Looking for alternative to Fitch? - Page 2

cypher · 01-07-2019, 12:24 PM

I was going to order a few things from Ratrations anyway so I added a 1kg bag of the new Softacard to my order, have to try everything once lol! Curious to see what it's like....

Emsmum · 01-09-2019, 02:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sophiedoe

Hi everyone!

Haven’t been on here for a while what with being busy at work and our ham being nicely settled on the whole, but hoping all the great knowledge of this community might be able to help me...

Does anyone know what is going on with Fitch at the moment? I always got 20kg bales, they have been out of stock for a while, so I finally gave up and was going to order a 10kg one, but now they are out of stock! I’ve read various things online about them now only selling very small amounts as people were buying the large bales and selling smaller amounts for profit.

Can anyone suggest an alternative? I don’t really want to change as Fitch has been great, but I can’t be paying £30 for a few kg! I’m running dangerously low at the moment. I like paper based, and something soft that moulds well into a bed. Any thoughts?

Thanks so much in advance!

I had actually emailed them to ask if there was an issue as I will need to restock at the end of this month, if they respond I will let you know. I do know that Finacard also had a supply issue which has just been resolved - lots of people were saying it was something to do with the supply because of Brexit but I am not sure if it was that or not.

Emsmum · 01-09-2019, 02:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cypher

I was going to order a few things from Ratrations anyway so I added a 1kg bag of the new Softacard to my order, have to try everything once lol! Curious to see what it's like....

Cypher it's good, I have just received my bag from Finacard for the gerbils, feels great but I mix mine with the fitch & aspen for them, I have never used the finacard stuff with Noodles, I just use Fitch for him but this stuff is really soft so I might mix some in with the next clean out

cypher · 01-09-2019, 05:30 AM

I've got mine now & is nice, it does feel soft but it also seems to compact down quite well so I think it would hold burrows, I do like Fitch & will be sticking with that as my main substrate but I think the Softacard will be nice for a bit of variety in the cage, not sure who I'm going to try it with yet though!

Sh4dow85 · 01-09-2019, 04:10 PM

Found this thread after having the same issue. My 10kg bale has lasted me a year, and now I've come to buy another one and they're out of stock. I emailed them too back in early December but never had a reply, and now I've no choice but to go elsewhere. Plus I did find it very dusty which was disappointing. The kaytee looks to have a lot of good reviews, so I reckon I'll try a small pack of that for the time being. Will let you know how I find it

Pebbles82 · 01-10-2019, 06:00 AM

That's unusual - I have always found Fitch to be dust-free. They do go out of stock for a while sometimes, but it usually comes back in again. It's great that they now sell Kaytee Clean n Cozy in the Uk on Amazon - but be careful when ordering - some of them are scented packs. On this page eg - the small pack is ok, but the two larger packs (Storm and Vegetable garden) are scented.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb...=3EAFM8CJXL9RN

I am a big fan of Fitch partly because it is recycled food grade paper. Some of the cellulose beddings like Carefresh have been through a lot more chemical processes.

cypher · 01-10-2019, 06:33 AM

I've never found fitch to be dusty either tbh, I meant to say about avoiding the scented kaytee too & forgot, this is the bag I've had, not as big as a bale of fitch but still it's a good size, there's also the 85L white if you need more.

Fluffagrams · 01-10-2019, 08:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh4dow85

Found this thread after having the same issue. My 10kg bale has lasted me a year, and now I've come to buy another one and they're out of stock. I emailed them too back in early December but never had a reply, and now I've no choice but to go elsewhere. Plus I did find it very dusty which was disappointing. The kaytee looks to have a lot of good reviews, so I reckon I'll try a small pack of that for the time being. Will let you know how I find it

My last bale was a little bit on the dusty side too and it wasn't as half as soft as it used to be, despite it's increase in prices over time. I'd bought it to go in a maternity cage and I wasn't happy for my hamster to have her babies on it because it was so rough. I ended up throwing it away in the end.

I tried to contact Fitch by email but they never replied and a quick look at their reviews showed that their customer sevice leaves a lot to be desired.

Pebbles82 · 01-10-2019, 08:46 AM

I have had a bad batch in the past where it hasn’t been so soft. And more creamy coloured but it was fine. Phoned them and they said depends what is being recycled sometimes eg - but since then it’s all been good. I agree their customer service isn’t the greatest but their product has made a huge change to Hamster care over the past four years or more and is valuable as sold in bulk

SKB_Hamsters · 01-13-2019, 08:02 AM

I had this same issue back in July when their larger bales were out of stock for a while - I just keep checking the page frequently until they come back in stock.

Although I am quite intrigued by this softacard, cypher, do you have a picture of what it looks like up close as cant properly envision it properly by looking at images online. As might be worth a try.