We have one guinea pig and currently use carefresh litter, we are picking up my dd's hamsters tomorrow, I am wondering what type of litter you feel is the best, if you have these type of little critters. I've heard that pine is bad for them, but am wondering what other types are available.

By Annie2 on Thursday, December 29, 2005 - 09:00 pm:

We always use cedar. It helps with odor. It is also a bit firmer, so they can chew on it.

By Mom2three1968 on Thursday, December 29, 2005 - 09:39 pm:

I was just curious because some of the litters they claim will give them respiratory problems.

By Annie2 on Thursday, December 29, 2005 - 09:59 pm:

What type of cage will you be using? If using an aquarium make sure it is cleaned out regularly or the ammonium can build up at the bottom, posing a toxic problem for the hamster.

Otherwise, they are very hearty creatures. Their life span only lasts about 15 months, though, so be prepared for that in the the 2006.

By Mom2three1968 on Thursday, December 29, 2005 - 10:08 pm:

Annie,

We are using one of those cages with tunnels and a wheel, we bought it at petco specifically for hamsters and gerbils. I was told that they could live at least two years, but, we shall be prepared for the inevitable when it should happen...!

By Ginny~moderator on Friday, December 30, 2005 - 05:10 am:

I'm asking Scott what they use in his animal lab and what he uses at home for his mice. I know it isn't cedar.

By Luvn29 on Friday, December 30, 2005 - 10:12 am:

We use Aspen bedding. A little more expensive, but it is very good, and it won't cause respiratory problems. I always heard that pine is better than cedar though, because cedar is so strong.

We have four guinea pigs, and they are right in the middle of everything, so we have to keep them clean. Although guinea pigs aren't as smelly as hamsters.... But we use Aspen most of the time, and it seems to work well, and if we can't find it, we'll use pine. But we never use Cedar.

By Marcia on Friday, December 30, 2005 - 10:18 am:

We use pine for our GP because my hubby seems to react to cedar. It's also cheaper.

By Mom2three1968 on Friday, December 30, 2005 - 10:54 am:

THis gives me some new ideas, I've been using carefresh litter but was looking for something else to use that would be more economical and last longer too. Should I introduce the new litter slowly mix half and half? Or do you think it would matter?

By Luvn29 on Friday, December 30, 2005 - 11:04 am:

I don't think it matters. I have switched back and forth with both hamsters and guinea pigs depending on what was available at the time, and it never seems to bother mine.... My guineas just love it when they get fresh bedding, they popcorn all over the place!

By the way, both of my babies that I have are boys! Ugh! Can you believe that??? They turned four weeks old yesterday, so we are seperating them from my gals today. I was hoping they'd both be girls, so they could all stay together, but at least it wasn't just one boy to be lonely without the others... I was hoping for either both girls or both boys...

By Ginny~moderator on Friday, December 30, 2005 - 06:12 pm:

Scott, who works in a lab animal facility, strongly recommends against cedar or any other aromatic litter. He has a couple of reasons: first, any litter with a strong smell will mask the smell of the wastes and you may not change it as soon as it needs to be changed; if by any chance you have a pair, cedar specifically can cause birth defects in rodents; any litter with a scent can interfere with the pheremone scent, and animals use scent as part of the way they communicate. He says don't use cedar or mesquite or the green stuff that is supposed to be loaded with chlorophyll, or any other scented litter. According to Scott, no lab animal facility will use any litter that has its own smell. He recommends pine, aspen, maple. He also recommends against the clumped paper stuff (I think it is "recycled") that some pet supply places sell, says it gets soaked a lot sooner and his mice, at least, don't like it as well. They tried it in one of his labs and decided it was, overall, more costly.

By Annie2 on Friday, December 30, 2005 - 06:27 pm:

We will continue to use cedar. We only use a bit to cover the bottom of the cage. We give our gerbil (it was two hamsters before) toilet paper rolls and paper towel rolls for them to chew. Their bedding becomes more of this than the cedar. We change our Piper's cage every two weeks, on Saturday...if it smells or not.
Both hamsters lived to be about 18 months of age.

By Hol on Monday, January 2, 2006 - 05:59 am:

We use a brand of wood shavings from Walmart. It is light coloured, and has a few specks of green chlorophyl in it. We have had our "piggie" for two years now.

I heard that cedar gives them cancer. We also wash the cage out with dishwashing liquid and hot water at every change. After drying it thoroughly with paper towel, we line the cage bottom with paper towel and newspapers, with the shavings on top.

I heard that the torn up cardboard stuff can block up their intestines if they eat it, because it swells up.