Is this a good bedding?

by CuriousWhiskers Mon 30 Nov 2020, 8:21 am

"Small Pet Select Unbleached White Paper Bedding" on Amazon.

Is this a good bedding for mice?

by River Mon 30 Nov 2020, 12:59 pm

I probably differ from most people on this forum when I say I don't really think paper bedding is the best option. I used it for most of my mouse-owner years, but I met a breeder a few years ago who linked me this study which is...super freakin' long.
As a summary, the Carefresh was pulled from the study a week early because the ammonia level got too high to be considered safe if you use a tank/bin setup as most do. We do a few things differently as pet-owners that could perhaps minimize this risk but I thought, eh, if I can get less smell at no risk to the animal and potentially have fewer respiratory infections, I'm golden.
I'd use hemp or sani-chips if I could get my hands on it. I could not. I use aspen, and now that I have a little boy I'm glad I do. It does have dust (kinda like brown Carefresh) which many people would say is an issue itself but I find sifting this out is pretty simple.

That said some mice are allergic to other beddings and paper is one of the most accessible hypoallergenic options. Other people use paper bedding devotedly and love it, as I did for quite a few years. I will say they love to burrow in and nest with it! As far as paper bedding goes this looks nice and soft and has no harmful additives I could find. Reminds me of Kaytee Clean and Cozy, which is what I used to use.

by Robin~ Mon 30 Nov 2020, 2:20 pm

Yup! I've used it in the past and I really like it.

I had a look at the study River linked, and I had to just paste this quote:

"Ammonia concentrations in ventilated cages
housing mice on CareFRESH Ultra bedding were at least an order of
magnitude lower than those in static cages, so this bedding material
may be successfully used in ventilated caging systems." (pg 5)

Right there. Mouse cages should always be well-ventilated regardless of what bedding is used, so the fact that the scientists state that Carefresh can safely be used in well-ventilated cages means it's, well, safe. The reason they had pull the mice from the Carefresh experiment specifically was because the cage did not have a good amount of ventilation, which makes sense. The ammonia was just lingering in the cage, so of course it would cause problems.

So, I suppose my takeaway from this paper is that any bedding is fine in terms of ammonia as long as the cage is well-ventilated, which isn't too hard to accomplish as long as you aren't using a tank, but if you feel more comfortable airing on the side of caution that's up to you. Smile

by River Mon 30 Nov 2020, 5:41 pm

Robin~ wrote: So, I suppose my takeaway from this paper is that any bedding is fine in terms of ammonia as long as the cage is well-ventilated, which isn't too hard to accomplish as long as you aren't using a tank, but if you feel more comfortable airing on the side of caution that's up to you.

Yes, this!!! Most people use tanks/bins for mice (as did I in 2018, when I read the study) so that totally slipped by me. A good reminder to keep myself updated as I checked and I'm fairly certain Curious will be using a wired cage. Laughing

I should probably edit that. Woops! Thanks, Robin. Smile

by chiroptera Mon 30 Nov 2020, 8:11 pm

To cut in here, River, I use bins but they're absolutely still well ventilated - one front side and almost the entire top are wire mesh, with cross-ventilation holes on the sides, does the trick real well! This is one of the reason I'm not a fan of tanks for mice, actually, it's so hard to get enough ventilation in a tank.

What I use, personally, is shredded paper towels and tissue paper. Way cheaper than commercial paper beddings, is usually less dusty, and allows for nice nesting material.

by River Mon 30 Nov 2020, 8:52 pm

chiroptera wrote:To cut in here, River, I use bins but they're absolutely still well ventilated - one front side and almost the entire top are wire mesh, with cross-ventilation holes on the sides, does the trick real well! This is one of the reason I'm not a fan of tanks for mice, actually, it's so hard to get enough ventilation in a tank.

I agree the ventilation is better in a bin like this but it does have less ventilation than a cage with bars on all sides and since I'm not sure what they used for their 'positively ventilated' space I'd probably err on the side of caution there, personally. Maybe I'm just a bad reader, though lol. I skimmed the article to see if they said what they used but I couldn't find anything, and google only brought me to individually ventilated spaces. As a side note...if you know any cool bin tutorials send me a link! Lots of big bins around this time of year and I know this boy likes his space.
Smile

by chiroptera Mon 30 Nov 2020, 9:03 pm

I am beyond positive that there's enough ventilation in (my) bins that paper bedding is safe. I also hate the texture of aspen/wood bedding (though I haven't tried hemp since it's hit or miss whether it's available) so I am a strict paper-bedding user for that reason more than anything else lol.

I don't remember what bin tutorial I originally used, honestly, it's been so long that I just know how to do it at this point haha - but ErinsAnimals is my favorite PetTuber, and she does have one of her own: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJYIVkqTZBE

by River Mon 30 Nov 2020, 9:10 pm

I've been seeing a lot of her DIY cages lately! They're all super cool, hadn't come across the bin one yet. Thanks!

I'd say the texture with hemp is about as hit or miss as it's availability is from what I've seen lol. It's either exceptionally fluffy or just very strange. I look forward to trying it but of course, as soon as I have small pets again Walmart decided it wasn't worth carrying. Rolling Eyes

by chiroptera Mon 30 Nov 2020, 11:03 pm

If you haven't, check other Walmarts than your closest one. I was surprised to find that Walmarts in towns not too far from where I lived had vastly different small pet sections sometimes.

by SarahAdams Tue 01 Dec 2020, 10:28 am

You can find lots of tutorials for making bin cages on YouTube. That's how I learned to make mine.

However I do not recommend using a box cutter or utilility knife to cut the plastic. It's very hard to do and can be quite dangerous. Personally, I bought a very cheap (10$) soldering iron from Amazon and that burns through the plastic like a hot knife through butter and I was able to cut a large opening in the front and tops of all three bin cages in short order.

Some people heat up a knife with a candle or on the stove and use that. You can do that, but it will take hours.

Very important:If using the soldering iron, do it either outdoors (I did) or in some place that is very well ventilated, and wear a mask. Run a fan to blow the fumes away from your work. Never use the soldering iron anywhere near your mice or other small pets, birds, etc.

If you are unable to work outdoors, then the dremel tool used by Erin in the above video is a great choice!

by Peachy Tue 01 Dec 2020, 2:06 pm

I second forgoing the knives! I made my hamster a bin cage almost three years ago and practically lopped a bit of my thumb tip off with a utility knife. It didn’t go all the way through so we just stitched it back on, and the scar is relatively small (a lot of it is actually under my nail, which thankfully grew back normal!), but the lack of feeling makes the thumb clumsy. I also had to update my finger ID on my phone once every couple weeks for about a year. Laughing

by chiroptera Tue 01 Dec 2020, 7:28 pm

I'm not sure if it's better or cheaper than a soldering iron, but I personally use a hot knife (sold at craft stores, usually targeted for wood burning). That works pretty well too. c:

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