Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Whether you use hardwood beddings, paper beddings, pelleted beddings, or a combination, the important thing is the health of your pet.

Cedar and pine. For many years these were the choice beddings to use for small animals. They were inexpensive, readily available, attractive, absorbent, soft, and covered up odors with a pleasant scent. Though cedar was often referred to as being “too strong” for small animals, pine was the

Cedar Shavings.

#1 choice among rat, mouse, hamster, rabbit, and cavy owners. In fact, those two bedding options were essentially the only ones available. Everyone used them.

In 1993, that all changed. In the July–October issue of AFRMA Rat & Mouse Tales an article written by Elizabeth R. TeSelle was published. This article, titled “The Problem With Pine: A discussion of Softwood Beddings,” was responsible for a total and complete turn-around in the husbandry practices of a great many rat and mouse owners.

Prior to this article, people had noticed that rats and mice kept on cedar tended to develop respiratory problems a little quicker than those kept on pine. Since the animals kept on pine also eventually developed respiratory problems, this was not particularly noteworthy. In 1992–1993 the rumor began circulating that possibly neither cedar nor pine bedding was a good choice. Most people dismissed this, however, since their animals appeared healthy, and no one knew what was supposed to make cedar and pine so “bad.”

Pine Shavings.

In her article she noted that the House Rabbit Society first became aware of the consequences of using pine in 1989 (Harriman 8–9). That year they had a rabbit die unexpectedly during a spay operation. They ran this rabbit’s blood work and discovered elevated liver enzymes. When other rabbits in their care were checked, they noted that all of those with access to pine had elevated enzymes. When these rabbits were switched to cat litter, their enzyme levels returned to normal.

Without going to the lengths of doing blood work, etc., liver disease is very hard to diagnose. In rats and mice we often see deaths occurring after the onset of “old age” symptoms. These include loss of appetite, lethargy, and “fading away.” All of these are also symptoms of liver disease, and, according to TeSelle, “many cases of rats and mice dying of ‘old age’ may in fact have been related to liver failure.”

The author also pointed out that laboratories have known since the ’60s that both cedar and pine shavings contain phenols (Vesell, Cunliffe-Beamer). “Phenols are caustic, poisonous, acidic compounds present in softwood.” These compounds cause irritation to the lungs (making it easy for bacteria to enter), as well as causing damage to the liver and kidneys.

The author goes into further detail (I highly recommend reading her original article) and needless to say, all of this caused great concern to those of us who were using these products. Were we essentially killing our animals? All the evidence said yes, and this prompted many of us to go searching for new products. It caused quite a bedding dilemma.

Over time, word got out. We made it a point to tell everyone we met at displays and shows about cedar and pine. People started asking their pet shops for alternatives, and slowly companies discovered that there was a market for these products.

We can now report (quite happily) that there are an almost bewildering variety of options available, and there are new products coming on the market every year. The alternatives are many and varied, and now readily available.

Sani-Chips®

Sani-Chips® are manufactured by PJ Murphy Forest Products Corp., P.O. Box 300, Montville, NJ 07045, 1-800-631-1936, (973) 316-0800, Fax: (973) 316-9455, e-mail: sales@pjmurphy.net, www.pjmurphy.net/sanichips/

Shredded Aspen.

One company that has shredded aspen in large bales is Harlan Teklad, P.O. Box 44220, Madison, WI 53744, 1-800-4-TEKLAD (483-5523), (608) 277-2070, Fax: (608) 277-2066, e-mail:Teklad@teklad.com, www.teklad.com/bedding/aspen.html.

Aspen Shavings.

The manufacturer we buy our large bales of aspen shavings from is Northeastern Products Corp., P.O. Box 98, 115 Sweet Road, Warrensburg, NY 12885, 1-800-873-8233, (518) 623-3161, Fax: (518) 623-3803, www.nep-co.com. They also make other forms of hardwood beddings in chips, shredded, and pellets as well as corn cob bedding.

Beta Chip®

This product is manufactured by Northeastern Products Corp., 1-800-873-8233, www.nep-co.com. They also make All God’s Creatures Litter (hardwood chips) and Aspen Chip® (aspen hardwood chips).
Part 2: Paper Beddings and Pelleted Beddings.

Back to
AFRMA
Info Page

AFRMA
Home Page