They need to be cleaned often and the pet shop bedding works out expensive. Considering shredded newspaper, leaves or sawdust from the timber yard. I would like to compost the used bedding for the garden as well. Any ideas anyone?
2007-12-05 21:24:57 · 35 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Rodents
I agree that litter does get expensive. I prefer corncob bedding, but I have so many hamsters that I have switched to pine bedding since it is more economical. Sawdust will not work, as others have said. It will make it hard for your pets to breathe. I have used hay, but I was not pleased with the performance. It was not as clean. Shredded newspaper will work, but it does allow more odor to develop, and it does not absorb moisture without becoming ruined. As a result, the cages must be cleaned much more often. You are pretty well going to have to bite the bullet and pay for litter. All us rodent owners sympathize with you! I wish a company would start producing more litter options in bulk quantity for a reasonable price. It's bizarre that most of the litter is made of throw away materials, yet it is so expensive.
2007-12-06 05:39:05 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Sawdust would be a VERY bad idea. It's dusty, which would lead the animals to get sick - costing you a lot of money. (YOU try being confined in a tiny space that's never vacuumed and has a floor covered in sawdust!) It might also contain parasites (ticks, mites, etc.) or bacteria. The same applies to leaves.
Either get ASPEN (NOT pine or cedar!) shavings, or pony up something like 40 € for polar fleece from either a fabric shop or the flea market - this can be washed and reused countless times, and is NOT expensive to replace. I've been using this stuff for a year and a half now, and still have about half the fleece I started out with.
2007-12-06 03:19:36 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
You can not use newspaper as the ink is toxic sawdust can cause respiratory problems and leaves could have bacteria on them so that is a no. What you can do is see if you have a newspaper printing factory near you they may give you some of the paper that was left on the roll after printing. That is where I get mine for craft projects and such. With out the ink it is OK. You only have to clean the cage once a week, a complete change that is. You can use any paper that does not have ink on it unscented toilet paper and tissue. Do not use cloth as they can get tangled in the stings and it can cause nasty wounds.
2007-12-06 02:45:16 · answer #3 · answered by Mary J 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
newspaper is fine, the ink is not toxic enough to kill unless ypur wee beastie eats a mountain of it daily. NOT MAGAZINES THOUGH, they are more toxic. lay a few sheets of paper down and bundle in some shredded stuff. Not sawdust, it isn't very good, gives off volatile oils and can be uncomfortable for them. Definitely not leaves as there are myriad pests and diseases which could cause trouble.
Does depend a bit on which rodent you have though.
2007-12-06 11:24:11 · answer #4 · answered by dionysos 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Never use sawdust, as this will cause respitory problems in your pets. It would cause blistering of the lungs, etc and may cause cancer. It's also very bad for you as well. Also, never use pine or cedar chips, as these have a chemical in them that is actually lethal to rodents. A lot of petshops arent even carrying the stuff anymore. If you are worried about prices, I would go ahead and cut up some old fabric and place it in the cage. Or, you can take a trip to walmart and pick up some felt squares (the large ones) for .69 cents and cut those up into strips - resuable litter! When you clean the cage, all you have to do is launder the fabric in your washing machine, hot water with a little (very little) beach and soap.
2007-12-05 23:12:21 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
we use shredded paper (not newspaper) and it goes in our composter.
I don't shred any high gloss magazine. wood shavings take longer to compost than paper.
I use shredded paper for my rabbits, guinea pigs, chicken, and hamster. So we have a lot of paper but it does well in the composter. Do remember to turn your composter esp if it starts to slow down. I moved mine the other day to another part of our garden and it had slowed down. But the heat coming out of it today was crazy and it was really cold today.
2007-12-06 09:59:28 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
You should not really have a pet if you cant afford the bedding. newspaper is not a good idea and can kill. What rodent do you have? What do you feed it? Is that free too? If you love your pet, do some research on it so it gets all the things it needs.
2007-12-06 03:35:51 · answer #7 · answered by Amazon 2 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Shred all you junk mail and other unwanted post and that will be fine. Ask your mates to do the same - free bedding and then you can put it into the compost bin.
Don't use horse straw it causes skin infections as it contains loads of mites and in intended for eating by horses and not bedding for small animals.
2007-12-06 04:18:02 · answer #8 · answered by Soup Dragon 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Shredded newspaper is great - they love it. Beware of sawdust from the wood yard though as it tends to be very fine and so very dusty and also can have mites in it - better to stick with actual dust extracted animal-grade sawdust or shavings for that. However instead of buying it from the pet shop get it from a horse feed supplier as you will get a big bale of it for around £5 which is far better value for money.
2007-12-06 02:45:41 · answer #9 · answered by Debi 7 · 1⤊ 3⤋
NOT sawdust from a timber yard PET SHOP BOUGHT sawdust is great, but if you get it from a timber yard your (hamster?gerbil?rat?whatever?) may poke his/her eye out and become blind. Leaves? NO WAY. Your-er-rodent might catch a disease but shredded paper? Perfect, I use it for my rats all the time.
2007-12-06 03:58:39 · answer #10 · answered by claudia_t_c 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋