wood shavings?

[joe14]

Does anyone else use wood shavings? I used carefresh, megazorb and back 2 nature before for my hamsters as people kept saying wood shavings wernt safe for hamsters and then they said the uk ones were safe for hamsters so i switched back but im thinking about switching back to megazorb now

[sarahh]

Hi Joe we used to use it for 2 of our hams and cat litter for the rest but I don't really like wood shavings because of the dust and it makes a horrid mess everywhere. Also we used to use it for rabbits and guinea-pigs and the rabbits used to kick it out all over the floor. We saw an advert for Finacard in Fur and Feather and Have been using Finacard ever since and I use Carefresh for one of my hams.
Scented wood shavings are definatly a no no for any animal.

[Nicolapompicola]

I try to avoid using shavings as much as possible, they make me sneeze and wheaze and cough and have a runny nose.. So it's not worth me using them!

[internet_nobody]

I used to, but I find they get smelly with urine so quick, megazorb seems to absorb better.

[Jessalina]

I have always been told that pine and cedar shavings are a no-no because of harmful phenols, although there is some debate over that. I don't take the risk when there are alternatives available, plus I feel they are too dusty for my rats anyway, so I don't use them for my hamster either. Shame because I love the smell of shavings but it also gets up my nose so I wouldn't want my animals living on it.
I use Ecobed at the moment.

[arlev]

Originally Posted by joe14

Does anyone else use wood shavings?

We've kept a fair number of hamsters over the years and always used wood shavings with no noticeable effect.

We could hide food under them, block tubes with them and removing urine was simple to do because it absorbed it and we took out the affected bits daily.

It sounds like the main reason for not using them is the allergies and preferences of the owners!

Anything that's in a hamster's cage, though, should be watched in case it causes harm. Humans can react to somethings while others seem to be immune to them. It will be the same with rodents.

[Theodore]

My boys have wood shavings The way I see it, is is a Chinese hamster can burrow its face into it with no problems, there's nothing wrong with it. I change Dandy's wet patch every day, as I would no matter what substrate I used. No smell.

[Bourne Valley Hams]

Mark still prefers to use woodshavings with his dwarfs but I prefer to use Megazorb for my Syrians as I find it absorbs better. My long haired boys are all on Finacard as it keeps their coats tangle-free.

[PinkEmily]

I use woodshavings. They do make a mess of my carpet though as chip likes to kick hers out of the cage
I wouldnt know where to buy megazorb from, ive tried carefresh but i dont really like it.

[vnewman236]

I used woodshavings for Bowser until recently. When I adopted the Robo's they were used to newspaper and shredded paper on top. They love it as its great for burrowing. Bowser seemed quite impressed with the change too.