alternatives to carefresh

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Buy the fitch from fitch directly- Amazon is more expensive, and shipping is free on the Fitch site. I've had all my deliveries from Fitch within 48 hours of ordering as well - for free.
Fitch hasn't set off my allergies, Luna and her cage never smell, I am glad I made the switch! Only thing I would warn is sometimes there are dyed bits in the bag- I don't think this is harmful, but I did get a little fright when I found a little red/pink bit on the fitch thinking she had bled!

[Pebbles82]

I love Fitch! It does work out cheap as well because you buy it in bulk. It smells of nothing and is just recycled food grade paper. More importantly hammies seem to love it too. It does need to be stored indoors really or it can get damp. I get the 10kg bag because I don't have anywhere to store the 20kg one. The 20kg one is huge! The 10kg is ok I find and you can squish it into different shapes to fit under something or in a gap between a wall and wardrobe eg. I just put a throw over ours and have it in the corner of a bedroom so it looks like a small beanbag

Hugro hemp is supposed to be very good too as Cavebear mentioned - I was allergic to it unfortunately so I've stuck with Fitch. If you're not an allergic type Hemp is also a good option - or you can mix two or three substrates as well which is supposed to help tunnels hold.

[squeakylittlepaws]

Ratrations. They sell substrate in huge volumes. Their delivery is slightly high about £6 but they are a family owned business and if you do big bulk orders and get other things - toys, treats etc it still works out cheaper.

Fab website with some of the most awesome things.

[cypher]

I love ratrations too & buy loads of things from them but I still think buying my Fitch works out cheaper than any other substrate from ratrations or elsewhere

I like the hugro hemp too & mix it with fitch which works really well, great for burrowing but still virtually dust free & economical.

[BubblesHamster]

thanks for all these suggestions the only problem is I don't have a great deal of storage how large is the 10 kilo bag(lengthwise)XXxx

[Drago]

Fitch is by far considered the best brand around and I'd recommend that, but I'm surprised nobody mentioned Kaytee clean and cozy. It's a paper bedding that's a little cheaper than carefresh, is not dyed, and is very soft and has never bothered my hams. Though Fitch is superior, I also recommend kaytee

[Fluffagrams]

Originally Posted by Drago

Fitch is by far considered the best brand around and I'd recommend that, but I'm surprised nobody mentioned Kaytee clean and cozy. It's a paper bedding that's a little cheaper than carefresh, is not dyed, and is very soft and has never bothered my hams. Though Fitch is superior, I also recommend kaytee

I've seen Kaytee Clean and Cozy recommended quite frequently on some of the US sites so I get the impression that it's one of the best options over there. I remember looking for it once when I was researching substrate options and couldn't find it anywhere other than importing it from Amazon at a cost of £34 a bale.

[Drago]

That sounds pretty pricey, here in the US it's not too expensive, but I never even thought about the fact that it would be expensive in another country. So I'm your case definitely go with fitch I'd say

[AmityvilleHams]

Things to consider before assuming Fitch would never fit is that you will have to store some of the bale,but part will go into cage cleaning if you time ordering it just right so you can replace old substrate with it right away.Therefore there is less to store.You can also divide it up into stacked containers of sizes that fit well for your space,which can be a good option.It also can be formed into a suitable shape anyways,so that may not be necessary

[karlh]

Petlife Safebed Dog Bedding Bale 10kg | eBayHi. Now I have a 3 cage set up. I use shredded paper I get from ebay. It is a 10 kg and lasted 1 year. When I got my current 4 Campbell boys, the breeder uses paper, so have opted for same. It is cleaner, easier to use and they like it, as it can be shredded as they like.
Most importantly, they can't get mites. These come from wood bedding.