Review: Woodshavings

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I used wood shavings for 4 years, and only recently changed. I have a chesty/sneezy/URI guinea, but haven't noticed much difference in her since going over to megazorb, I think the hay dust and particles bother her more. With value for money wood shavings are pretty had to top. However for smells, I find shavings stink a lot more, and much quicker than megazorb/carefresh. I also find wood shavings very dusty, but this does vary between brands. I would still use shavings if I was tight for money, and if I had a hutch outside. I've always covered the shavings with newspaper, so the dustiness was reduced quite a lot. I'd still give wood shavings a 5/10, not the best thing I've used, but pretty good value for money and it does the job! Just for info, I'd give Megazorb a 8/10...10/10 would be a self cleaning cage product. :))
 
this has given me some food for thought now!
we use woodshavings on our piggies and ts been fine, one especially was a very smelly piggy but since used woodshavings there isnt much of a smell

i would give them a 4*

however reading the potiential concerns about ailments it can cause with fungal infections etc I'm gunna consider changing them
 
i use a unusual type of wood shavings they are curly and thinner than you average wood shaving the good things about them is they are not as dusty and make almost like a mat when put down, we get them from a friend of ours who buys them in bulk for her horse and we started having them due to my horses C.O.P.D (kinda like the horsey eqivilent of ashma) they absorb really well and the shap alone holds nasty smells better.

i would give it 4*

and i know for a fact 3 of the local zoo's and wild life parks use it for there animals :) which is why we know it as monkey shavings
 
Neheigh said:
i use a unusual type of wood shavings they are curly and thinner than you average wood shaving the good things about them is they are not as dusty and make almost like a mat when put down, we get them from a friend of ours who buys them in bulk for her horse and we started having them due to my horses C.O.P.D (kinda like the horsey eqivilent of ashma) they absorb really well and the shap alone holds nasty smells better.

i would give it 4*

and i know for a fact 3 of the local zoo's and wild life parks use it for there animals :) which is why we know it as monkey shavings
Click to expand...

picture of curly shavings aka monkey shavings

IMG_3061.jpg
 
i used to use woodshavings when i first had my pigs and knew very little about them, now i do not use shavings at all i find it a waste of monet when newspaper and hay will surfice xx
 
I use newspaper and hay. I've never used wood shavings for any of my animals, not even the hamsters. I either use Carefresh, or hay.
 
I used wood shavings when I first got my pigs as it was all I knew about and my hamsters were on it.

One of my boys coughed a lot and after taking him to the vet numerous times, it turned out he was allergic to the wood shavings. He had very bad breathing problems for a while afterwards so I would not recommend wood shavings.

Apparently you shouldn't really put pigs on them anyway, when I went to see Vedra of the Cambridge Cavy Trust she said it's an awful bedding and gave me lots of alternative choices.

I give wood shavings 1 star as although it was absorbent, it was so bad for one of my pigs.
 
I've always used woodshavings. It's easy to clean and quite cheap to get. My piggies don't have problems with woodshavings and when it's cleaned properly it doesn't smell. ***** 5 stars for me.
 
I have switched to shredded cardboard for the living area and still use newspaper and hay in the beds. The cardboard is really good and dust free soft and absorbant.
 
I would give woodshavings a ****4 the one i use is a high quality dust extracted one and i would say it is dust extracted.. as the dust from some sawdusts makes me sneeze, and hardly or if any come from the stuff I buy... Its cheap to buy (£8 scats- huge bale) and it absorbs quite well, biodegradable too, and its comfy for the piggies, they like it, and i dont get sneezes from them too. :)) easy to clean and spot clean (you can see the wee patches).

My favourite though is Megazorb, but i had to order mine online and alltogether it cost £12 and it didn't last very long.. and you don't get alot for your money.

Plus i do like the sawdust smell :)) it reminds me of a clean smell.. lol
 
I always used sawdust until my guinea pig bruce got a bladder infection from what the vet thinks, was sawdust going inside. Fudge, a boar I had before Bruce's time, also had similar trouble & we now realise it was due to the bedding.
We immediatley changed to fleece and I find it so much better. I think it's especially inportant if you're keeping boars.
The fleece is soft on there underneath & nothing can end up places it shouldn't.
I give sawdust 0 stars.
 
I used Aspen shavings temp. for about a week before switching to fleece. They absorb well and keep odours very nicely in check. I like the smell-- sort of 'barny'.

But, I had two major problems with it:

1. The woodchips would get everywhere! In the food bowls, in the veggie bowls, on my floor... I spent a good hour every day picking chips out of their bowls and sweeping the floors!

2. Poo got burried in the wood chips, so finding poo would sometimes be hard mallethead

Overall, 3 stars. 8;)
 
1 star

Shavings suck IMHO. They are dusty, smell awful, are not very absorbent and potentially can cause health issues.
 
*****
5 stars.

Cheap, easy to get hold of, absorbent and not dusty like the carefresh I tried!
I highly doubt it will ever be beaten!
 
I use wood shavings dust extracted ***** 5 stars
megazorb now and then ****4 stars
indoor guinea pigs
 
Very absorbent! I've been using it for years and my pets seem fine with it but planning trying something new too..

**** 4 star for wood shavings!
Could someone please give me the links to other review threads? Thanks
 
I have always used wood shavings for my small pets (guineas, bunnys, hamsters,gerbils) and have never had a problem with it. I have over the years had 15 rabbits and 4 guineapigs and numerous hamsters and gerbils and never once had health issues due to the use of woodshavings. Wood shavings are a more natural product than say fleece and is super absorbant meaning if my piggy urinates it is dry within half an hour whereas fleece stays damp for hours. And the thought of washing fleece covered in urine and fur in the same machine i wash my clothes in is disgusting. I know alot of people who do not like wood shavings but i personally do and i can bury veggys and treats under the wood shavings and my piggy digs and scurrys around looking for them showing natural behaviour and keeping him busy and mind stimulated. I love wood shavings and wouldnt use anything else, i would not however use the scented woodshavings. ****4 stars would have been five but shavings can be abit messy when piggys kick them out the cage.
 
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I use it for my piggies, rabbits and hamster. I love the fresh smell of course! However, it requires daily replacing or else it gets a bit wet. It's also VERY messy and my garden is now a wreck.

3 stars ***
 
woodshavings

as my dad is a carpetner (spelling) i get free wood shavings that has no chemicals on it also my dad gets me the largest size also so they is no dust and it is super soft, clean and free :) so i love this bedding :)
 
I use a mix of aspen shavings and carefresh (W/ a thin layer of hay on top). I like it, no dust, but it does get kicked out of their cage...but i think any bedding will be found on the floor near the cage if its loose bedding. Mixing the shavings with carefresh helps with more absorbancy and makes my bag of carefresh last longer :)
 
I use pine wood shavings but underneath it I put news paper I find it is good. I will not put stars on it cause I am a newb in caring for my little guinea pig.
 
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