Softwood Bedding?

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Um, I use My Little Friend Softwood Bedding for my boys, and they seem to like it. But it's causing them to sneeze a lot. I've tried using hay instead, but it's eaten within a day and I can't afford to replace it constantly. I've also tried straw but I hated using it as didn't provide any warmth for the boys. What can I do?
 
Have you tried Snowflake bedding?

It's soft, non dusty, you can buy it in big or small bales.

They use it for larger livestock such as horses and chickens, I use it for my GPs, Donkeys and Chickens.
Never had a problem.

And it's cheap! :<>
 
I would stop using the softwood bedding as it is obviously affecting them.

I have the bottom of my girl's cage lined with newspaper, then a layer of Megazorb followed with a covering of hay - but I also have a constant supply of hay in a rack off the floor for them to eat.

You say that you don't want to keeping putting the hay in but guinea pigs require a constant supply of hay as this is the most essential food for their diet and is essential for keeping their teeth good. Perhaps have a different bedding and just have hay in a rack. There are various different kinds of bedding - if you look at some of the reviews at the top of this section.

I wouldn't advise using straw as this is coarser than hay and can actually hurt the guinea pigs i.e. it can stab them in the eye.
 
Have you tried Snowflake bedding?

It's soft, non dusty, you can buy it in big or small bales.

They use it for larger livestock such as horses and chickens, I use it for my GPs, Donkeys and Chickens.
Never had a problem.

And it's cheap! :<>

Where could I get Snowflake Bedding from? I've actually never seen it before..
 
You say that you don't want to keeping putting the hay in but guinea pigs require a constant supply of hay as this is the most essential food for their diet and is essential for keeping their teeth good. Perhaps have a different bedding and just have hay in a rack. There are various different kinds of bedding - if you look at some of the reviews at the top of this section.

Hehe, I meant having to fill their hutch with it. They do have a fresh supply of it constantly, but filling their hutch with it every day would cost a lot for me :{ I'm actually waiting for a hay rack, gotta find some time to buy one. Thanks for your help :D
 
Megazorb, fleece, hemp or cardboard are the only things to use in my opinion. I would add shredded tissue type bedding if it wasn't so expensive and hard to get hold of.

I used to use shavings, after all, that was what the pet shops sold, it must be suitable... Time experience and research has shown otherwise. All those lovely pine aromas are chemical compounds filling the air, and a piggie nose is much closer to the source than ours. So all those chemicals are going straight into their lungs, where they are then absorbed, leaving the organs to process them out the system. This is a Bad Thing. The dust is also an irritant that will settle in the lungs as a physical body and again, cause the piggie to have to somehow process it out.

Then there's the issues with pine oils and the skin on the outside, so the poor piggie is having extra workload on their body from all angles.

Megazorb is a dried wood pulp that has next to no discernable smell (so low on aromatic compounds), is slightly dusty but less so than many shavings, is very absorbant, and works out cheaper than shavings usually do. Especially if you buy shavings in the small packs at pet shops (Megazorb comes in large sacks).

Hemp chip bedding is a little more expensive than shavings, and again comers in large bakes, but isn't overly dusty and hasn't got the potentially lethal pine compounds in it. It is rather sharp though and might not be too kind to feet.

Fleece is good as it's utterly dust and airborne compound free, but it can be a pricey investment (pays itself back over time though) and requires daily sweeping and regular washing to keep it clean and usable. I intend to go over to fleece, but my washing machine is small and my cages aren't, so have to work out how to manage it!

Cardboard bedding is brilliant, extremely low dust, they seem very comfortable on it, in itself it's very cheap, and it's quite absorbant. However, it's not widely available retail, so chances are you have to mail order. And that puts it from around £5 a large bale, to £20+ a time due to carriage :(

If your piggies are showing problems on shavings, the simple answer is stop using them. A more expensive bedding or drive out to source hemp, cardboard or Megazorb, is far cheaper and less stressful in the long run than vet trips and serious illness.
 
It is worth contacting ecobale to find their local supplier for your area. The chap I get mine from delivers whn he goes to the local livery yards and as I fit in with his times I get free delivery and it only costs £4.50 for a large bale. Two bales lasts out our 45 guineas for nearly two weeks.

Bedding is a lot cheaper from horse suppliers rather than pet shops :)
 
Equine supply stores will tend to have at least hemp bedding, maybe Megazorb too. Some will have cardboard (Ecobed is one of the main ones, and good stuff).

Down here (Dorset) Scats/ Mole Valley carry Hemcore (hemp chip), and one of the pet 2warehouse" type places has Aubiose hemp). I have to drive about 20 miles each way to a farm shop to get Megazorb.

Pet places tend not to have all that much unless they also sell horse stuff, but so long as you ask for hemp (not ideal but might be all they have) cardboard or Megazorb bedding they should know what you mean and point you in the right direction :)

I forgot to mention Carefresh as an alternative, it's fluffed up cardboard type stuff. Very expensive though, and I found it made my arms very itchy and sore. Then again, I'm allergic to just about everything, including piggies!
 
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