Bedding

[TessVH92]

Hello
Currently I use care fresh bedding. I have my chin litter box trained and so the only place I have bedding is her litter box. I am finding that I need to not only change her bedding but also CLEAN her litter box, like the whole shabang type clean, because of the smell! I do have a small room measuring about 10x10 so the smell builds up pretty fast in the winter, but I am wondering if there is a bedding that better controls odors, or if there is something I can add to absorb the odors (like how you put baking soda in the fridge and freezer).

Any help would be much appreciated!

 

[Nerk]

I use kiln dried pine in my litter pans and it doesn't smell as long as I do daily cleanings it's also a pretty cheap bedding! As I'm sure many people will say stay away from cedar. It can cause respiratory issues.
I do agree with that when care fresh is peed on it does have a distinct smell.

 

[TaylorMadeChinchillas]

I only use pine shavings. It really helps control the pee smell

 

[Smidgeyy]

I use carefresh in my litter box and I have no problem with the smell. XD

 

[becky12883]

Pine or aspen shavings work good for me.

 

[chrisbradley6]

i use pine shavings, and have no problems with odor.

i've never used carefresh... i thought I heard it wasn't ok for chins if they could ingest it? can anyone confirm this? i thought there was a possibility it could clog up their tummies or digestive tract.

 

[TessVH92]

Everything Ive read and every person I have talked to at the small animal pet shop say its fine, the carefresh bedding. My chin also is really good about not eating things she shouldn't like hard plastic (she does love plastic bags though ), so I usually am not too concerned with her eating something she shouldn't.

I know Cedar is terrible for small animals generally speaking. I will try the pine bedding, I also will maybe pick up some animal urine odor control stuff that I have seen nera the bedding isle...does anyone know if this is harmful to chins?

 

[Pawtique]

IMO I wouldn't use carefresh for any of my small animals. Having worked in a pet shop for 5 years I cant support other stores saying it's okay. I used to breed gerbils. A rep came in a told me how wonderful it was so I tried it on all 42 gerbils.
Within 24 hours they all had runny noses. Which looks scary on a gerbil as their mucous has a red tint to it. Back on Aspen they went.The bedding is dust free until they dig or break up the fibers. I would be worried about respiratory problems. And yes odour control is very low. Pine is a great option I leave it in a rubbermaid after opening it to let it air. After Ilet it air I put a lid on so it stays clean.As in if it smells strong to us their poor little noses must be like wooo thats strong.

 

[sassyandclassy]

I've heard from multiple people that carefresh should be avoided at all costs- but I'm not an expert and haven't personally used it, but I would still avoid it

I use aspen wood shavings in her litter box and it doesn't seem to smell much at all- it only smells like fresh wood which is a rather nice scent =]

 

[EternallyCynical]

I use CareFresh with my guinea pigs and have never had any issues. I find that its very soft, not too dusty, and it absorbs really well. My piggies have all loved it. I don't use the CareFresh with the chinchilla even though when I got him from my cousin, I got a small bag of it which I only used a little of to put a small layer on the bottom pan of the cage (I had no other bedding at the time). I noticed that he tended to try and eat it so as soon as I got some fleece sewn up I switched to that and never looked back. He has a litter pan which he rarely uses and I put aspen shavings in that.

 

[ChinChild]

Our second chin came with carefresh bedding, but we switched him to aspen (like our other chin) pretty quick after we noticed him ingesting a bit one day; he'd still chew on the aspen shavings, but he'd only shred it instead of eating it. We recently made the switch to fleece liners and so far they're my favorite