits, i used them because i didn't even know there were alternatives :mal: both my rabbits didn't like them though and kicked them all out the hutch. both had issues on them but they had started with their long term respiratory infections at that point so it could have been that instead, although the shavings seemed to aggravate them both but especially my chronic respiratory rabbit.

i've never used them since then as they also affect me allergy/dust wise aswell... they dry out my hands so imagine they would be tougher on delicate piggy skin and feet.

.... but saying all that, i noticed that our vets (savvy vets) stock the snowflake brand so they must think it's suitable.

the thing that put me off any type of shavings was reading some posts about them years ago on the rabbit forum, where there were reports of them being found in the lungs of rabbits and piggies during post mortems. not sure who the people who said it were, or how they knew, but that put me off them even more. i imagine that could be an issue with any wood based product though.

so if people choose a good quality type then it may be fine. i wouldn't use them for my pets though personally :)
 
I've always used shaving and never had a problem, I agree with the above, soft big flakes and dust extracted is the best option. The problem with respiratory problems I think is from scented or dusty shavings like sawdust. I use snowflake shavings and have never had a single problem with any of my piggies :)
 
This is very interesting. It seems that some people wouldn't advice it at all and others are fine with it :hmm:
 
I have used shavings in the past with no problems, but since having Amber I'm unable to use them as shes extremely sensitive to any dust, in terms of developing URI's and sneezing.

I personally prefer things like fleece purely because I hate it when shavings get stuck onto clothing and when they have a run around and the shavings fly everywhere! But I don't see a problem in using them. I used them with all my boys in the past, no problems what so ever. :)
 
Due to my anxiety-borne phobia of anything related to bugs I always felt weary of buying shavings as I always worried that the bag would have bugs in it or the shavings would attract bugs. Kind of some irrational fear I have.

I can't use them either though due to my mom's bad allergies, along with Carefresh. Plus my guinea pig had some weird sneezing frenzies herself back when I had CareFresh. Plus I find it more convenient to take out a chunk of fleece and some towels than scooping out shavings. And when you have a large C&C cage it can be quite expensive to buy a new bag every 2 weeks for anything. I guess it is more hygenic as you're not shoving things with rodent pee into your washer. (Why I have to go to the laundromat.) Some guinea pigs may also like the feeling of having shavings, all personal preference.

As long as one isn't using cedar or non-kiln dried pine along with the other bad beddings I say it shouldn't matter. Whatever works best for you is what you should go for.
 
There are so many arguments about Pine shavings! Some say its okay if you air them out first?
 
I stopped using shavings over 12 months ago, I now use snowflake and I'm much happier, my shed smells a lot better too. ;)
 
I've used shavings in the past. My animals seemed fine with them, but I'm severely allergic, and got worse over time. By the time paper shavings became readily available in my area, I had to wear goggles and a face mask to clean cages, as the dust off the shavings would cause severe respiratory effects and make my eyes swell up. I'm much better with paper shaving and they are all I have used for the past seven years or so. I've always heard that aspen is a better shaving than pine or cedar, as it has fewer aromatic oils and less dust (though, frankly, I was allergic to aspen by the end too.) I think it likely depends on the owner and the pet. Obviously some people (like me) react badly to the oils/dust in wood shavings, so it stands to reason that some animals may be more sensitive to them too.
 
cavy clicker said:
There are so many arguments about Pine shavings! Some say its okay if you air them out first?
Click to expand...
What I've heard specifically about pine/cedar is that they have aromatic oils that can irritate the respiratory tract. Airing them out might help some of these to escape, but not all. Cedar is the one shaving I would not ever use again- exposure to cedar dust (i.e. in mills) is actually a potent cause of respiratory disease/severe asthma in humans and I've typed about enough notes about people with severe cedar-induced asthma conditions to not want it in my house.

I can vouch that some humans are really sensitive to these shavings- I'm very allergic to both of these shavings and got worse the more I was exposed to them over the years. I had both respiratory symptoms (coughing, wheezing, nasal congestion) and other allergy effects (swollen, red, runny, itchy eyes, itchy palate and throat, etc.) I switched to aspen at that point, which has fewer aromatic oils and that was better, but I did eventually get sensitized to that as well. I switched to paper bedding and was a lot happier with those! So it stands to reason that if some people are prone to those reactions, that some animals would be prone to them too.
 
I've been using SHAVINGS for awhile now. Just buy a branded one named Vitakraft.

Pros:
Lessens your pet's smell.
They love digging them. A good exercise for them
Highly absorbent when it comes too pee.
Best used when you're expecting pups.
Usually used by cavy enthusiast for long haired bloodlines due to absorbency and hair entanglement prevention.
Prevents bumblefoot.

Cons:
Develops mildews and fungal parasites when not changed for a long time, especially when the weather is damp.
Hard to do spot cleaning.
Old stock shavings tend to make your guinea pigs sneeze due to dust.


Maintenance:
1. A must change every week depending on how many cavies you own.
2. Before putting your shavings, you need to use a strainer first to lessen the dust. Try to buy a newer stock for that.
3. Remove the hard parts or the damp shavings from pee.
4. Put it in a large basket and pick the droppings.
5. Dry it under the sun then repeat the maintenance from part 1.

VS

Fleece bedding.

Pros:
Can be used over and over again.
Easy to clean.
Good running playground for the cavies.
Maintenance is quite easy.
Medium to small capacity of absorbency depending upon the type of fleece you bought.

Cons:
Not very cavy savvy when it comes to longhaired guinea pigs especially when you don't brush them daily.
Prone to getting fungal infections as the droppings tends to brush underneath your pets when not cleaned.
Gets damp easily when you have too many guinea pigs.


Maintenance:
Try buying at least 2 sets of fleeces for the purpose of laundry maintenance.
Before putting your fleeces on your washer, shake it off first to lessen the droppings and other particles.
Use a local NON SCENTED w/ antibacterial agent detergent(Important). I usually use dishwashing liquids for this.
If you don't want your guinea pigs to go Lao Tsu on you; you must put the alpha first after changing your fleece, for the purpose of it marking his territory. Leave him for atleast 5 minutes before putting back his neighbors.
 
As long as you keep an eye on proper cleanliness then its fine. Check the lower abdomen for tangled hairs if you have a longhaired breed. It tends to get damp easily and may lead to infections.
 
I'm unable to get snowflake from my pet shop at the mo, so I've bought something similar - comfybed plus, I'm changing the hutches later so I'll let you know what it's like. It's a bigger bale and cheaper! ;)
 
BossHogg said:
I'm unable to get snowflake from my pet shop at the mo, so I've bought something similar - comfybed plus, I'm changing the hutches later so I'll let you know what it's like. It's a bigger bale and cheaper! ;)
Click to expand...


I'd be interesed to know how you get on with the Comfibed . I was thinking of ordering some Fitch - but stopped when I saw the price ! I notice the Fitch website is selling other beddings nowadays - including Megazorb and Comfibed .
Fitch Recycling - Horse Bedding
I think I'll stick to Finacard in main area and Aubiose in hay trays !
 
My snowflake normally costs £8.50 a bale, the comfybed was only £8 and is a bigger bale. ;)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top