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zorra578
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Kudos to Carefresh - 2007/12/19 21:32 So we have Quentin home for winter break and I made him a temporary cage out of a rubbermaid bin (which I am starting to think looks a lot better than is Marchioro, lol) and I needed to change his shavings. Since I only brought enough of my aspen shavings from school for one use, we went to Petsmart to get a small pack. All the aspen shavings they had were the large chunk kind that I found didn't absorb the smell very well and led to a stinky hog and complaining mother. The pine shavings they had didn't specify they were kiln dried and there was an all natural brand made from wood scraps, it advertised that it did not contain aromatic oils, but it was made with hemlock, spruce and fir! I had no idea if those were suitable or not (on a side note, if anyone here does know, please tell me!) so I was forced to pick up a small pack of Carefresh bedding despite its slightly higher price.

I changed his bedding, plopped him in his cage with his food bowls and igloo and he started munching at the food. I left the room while he was eating, with the very bright overhead light on, and went to clean his wheel in the bathroom. When I came back, to my surprise, he was still not in his igloo, but instead rooting around in the shavings having a great ol' hedgie time. This is a hog that will run off the wheel and into the igloo if you flicker a match in the dark, lol. He must really like this bedding! It is soft and there is no dust, I've noticed he's had a runny nose for a little while and been sneezy after digging in his other shavings a lot, hopefully that will clear up soon. Also it's easy to pick off and doesn't stick to everything. I'm considering switching to Carefresh despite its higher price, it seems worth it for both my happiness and Quents.
Jessica
Des Plaines, IL

My critter list: Dilbert (welsh terrier), Bowser R.I.P. (betta fish), Quentin (hedgehog).
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mschwindt
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Re:Kudos to Carefresh - 2007/12/19 21:55 That's awesome that you caught him being playful in the light. Were you the one that had the "closet wheeler" that wouldn't run in any light? My girl is the same way. Lights on = sleeping, light off = wheling like mad.
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zorra578
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Re:Kudos to Carefresh - 2007/12/19 22:04 Yep, I'm the one with the closet wheeler, though probably not the only one. Jessica
Des Plaines, IL

My critter list: Dilbert (welsh terrier), Bowser R.I.P. (betta fish), Quentin (hedgehog).
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Sharoane
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Re:Kudos to Carefresh - 2007/12/21 19:04 I'm new to hedgehogs but a veteran with small animals such as rats, bunnies, guinea pigs and so on and I can say that I'd steer clear of any shavings/bedding made from pine or fir trees. At best the oils won't cause respitory irritation but might cause skin irritation, but the risk of other problems just isn't worth it. I prefer carefresh to all other beddings but we do sometimes use aspen just because of the cost (we have many, many rats) and are switching to fleece bedding that we can wash and reuse.

PetSmart often has sales on carefresh and there some knock-offs that are a bit cheaper, although dusty.
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lee19
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Re:Kudos to Carefresh - 2008/01/26 23:01 I've got Carefresh Ultra in my baby's cage and it's wonderful! Very soft and not at all dusty. She has a high-back litterbox with her wheel in it, on one end of the cage and I use kiln-dried pine in that cause she always goes potty there (yay! such a smart cookie!) and it's easier to clean daily with just shavings. But the carefresh is great and I feel better about her sleeping in it...she sometimes sleeps on the carefresh under her hedgiebag instead of in the bag itself

She also seemed to be kind of scratchy before and I wondered if it was the shavings. But she's less itchy now with the Carefresh Ultra. Maybe it was the brand of pine...

lee19
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CandJ327
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Re:Kudos to Carefresh - 2008/01/27 10:03 I actually just switched from carefresh to kiln dried pine and have had the opposite experience. Ava really seems to like rooting in the pine. Ava's mom!

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