Register FAQ Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read
Navigation
Front Page
Forum
Gallery
Wiki

Ads by Google


Go Back   Hamster Central > Hamster Central Forum Topics > Hamster Healthcare

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 03-22-2016, 02:06 PM   #1
Nancy's Hamsters
ST's Hamstery
 
Nancy's Hamsters's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Mid Ohio USA
Posts: 2,574
Default Has anyone noticed this? ATTENTION: Clean and Cozy users

The other day I had to go and buy a new bag of Kiln Dried Pine shavings from my local Grain and feed store. While waiting for them to finish with two Customers I noticed a huge display for Clean and Cozy Paper Pulp bedding. I have had wonders on all these sudden deaths of healthy young hamsters in the USA, Canada, the UK, and one in Ireland where the hamster showed no sign of illness, and was very active and enjoying life just hours before being found asleep in their nest dead.

Many others have wondered what is going on as the total now(including some of my own coming from a breeder) is up to 12 in just 4 weeks. All had the same things listed Hamster running on the wheel, eating, drinking, pooping and peeing all like normal healthy hamsters the night before, and being dead in their nest like they simply fell asleep and didn't awake. All were under 1 year old , and they were from both Breeders as well as Pet store bought.

I began to think about that time when two hamster forums and myself sent letters into a company who made a food called Harvest Fiesta in which the company found no problems with adding in Onions and Leeks to the hamster food. After I lost suddenly several good quality hamsters after feeding this food and noticed the two added items we all e-mailed the company and finally after two years of requesting they remove the two deadly to hamster items they did so but only because their team of experts concluded the Onions and leeks caused deaths. God only knows how many poor defenseless hamster owners fed their hamsters to death in those two years.

Well the bit of snooping I have done has found all the 12 pups had been bedded on Paper pulp bedding which contained Baking Soda to aid in odor control. Now my MIL used Baking Soda for her leg cramps as a teeny tiny bit on a pinky finger would cause a full grown adult human to either belch or Vomit which released gas which was in the blood stream causing the cramps.

When she told her cardiologist who had done a triple by pass on her two years ago about doing this he hit the roof and very forcefully told her don't EVER do this thing again as it could cause a heart attack and kill her.

Now taking this thought and applying it to Hamsters who can't vomit and seldom will belch and the fact that Carefresh adds in Baking soda for better odor control, and finding many paper companies add it to their paper pulp before sending it on to the bedding companies I began to wonder if that might be a connection to the deaths of so many young healthy hamsters.

I talked with two vets who both agreed something to cause belching or Vomiting if given to an animal which can't vomit could place enough stress on the heart to cause sudden death by a heart attack.

Is it any coincidence the company involved in the food situation is the same to make the bedding with Baking soda? One Vet is doing their own research on this problem. The other just said the possibility is there. However when I went over and held a bag of Clean and Cozy I looked at all the writing on the bag while attempting to see if it contained Baking Soda and stumbled upon a warning stated right on the bag.

HARMFUL if Consumed. Do Not use with New hatched Chicks. Folks we know Hamsters pouch their bedding often the bedding in the pouch gets consumed when it mixes with pouched food. If this stuff can cause harm to a baby chick can we imagine what harm it is doing to our hamsters as they pouch it and it makes contact with the pouch lining which BTW is as absorbent as their stomach lining.

Then think about the pulp bedding with Baking Soda added for better odor control and think about how much baking soda is being consumed by the hamster and how just a teeny bit on a pinky finger tip is capable of causing death in a Human. Very scary if you ask me, but again something which needs further studying before anything can be proven proof enough that these paper pulp beddings are harmful for any rodent that pouches bedding or food.

I have deliberately left out the name of the company that produces the above products to allow this thread to happen without breaking forum rules, PLEASE when replying Have respect for our forum and remove actual name(s) of manufacturers of paper pulp bedding so we can keep discussion on this going)
__________________
Nancy,and The ST's Hamsters
Nancy's Hamsters is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-22-2016, 03:21 PM   #2
Cinnamon Bear
Banned
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: United States
Posts: 4,407
Default Re: Has anyone noticed this? ATTENTION: Clean and Cozy users

After reading this I took out a Carefresh Complete bag & I never noticed this but it says Warning: potential risk of impaction if your pet ingest a sufficient amount of bedding!

They say they have "new odor stop formula", can't find what the ingredients to that though, don't think they say on the bag, will have to look into this if it's possible for customers to know what the ingredients are? If anybody knows, please say?

I've never had any problems with Carefresh personally.
Cinnamon Bear is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-22-2016, 03:24 PM   #3
Pebbles82
Hamster Antics
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 23,533
Default Re: Has anyone noticed this? ATTENTION: Clean and Cozy users

I think Carefresh posted on here to say there was no baking soda in Uk products and they had stopped putting it in US products. But is it Kaytee Clean n Cozy you mean Nancy? I didn't know they put baking soda in.

I think it's another reason I prefer Fitch to Carefresh. Fitch is just paper, not wood pulp or cellulose.
Pebbles82 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-22-2016, 03:45 PM   #4
SKB_Hamsters
PM Fluffy for custom title
 
SKB_Hamsters's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: UK
Posts: 3,186
Default Re: Has anyone noticed this? ATTENTION: Clean and Cozy users

I heard report of baking soda paper pulp based bedding causing the death (or near death) of animals including rats, rabbit and guine pigs. I found these reports when investigating the cause of my hamster sneezing when she was living on paper based pulp bedding in which left me stressing out thinking the most negative thoughts as to what might happen to my hamster (Luckily she was fine now I use fitch).

Through my biology and chemistry knowledge I know reactions of baking soda, and what effects the products of these reactions can have on the body including lowering the oxygen levels in the blood which cause heart attacks

As pet owners we try to provide the best for our animals and products which are stated as safe can actually be harmful to our pets, it's a complete shock and an eye opener. Thank you Nancy's Hamsters, for bringing this to people attention hopefully this can help save innocent animals lives.
__________________
Popcorn Syrian

Owning Hamsters since Nov 2007
SKB_Hamsters is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-22-2016, 04:33 PM   #5
pinkneon
Pink Glittery Hamsters
 
pinkneon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: UK
Posts: 6,037
Default Re: Has anyone noticed this? ATTENTION: Clean and Cozy users

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cinnamon Bear View Post
After reading this I took out a Carefresh Complete bag & I never noticed this but it says Warning: potential risk of impaction if your pet ingest a sufficient amount of bedding!

They say they have "new odor stop formula", can't find what the ingredients to that though, don't think they say on the bag, will have to look into this if it's possible for customers to know what the ingredients are? If anybody knows, please say?

I've never had any problems with Carefresh personally.
I'm using Carefresh now ... Should I stop????? I think I asked before about Carefresh, asking whether it was ok as it said ti "expanded" but now I am concerned about whether it is safe for Sweep or not ...


Also, just wondering how baking soda can be harmful to humans? Don't we use it for making cakes? Or is baking POWDER something different?
pinkneon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-22-2016, 04:41 PM   #6
SKB_Hamsters
PM Fluffy for custom title
 
SKB_Hamsters's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: UK
Posts: 3,186
Default Re: Has anyone noticed this? ATTENTION: Clean and Cozy users

Quote:
Originally Posted by pinkneon View Post
I'm using Carefresh now ... Should I stop????? I think I asked before about Carefresh, asking whether it was ok as it said ti "expanded" but now I am concerned about whether it is safe for Sweep or not ...


Also, just wondering how baking soda can be harmful to humans? Don't we use it for making cakes? Or is baking POWDER something different?

I think in the UK our carefresh never contained baking soda that's what the manufacturers stated most reports I read where case of death was in the US, but I don't know totally whether this is true or not?

When we use it in cake it reacts with the other ingredients to produce CO2 which causes cakes to rise which makes it safe when we eat it in natural form it's not safe.
__________________
Popcorn Syrian

Owning Hamsters since Nov 2007
SKB_Hamsters is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-22-2016, 04:49 PM   #7
Cinnamon Bear
Banned
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: United States
Posts: 4,407
Default Re: Has anyone noticed this? ATTENTION: Clean and Cozy users

I think they have to put that on the bag, but I was told that hamsters aren't that stupid when I first started using it?

It's been almost 2 yrs with zero problems with Carefresh
My robo & WW put it in their mouths and run around the cage like that building their nests. My WW puts it in her cheek pouches for 17 mo now building nests.

Carefresh sells or donates their bedding to all Pet Smart's small animal cages in the stores throughout the US! They've been doing that for months now. No worries!

Sorry, I think I told you about that on another post.

Last edited by Cinnamon Bear; 03-22-2016 at 05:02 PM.
Cinnamon Bear is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-22-2016, 05:39 PM   #8
pinkneon
Pink Glittery Hamsters
 
pinkneon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: UK
Posts: 6,037
Default Re: Has anyone noticed this? ATTENTION: Clean and Cozy users

Quote:
Originally Posted by SKB_Hamsters View Post
I think in the UK our carefresh never contained baking soda that's what the manufacturers stated most reports I read where case of death was in the US, but I don't know totally whether this is true or not?

When we use it in cake it reacts with the other ingredients to produce CO2 which causes cakes to rise which makes it safe when we eat it in natural form it's not safe.
Ok thanks

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cinnamon Bear View Post
I think they have to put that on the bag, but I was told that hamsters aren't that stupid when I first started using it?

It's been almost 2 yrs with zero problems with Carefresh
My robo & WW put it in their mouths and run around the cage like that building their nests. My WW puts it in her cheek pouches for 17 mo now building nests.

Carefresh sells or donates their bedding to all Pet Smart's small animal cages in the stores throughout the US! They've been doing that for months now. No worries!

Sorry, I think I told you about that on another post.
No, you didn't but thanks ... I worry way too much, and then I freak out (usually unnecessarily!)
pinkneon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-22-2016, 08:34 PM   #9
Jenibelle
Hamster Overlord
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: United States
Posts: 693
Default Re: Has anyone noticed this? ATTENTION: Clean and Cozy users

I know the CareFresh in the US uses baking soda. Right on my bag it says "Odor Stop: Baking Soda Formula" in big, bold letters. I had no idea baking soda was harmful.
Jenibelle is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-22-2016, 09:21 PM   #10
bogart
Newborn Pup
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 37
Default Re: Has anyone noticed this? ATTENTION: Clean and Cozy users

I just checked my bag of Kaytee Clean and Cozy that I bought about a month ago. No mention of baking soda..just an odor control guarantee.

The back did have a warning about ingesting the bedding and watching around birds. I'm willing to bet this warning is on every paper bedding product as ingesting too much of it would cause an intestinal issue.
__________________
Proud co-parent of a small zoo: Tony the dog, Ash the kitten, 8 glofish, 3 dwarf frogs, 1 betta fish, and 2 Syrians (Stan the man and Rufus the naked hamster)
bogart is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
bedding, hamsters, baking, hamster, soda, pulp, paper, food, company, pouch, bag, found, cozy, control, heart, bit, clean, noticed, death, odor, years, vomit, consumed, healthy, deaths

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Optimisation provided by DragonByte SEO v2.0.43 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
Copyright © 2003-2022, Hobby Solutions
All times are GMT -7. The time now is 11:27 AM.