Are cedar woodshavings really bad for rodents?

Question

me and my brother just got into a fight about decar woodshavings, and since he knoes everything about animals, he said they were bad, well i looked them up on the internet and aparently they are, but i want other pet owner advice on it. is cedar gonna kill my hamster?

Answer 1

As a professional pet breeder, the answer is: cedar shavings are not good for any rodent, especially the respiratory system. Do not buy recyclable newspaper bedding pellets either because those are not good for the hamster to put in their mouth. Fine pine shavings are soft and very small pieces. I have been breeding hamsters, using pine, for 14 years. Sometimes hamsters are allergic to pine. this occurs, the hair falls off the underside of the body and redness appears. Then a person has to use a very soft bedding that vets recommend.
Superpetusa.com and Kay tee make a very small granular newspaper product which can be used in hamster outhouses as long as the hamsters don't try to put it in the mouth.

Answer 2

Cedar Wood Shavings

Answer 3

Yes. They can cause liver failure in small mammals (such as hamsters and guinea pigs) AND they can cause respiratory problems all because of aromatic oils. These are found in both cedar AND pine.

Aspen is a safe woodshaving to use that has few or no aromatic oils.

It won't necessarily kill your hamster, but a safer choice is (as I already said) aspen or a recycled source (you can find these at most pet stores, although I recommend buying the shavings or bedding from a store that does not sell pets, like a feed store).

Answer 4

NEVER use cedar on your pets. the dust particles can cause respiratory infection, especially in small animals....and yes, a respiratory infection can be deadly if not treated quickly and correctly. i would immediately switch to pine(aspen) or the recycled paper products. if money is an issue, which pine is generally the same amount as cedar...use newspapers..just shred then up by hand and line the cage with it. your hamster will love to burrow in it.

good luck!

Answer 5

YES! It is deathfully wrong. DO NOT USE IT! It killed my first Hamster. I knew seeminglessly everything about my new pet, until it came to bedding. I had the little six-week old Teddy Bear Hamster for two months. One day I came into my room and he was shaking, I picked him up. And stroked him, his eyes were squinted. I called my mom, she said he must be sick. I never called the vet. Stupid me. I was crying to hard, he shoo,shook violently. I set him on my desk to see if he could walk, he shook so hard, in a long swinign liek motion, he fell off my desk. I balled whe whole day. He has been poisoned by the toxic cedar wood shavings. I miss him so much, i still cry all the time about him. MAKE SURE TO USE NON-TOXIC BEDDING!

Answer 6

It's unlikely it will kill your hamster outright, but it is true that pine and cedar shavings are toxic over time. My hamsters only lived a year and a half and two years, and I'm putting that down to cedar shavings in part.

These woods give off substances that are bad for rodents respiratory systems, so it just isn't worth risking.

Chalice

Answer 7

Pine, Cedar and different mushy wood beddings are undesirable for small rodents, they comprise phenols that are poisonous to small animals. They reason the cells to break down interior the sinus hollow area, besides as a results of fact the trachea and lungs, ultimately inflicting loss of life. i take advantage of Kiln Dried Aspen Bedding, aspen is a no longer ordinary wood and would not comprise the poisonous phenols that different wood beddings have, something categorised as mushy wood Bedding could be prevented. you additionally can attempt Care sparkling, or the day till now right this moment;s information bedding, those are produced from recycled paper products, i do no longer look after them individually as they're very dusty, and don't in all risk do plenty to absorb odors the two. So while you're finding to maintain your hamster wholesome, i might choose Aspen in case you opt to apply wood Bedding, Yesterdays information or Care sparkling in case you opt to apply paper bedding, or you could bypass the two and use a product spoke of as Swheat Scoop, it is commonly bought as cat muddle, yet is wholesome for small pets to apply besides, it smells great, it is produced from Wheat Husks. good success which includes your Hammie!

Answer 8

Cedar is not the way to go. Many ailments can arise from the use of cedar in most smaller pets.

Concider this as well - they recommend against using cedar for bedding even for feeder rats, as it makes them unsafe to feed to reptiles, so that further points to using an alternative bedding. (yes I know this is your pet, but the point is that cedar is dangerous for most caged animals)

Answer 9

Yes, your brother is right! I used to buy that for my gerbils, because it was cheap, and they gave you a lot in the bag. But, I realized that every single time my gerbil had that bedding, his nose would bleed bad, and it seemed like he had breathing problems. So I switched to the soft bedding, and everythings good now. He's a year old, and is gonna turn 2 in august! Stay away from cedar bedding!

Good luck!

Answer 10

I definitely would switch to a different litter ASAP....cedar has been proven to cause liver damage in hamsters, and also irritates their respiratory systems. Cedar probably wouldn't be fatal right away, but it could cause long-term damage to your hamster's health. If you live in the US I know the brand of litter called Carefresh is supposed to be really good for small rodents....it's supposed to be absorbent, soft and dust-free (dust can also irritate their respiratory systems).
Ground corn cob litter is pretty good (I used it for my mice), but it's a bit gravelly and could be hard on their paws....plus they might nibble it.
I use unscented pine shavings for my hamsters, and they seem to do well with that. If you use pine try to find a brand that's as dust-free as possible.
It's unfortunate, but pet stores sell alot of things that are really unsuitable for the animals they're supposed to be for....like this cottony bedding for hamsters...it looks comfy, but it can be dangerous if they swallow it or get it caught in their teeth, or tangled around their foot. It's better to just use shredded unscented tissues or toilet paper.
Good for you for doing research and asking on the Internet...your hammie's lucky to have a conscientious "parent"!