Re: What kind of Carefresh to use / Is Kaytee bedding hypoallergenic?

by CAPSLOCK Fri 01 Jul 2016, 12:17 am

Petco.com has kaytee bedding on sale now. That plus free shipping, you can't go wrong!

by Rodents rock! Fri 01 Jul 2016, 1:50 am

For my gerbils I use the white Carefresh. I read somewhere that is the least dusty of the Carefresh brand. My gerbils seem to like it just fine. For my male mouse, Mickey, I use the, I think it's called Katyee Cobb. It's the corn bedding. I saw on YouTube a lady that switched to that for her male mouse as it controls the strong male odors better than other bedding. When I first got Mickey I didn't realize that male mice are stinky. I've heard that some males are stickier than others. Mickey is very stinky. So I switched him to the Cobb bedding and I do believe it helps some. I also put a handful of the white Carefresh in there so he can use it to nest.

by Artistwolf Fri 01 Jul 2016, 2:42 pm

I believe Kaytee should actually be cheaper than Carefresh—its kind of the knockoff brand!

Edit: I heard somewhere that corn cob bedding can suck the moisture out of a mouse's skin?

by Rodents rock! Fri 01 Jul 2016, 3:00 pm

Artistwolf wrote:I believe Kaytee should actually be cheaper than Carefresh—its kind of the knockoff brand!

Edit: I heard somewhere that corn cob bedding can suck the moisture out of a mouse's skin?

I will have to look into that, but I've never heard that before. I've been using it for Mickey for over a week now, and he seems fine in it - he loves digging in it. I do put a handful of white Carefresh in there which he uses to nest in. So he's not sleeping on the corn cob bedding. I love how there is really no dust to speak of with the cobb bedding.

by Peachy Fri 01 Jul 2016, 3:06 pm

I love corn cob bedding and have used it off and on for years. It does wonderful things for stink. lol I haven't heard of the moisture thing, though. The only downsides I've ever seen mentioned is that it can mold quickly if it gets too wet and sometimes it can be kinda pokey, so not the most comfortable for feet (though my mice never seemed to mind, they also love to dig in it). Smile

by Rodents rock! Fri 01 Jul 2016, 3:13 pm

abeona wrote:I love corn cob bedding and have used it off and on for years. It does wonderful things for stink. lol I haven't heard of the moisture thing, though. The only downsides I've ever seen mentioned is that it can mold quickly if it gets too wet and sometimes it can be kinda pokey, so not the most comfortable for feet (though my mice never seemed to mind, they also love to dig in it).

In just researching corn cob bedding online - I came across this that I found very interesting and may give a try. Tell me what you all think:

"The best product I can recommend as litter for rats, mice, hamsters and gerbils is rabbit food. Yes, that’s right, the little green hay pellets. They are quite absorbent and fantastic for odor control. Purchased in large bags at a feed store they are also very cheap. This is what I use in all my rat cages.

Keep in mind that most litters, especially the pelleted litters, are most efficient if you use only a thin layer. Using a thick layer can be wasteful because you might need to clean it just as often. If you don’t like using pellets, you can combine 2 different types of products to take advantage of the strengths of each one."

by River Fri 01 Jul 2016, 3:50 pm

I'd think the mice would eat it, considering it's food, and well, I don't think rabbit food would be a very good meal for rodents. However, I've not tried it, nor heard of it for that matter. Interesting subject. I always have tons of rabbit food, but with four rabbits, we get rid of it faster than I'd like, so using it as a bedding wouldn't be a very good option for me personally.

I don't know much about that. It's definitely creative. I'd do more research before trying it out, though!

by Artistwolf Fri 01 Jul 2016, 3:56 pm

Alright, I don't know where I read that, so it probably wasn't true!

by CallaLily Fri 01 Jul 2016, 4:01 pm

If we're recommending other brands, I really love Green Dreamzzz. It's super soft, even softer than the clean n cozy. Very Happy

by Peachy Fri 01 Jul 2016, 4:08 pm

I know some people use alfalfa pellets under regular bedding, like in layers. That's what I'm doing with the corn cob now. A concern with hay is parasites and allergies, but I don't think it would be a biggie if they nibbled at it.

by River Fri 01 Jul 2016, 7:02 pm

CallaLily wrote:If we're recommending other brands, I really love Green Dreamzzz. It's super soft, even softer than the clean n cozy.

Never head of it. Shame you can't find it in stores! Is it dusty/smelly/any cons whatsoever?
I'm gonna try Kaytee since it's far easier for me to get than GD, but if it doesn't work out I'm very interested. Recycled is always good!

I've heard one thing about Kaytee I'm confused about...is it true that the type of paper it appears to be changes? I've heard people say it sometimes looks like shredded towel, other times shredded toilet paper, other times normal old paper. Also, how is it's smell control? Any better than straight shredded paper?

by River Fri 01 Jul 2016, 7:06 pm

abeona wrote:I know some people use alfalfa pellets under regular bedding, like in layers. That's what I'm doing with the corn cob now. A concern with hay is parasites and allergies, but I don't think it would be a biggie if they nibbled at it.

Ohhh, in layers. You see, I somehow missed that part. Sounds like a nice smell-control thing.

by MouseLover Fri 01 Jul 2016, 9:06 pm

That birthday cake bedding looks so pretty, don't think we get that here. I can get carefresh in white, natural and I think pink.

I use Back 2 Nature pet litter and find it's really good for odour control. Their cage never gets smelly now. But it's grey which is boring Sad

lol

by CallaLily Fri 01 Jul 2016, 9:06 pm

ThePetekeyPrep wrote:
Never head of it. Shame you can't find it in stores! Is it dusty/smelly/any cons whatsoever?

Not dusty and works as good as any other paper based bedding for odor.

by CinnamonPearl Fri 01 Jul 2016, 10:11 pm

I need pretty colors in my bedding to survive. I had to switch to shredded newspaper for a while once, but as soon as I could, I switched back to Kaytee right away. I love them colors!

by Sponsored content