pellets for litterbox

[patches2593]

for the litterbox, i ve always used woodypet.

but we found another brand thats cheaper. its called equine pine pellet horse bedding.

does anyone se this?

is it fine? is it safe?

 

[Ellie]

I'm PRETTY sure when I was researching bunnies I read not to ever use pine bedding / soft woods.

Somebody may be able to expand on this, but I'm pretty sure cedar and pine aren't suitable because of the saw dust or something.

 

[ZRabbits]

Ellie wrote:

I'm PRETTY sure when I was researching bunnies I read not to ever use pine bedding / soft woods.

Somebody may be able to expand on this, but I'm pretty sure cedar and pine aren't suitable because of the saw dust or something.

I read that too about cedar and pine. Also clumpy kitty litter. That's why I went with sanitized recycled paper. Works for the Z-Tribe.

K

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Wood pellets are safe to use. The harmful oils are removed during the manufacturing process. While they is a bit of a woody smell, that should go away in a couple days if you leave the bag open.

I have used wood pellets of various brands for around 5-6 years now and not had any issues.

 

[LakeCondo]

It's shaving that aren't to be used if they're pine or cedar.

 

[MyBabyHasPaws]

So Aspen shaving is okay? I was using Pine until I learned on here that it was harmful.

 

[LakeCondo]

yes, aspen shavings are ok.

 

[melbaby80]

I use wood stove pellets. Love the smell and it completely removes the urine smell. Just smells like wet saw dust which I do not mind.

 

[MyJuneAngel]

I've been using pine shavings sold for horse bedding. I really had no clue that they weren't okay until a few days ago when I found this site. The pet store here uses them (no, we didn't get our buns from a pet store but the person we rescued from originally bought from a pet store)and all the store sell them marketed towards rabbits. I was really frustrated to find out that they aren't good for the bunnies.

You see, we've had two litters of kits (well, 3 but first litter was stillborn, all 10) and in our first litter of kits we lost one unexpectedly and seemingly unexplainably and another developed a huge abscess at 5 weeks old that continued to recur and cause issues until she was 7 months old and had to have a hard abscess mass removed along with a leg. We suspected pasteurella as being the cause of both the loss and the abscess/infection. Now I hear that pine shavings can cause respiratory issues and I feel horrible. We were truly doing what we thought was best for them. Fortunately the second litter turned out fine and none of the others kits from the first litter ever showed signs of sickness (nor did the parents).

I went to the farm store today and found pellet bedding. It is also pine and I was concerned but bought it anyway because I felt like pellets would be better than shavings at least. I am happy to read that the pine pellets are okay. The pellet bedding is a new addition to our farm store. In fact, the two employees working today had no clue what I was talking about when I asked for a bag. They were outside on the sidewalk stacked on a big pallet right next to the pine shavings we always get. They kept asking if I meant the shavings. I explained a few times that there were pellets out there and one girl finally went out and brought a bag in. They were all like 'oh!' when they saw that I wasn't completely mistaken in what I was trying to buy. LOL

My daughter will like the pellets better too. The rabbits are her responsibility and the shavings make such a huge mess. We end up with shavings all over the house as she carries them in from the garage at one end to the bunny room at the other.

 

[silversky2668]

MyJuneAngel wrote:

I've been using pine shavings sold for horse bedding. I really had no clue that they weren't okay until a few days ago when I found this site. The pet store here uses them (no, we didn't get our buns from a pet store but the person we rescued from originally bought from a pet store)and all the store sell them marketed towards rabbits. I was really frustrated to find out that they aren't good for the bunnies.

You see, we've had two litters of kits (well, 3 but first litter was stillborn, all 10) and in our first litter of kits we lost one unexpectedly and seemingly unexplainably and another developed a huge abscess at 5 weeks old that continued to recur and cause issues until she was 7 months old and had to have a hard abscess mass removed along with a leg. We suspected pasteurella as being the cause of both the loss and the abscess/infection. Now I hear that pine shavings can cause respiratory issues and I feel horrible. We were truly doing what we thought was best for them. Fortunately the second litter turned out fine and none of the others kits from the first litter ever showed signs of sickness (nor did the parents).

I went to the farm store today and found pellet bedding. It is also pine and I was concerned but bought it anyway because I felt like pellets would be better than shavings at least. I am happy to read that the pine pellets are okay. The pellet bedding is a new addition to our farm store. In fact, the two employees working today had no clue what I was talking about when I asked for a bag. They were outside on the sidewalk stacked on a big pallet right next to the pine shavings we always get. They kept asking if I meant the shavings. I explained a few times that there were pellets out there and one girl finally went out and brought a bag in. They were all like 'oh!' when they saw that I wasn't completely mistaken in what I was trying to buy. LOL

My daughter will like the pellets better too. The rabbits are her responsibility and the shavings make such a huge mess. We end up with shavings all over the house as she carries them in from the garage at one end to the bunny room at the other.

You aren't the only one--I think a lot of small animal owners, myself included, believed pine shavings are fine because that's how they're marketed by many pet stores (not all, but many of them). They're also some of the cheapest shavings out there. It's frustrating to know that there are people out there who just want to make money and don't really care about animal health :grumpy: It wasn't until I got my rats and my rabbit that I began researching more about animal litter/bedding and found out these things...and since I stopped using shavings, my room is much cleaner, as well. They used to get stuck to Honey's fur and he'd drag them around the carpet with him as he hopped along :rollseyes Much less vacuuming, now!

 

[MyJuneAngel]

When our Hunny had her abscess it drained a lot and she would get big clumps of shavings that would plaster on to her like some kind of bandage. I would have to peel it off of her, poor thing. We only use (used) the shavings in the litter box but she likes to lay in her litter box so she would get a lot on her.

 

[woahlookitsme]

we use the equine pellet stall bedding and have no issues. Its the clear bag with the green horse on it I believe. Ever since we found the pellets we would never change to anything else! The clean up is so easy