Aubiose vs AubiChick vs Cocoon?

[AmityvilleHams]

I know this is a weird question as all three are technically from the same company, but as a USA member(not current hamster owner at the moment but definitely in the hopefully near future) it is at least relevant. The question is how much if any difference is there in any of these substrates, and ultimately whether or not any of the three are just not good.

I personally don't think I'd want to go straight for the Aubiose or AubiChick having just the single hamster(especially with it not being my only substrate option), but if I ended up having other pets either would be useful for it would be a good idea in the future. Those both only come in 20kg bales - and here those 20kg bales cost nearly $100 with shipping!

I already know my main substrate is going to be Oxbow Pure Comfort which is comparatively more economical in the US once shipping is accounted for(along with being much easier to obtain), but having hemp as an option to add into the cage for added enrichment is very appealing. If it helps at all I'm almost definitely getting a Chinese hamster.

Also to add another possible hemp option Friendship Estates' Friendly Hutch Hemp technically can be purchased through some sources which ship to the USA, but that only comes in a 1kg size and I've seen minimal not so great reviews on that particular hemp substrate. It is still something I'd like to see more feedback on though!

[Littlephodopusmom]

Hi Not sure if my input will be much help as I'm in Canada and am not familiar with all the products. The Oxbow looks and sounds very much like the Kaytee Clean and Cozy that I use for my guy and if it's any help I like it very much. It isn't completely dust free but as close to it as I can get. Really I only see very find dust when I break it apart for fluffing (comes compressed) and then I use a damp paper towel to pick up the fine particles, and vac if I have to. So perhaps the Oxbow is like it. I have used Hemp bedding in the past and it is a beautiful product. The brand I used is no longer available here (for many years) but it was very soft, no strong smell and had zero dust. It was also very expensive. I would use a hemp product again just I am as happy with the paper bedding and it fluffs very nicely unlike the hemp which tends to sit more imo (less air pockets).

Edit to add..the hemp I used was little tiny little matchsticks if that makes sense. Its not at all like shavings from a regular wood type bedding. I suspect this is why it didn't fluff, but am not sure what it's like nowadays as I haven't seen it for years.

[AmityvilleHams]

Oxbow Pure Comfort shares one similarity to Kaytee Clean and Cozy and that's being paper based. Other than that, it's dye free and virgin fiber(Kaytee Clean and Cozy is not). It does cost more but at least you know you're getting a dye free product without any potential contaminants!

Sometimes Oxbow Pure Comfort can be less expensive than Clean and Cozy though - specifically through Chewy in the USA(an amount that expands to 85l of the white Clean and Cozy being $20.99 vs Oxbow Pure Comfort's largest plain white size from Chewy which expands to 72l for $16.14).

All three mentioned hemp brands(Aubiose/Cocoon/AubiChick) seem to at least look visually extremely close if not identical on various websites, but I'll still wait to see what others say.

[Littlephodopusmom]

Not sure which Kaytee clean and Cozy is in the US but the one I use is basically shredded brown paper. It isn't the white, dyed / bleached version. Kaytee Clean and Cozy "Natural" is the best for my guy and best I can readily get where I am so am happy with it. Looking at online photos it looks exactly like the Oxbow Pure comfort, I can see no difference. But my packaging doesn't list if it is a pure fibre so can't comment on that. There are no ingredients on the bag. I have made the mistake many times in the past of buying products that are difficult to find and then become no longer available so don't do that anymore here, which is why I stopped using hemp. Totally unreliable availability. But now that things have been "legalized" in Canada I imagine it might be available and at a much reduced price, I just never look for it.

[AmityvilleHams]

Kaytee Clean and Cozy seems to all be recycled fiber, not virgin fiber, which definitely isn't ideal. It is still a lot better than Carefresh as far as safety goes once you're dealing with the "natural" version, especially compared to the dyed Carefresh and similar dyed products/products with dyed bits(such as the white Clean and Cozy), but I'm personally still not even using the natural version.

It isn't necessarily about the obvious look of a product. In this case it comes down to stricter standards in regards to the fiber content itself and any sort of contaminants(dyes being one among many others). You won't necessarily see that with just looking at a product except in the case of the white Clean and Cozy when you look closely as there are obvious dyed bits in that!

[Littlephodopusmom]

No worries, I respect your desire to obtain virgin fiber bedding and that your opinion differs from mine in some ways. I am merely saying that I have not tried the Oxbow but don't visually see that it is superior to what we use and from what I can see online it looked the most similar, versus carefresh etc. I don't have the product ingredients for both so can't reliably compare. I have no worries using recycled paper for my guy and am happy it has no additives, dyes etc. I have to use what is available, economical and doesn't make my own health conditions flare. I'm of the opinion that no product is perfect in general, and that every animal is different but that depending on where you live in the world there has to be good alternatives to dangerous bedding and so add my experience with this one. One thing I would say about hemp is that if you have a long haired Syrian you may want to watch it doesn't get stuck in their fur. My Syrian girl had this happen a few times with hemp and aspen but nothing that I couldn't get out with a little combing. Good luck with your search.

[katkin_21]

The aubichick is apparently much finer than aubiose, i've never heard of the cacoon bedding. Have you looked into reptile hemp(or shredded aspen) bedding there may be some more options that could save money on delivery.

[AmityvilleHams]

The only reptile hemp I've found so far didn't have the transparency that originally drew me into Aubiose - they didn't even have a functioning website let alone even the tiniest hope for any customer service to find out information to compare to Aubiose in terms of ingredient and sourcing quality!

Aspen has been an idea, but it doesn't have the same properties that make hemp so extremely appealing. Aspen is one of the less likely woods to trigger allergic reactions of any kind, but it still happens often enough. Whether or not I personally would react to any natural substrate remains to be seen though - I happen to have a pretty wide range of allergies, intolerances, weird reactions, etc(including one completely unknown food allergy that luckily so far hasn't triggered anaphylaxis).

[Pebbles82]

I’be used the Oxbow paper bedding but did find it very dusty. Kaytee clean and cozy is dust free. I understand your concern about it being more processed but it’s thought of as a very safe bedding and good to use.

If you have allergies then paper based may be better than any type of hemp or wood. I was allergic to hemp bedding - any plant or grass based thing sets me off - even the grass hammocks!

If you prefer it to be pure paper then boxo used to be the favourite - sold in bulk by Walmart.

[AmityvilleHams]

Some people have even found Kaytee Clean and Cozy to be dusty. I know when I used it in the past at least for the white version it made me sneeze sometimes and again there were dyed bits with the white at least. That's not something I'll be using again!

I don't think I'm allergic to every grass as the only grass products specifically for pets that have made me react in any way were Tractor Supply alfalfa(basically big bales of horse-grade alfalfa) and one Kaytee product that never even got used for a hamster because it actually smelled like gasoline. Luckily hamsters don't need loose alfalfa hay, but even if they did I don't remember ever having the same reaction in a pet store around small pet hay!

Wood is a wild card for me though when it comes to allergies. I learned the hard way I'm allergic to juniper as I had a tiny sapling once and could not stop sneezing, but not all wood does that to me.

There's always Small Pet Select paper bedding too, which is generally more affordable than Oxbow Pure Comfort. It shares the properties that make Oxbow Pure Comfort a superior substrate choice(dye free, virgin fiber, etc). It's less convenient in the sense that I can't order it at the same time as I'd be ordering products for the other pets on Chewy like the Oxbow Pure Comfort though. Boxo however is recycled, so that'll also be a no.

To be fair, there are people out there who are allergic to water of all things. It sounds a bit ridiculous to say the least but crazy allergies are out there. I will be extremely cautious and watch for allergic reactions whether from myself or any future pets regardless of substrate though - even the less common allergies like hemp!