What do you think of this litter?

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LittleEskimo

LittleEskimo

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My bunny is litter trained but she can't live inside so I have a litter tray in her hutch but the sawdust is no good and carefresh is way to expensive.
I want to litter train McMac (or at least try) and then get him on fleece
Its not clay based its wood and paper based...I know people that don't have a problem when they use it :S
 
I wouldnt use cat litter personally, as described above. I can imagine the wood litter hurting there little feet to be honest. Its all personal opinion tho. Have you thought about hay or straw maybe if you dont want to use fleece at the moment?

x.
 
At the moment what I use is a layer of wood shavings and then straw and hay on top. The only problem is woodshavings in the bunny litter tray turn into some wierd wood cement when it gets wet and its really hard to clean off :S
 
It is up to you but you must not use any type of cat litter at all as it is dangerous.
 
Have you considered other options like Megazorb, Auboise etc..... I know these 2 are like Carefresh. I know there are quite a few options on the market. I tried Carefresh and found it much too expensive, but Megazorb is quite cheap £6 ish for a huge sack? and lasts about as long as Carefresh too.
 
Some people (including me) use straw with no problems. Piggies are just as likely to get a poke injury on hay as they are straw. But its all personal opinion. Vedra at the cambridge cavy trust thinks straw is ok for them to be bedded on. But everyone prefers different. Straw is no good for there diet, hay should always be provided too.

x
 
I only put the thinnest layer of straw in the piggies cage since hes inside and doesnt need it for warmth (you can still see his paws). You can still see the wood shavings underneath but the straw intertwines and acts as a net to stop any shavings flying around because they can be a horrible mess . And then I stick a few piles of hay in there for him :)
 
wood pellets

I have just bourght wood pellets for the litter tray from pets at home, these ones are designed for rabbits, guinea pigs etc. so far so good ! about £4.50 for 7 litres so should last a while. Also the dust has been extracted so not messy, really absorbant too :) Mush better than shavings!
 
I use cat litter but for my rabbits and piled with a huge layer of hay. I haven't used it for my piggies though and don't think I would, probably be a bit too hard on their little tootsies.

My internet is playing up but make sure that it is wood based litter and non clumping. Wood base one tends to go to a fine dust (I use P@H) currently as although I don't want to support them, it's the best I've found.
 
youthnovels said:
I use cat litter but for my rabbits and piled with a huge layer of hay. I haven't used it for my piggies though and don't think I would, probably be a bit too hard on their little tootsies.

My internet is playing up but make sure that it is wood based litter and non clumping. Wood base one tends to go to a fine dust (I use P@H) currently as although I don't want to support them, it's the best I've found.
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You must not use cat litter for your rabbits as they will eat it. This can cause a bloackage in their gut which can be fatal.
 
piggyfan said:
You must not use cat litter for your rabbits as they will eat it. This can cause a bloackage in their gut which can be fatal.
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I'm not disregarding your advice but it is rabbit safe cat litter, wood based and non clumping. If you look on forums there's 100's of people who use it with no problems, you just have to make sure you get the correct one.

I have a cashmere rabbit and any other bending gets stuck in her fur and there is noway of getting it out so my options for bedding is limited :)
 
piggyfan said:
It is very fine and thin. I really like it myself. It does cost more but I think it is really good. https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/Litter.11/Bed+O%92Linum+%3A+12.5+ltr.566.html
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Sorry to hijack the thread!

Is it megazorb-esque? Sorry for all the questions, but Pearls fur is like cotton wool but softer and more wispy. If a piece of hay gets stuck in it's a nightmare to get out, so I'm very careful with the bedding I put her on. I have to do a test with a piece of cotton wool on any new beddings to see how much gets stuck to it, how easy it is to get out and test whether it's going to cause problems for her. So I'm just a bit wary about experimenting with new stuff! Can't believe people breed rabbits like her, it's so unfair on the animal. :)>>>
 
I have never used megazorb myself so I am not sure. I cannot see it would stick to her. My bunny often has hay stuck to him but never litter. I agree that breeding is cruel and I wish people would stop. How about emailing the company to ask for a small sample and explain you want to see if it will stick to her fur?
 
piggyfan said:
I have never used megazorb myself so I am not sure. I cannot see it would stick to her. My bunny often has hay stuck to him but never litter. I agree that breeding is cruel and I wish people would stop. How about emailing the company to ask for a small sample and explain you want to see if it will stick to her fur?
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Good idea, I might just do that! My others occasionally get a bit of hay stuck that just won't come out but Pearl is a nightmare.

Thanks for the advice though, I appreciate it!
 
The paper litter from the link looks fine to me. It's just 100% paper made into pellet form. They look just like Purina Yesterday's News (available in USA). I've used them in the litter box and I like it. They don't get kick out much and don't get stuck to fleece like wood shavings.

The wood pellets in the link is okay to use too. Have a look at this link. It's for rabbits, but could be applied for guinea pigs.
http://www.rabbit.org/journal/1/liver-disease.html
 
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One of the problems I find with these kinds of litter is that once they are wet they completely disentegrate. The wood based stuff turns into dust when it gets wet, which is not very good for the delicate respiratory systems of small furries. The cheap paper based stuff goes all mushy and weird. I have had biocatolet before that is allegedly "100% paper" but when wet it looked all jelly like and gunky.

Yesterdays news is the best brand of paper based litter, but it is even more expensive than carefresh.
 
Abi_nurse said:
Some people (including me) use straw with no problems. Piggies are just as likely to get a poke injury on hay as they are straw. But its all personal opinion. Vedra at the cambridge cavy trust thinks straw is ok for them to be bedded on. But everyone prefers different. Straw is no good for there diet, hay should always be provided too.

x
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Yes Abi_nurse is right. Vedra is allergic to woodshavings so she beds all her piggies on a layer of soft chop straw followed by a layer of Readigrass. The soft chop straw is not like normal straw, it is very soft & I used it for my last piggy pair, & they were fine with it:

http://www.supremepetfoods.com/product/natural-supasoft-bedding/
 
piggyfan said:
Never use cat litter! The piggies and bunny will eat it and it can cause bloackages in their stomach. Why not try fleece? It is cosy and warm and piggies love it. Did you know your bunny can be litter trained and not need to live in a cage? My bunny is free. I use this in his litter tray:
https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/Litter.11/Bed+O%92Linum+%3A+12.5+ltr.566.html
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You can't surmise what all guinea-pigs and rabbits will do with cat litter other than pee on it, they're all different.

Any bedding they're on can give them internal blockages if they eat too much of it. They may eat a couple of pieces, like my pigs will eat a couple of pieces of wood-shaving before I put their hay in after I've cleaned them out, but it's like any bedding, or anything, they have to try it with their mouths first rolleyes

In reply to the original poster, I don't think you'll be saving a lot doing it that way, that's my only negative about it. Unless you're only using it as a litter in a couple of corners, not as a bedding. Though your rabbit being litter trained (they're naturally litter trained anyway) makes me think you'll only put this in their toilet area/s? As said before, wood based could seriously hurt piggy feet, even through their hay/straw. I know my girlfriend uses a wood based cat litter for her rabbits and they have no problem with it, same with her ferrets actually, though the rest of their cages/hutches are covered with bedding (and hay for the rabbits) so they're not walking on it all the time.

I guess it's up to you, if its 100% paper based and it's not going to cost too much doing it the way you have to then I'd try it out :)
 
crazygal330 said:
One of the problems I find with these kinds of litter is that once they are wet they completely disentegrate. The wood based stuff turns into dust when it gets wet, which is not very good for the delicate respiratory systems of small furries. The cheap paper based stuff goes all mushy and weird. I have had biocatolet before that is allegedly "100% paper" but when wet it looked all jelly like and gunky.

Yesterdays news is the best brand of paper based litter, but it is even more expensive than carefresh.
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Ah, that'll be the problem my girlfriend has with cat litters :p I remember her mentioning it when I visited her the other month.

It's not a major problem, just that she didn't like how it went like that. Her pets have never had respiratory problems from either, she always cleans them out enough to not let that happen.
 
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