Wood shavings

[Azerane]

I read somewhere that using wood shavings can be bad for your rabbit's respiratory system. I'm currently using them, but only in Bandit's litter tray. I started using them because the breeder I bought him from was using them, so to make it an easier transition, that's what I used. I noticed that the first bag I bought (though more expensive as from a pet store) had larger shavings that didn't have an aroma, whereas the second (compressed) bag I bought from a fodder store and has more smaller pieces and seems to have an aroma. The bags didn't say what sort of wood was used, but I'm wondering if I should stick with the more expensive since it lacks aroma and is generally less dusty, or perhaps try a different brand of the cheaper compressed bag to see if that's any different.

What are others thoughts and opinions on this matter? I could also use something like Breeder's Choice cat litter which is compressed newspaper pellets for his litter, but I'm afraid of upsetting his good litter habits.

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

I would not use shavings if you can. But I know that some rabbits do prefer some litters over others, so changing it can be tricky.
I would suggest getting a small bag of a different litter (like the paper pellets if you want). Put that down in the bottom of the pan, then the shavings on top. Do this for about a week. Then mix up the shavings and pellets. If your rabbits litter habits change, you can add a bit more shavings. Gradually work to get less and less shavings until you are just using the pellets.
You can try just switching without a transition and see how that goes, but if it doesn't go over well, then a more gradual switch may be needed.

Many people put hay in the litter box so their rabbit can eat and poop at the same time. This can help cover the litter as well.

 

[Azerane]

I also put hay in the litter box, but I don't want to use it as little itself, I like to position it in a corner so he can sit there munching away I guess I could try slowly transitioning to something else if it is bad for him.

 

[lyndym]

I used to use Care Fresh when I first got my buns, but it's really not easy on the wallet, and I already spring for Oxbow products. I switched to aspen shavings. I did a lot of research beforehand and the consensus that I got was pine shavings should be avoided because of their affects on animals' livers and the ability to process medications. I didn't read anything negative on aspen shavings, and this is the first I'm hearing of respiratory impairment. I've seen a lot of folks using the paper pellets that Kate mentioned though, what's the deal on those?

 

[Azerane]

Highly unlikely we could get aspen here. I don't know what the shavings we get are, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were mostly pine. I believe the paper pellets are just that. The Breeder's Choice ones that we have here are made from recycled newspaper and are about the size of a food pellet. Here is their website: http://www.breeders-choice.com.au/

 

[LakeCondo]

If the pellets have an aroma, they probably are pine or cedar & shouldn't be used for rabbits.

No matter what kind of shavings they are, I'd transition to something else. I think most people use a pellet litter.

 

[ladysown]

here's the scoop on shavings (based on my memory of research done two-three years ago).

TWO studies were done showing the affect of shavings on rabbits...neither was definitively conclusive. Both were done using CEDAR shavings. One was poorly done and blamed the shavings (more like anecdotal evidence) for A (as in ONE rabbit) poor health condition. The other was more scientifically based but used a very small sample size in an area with poor ventilation (to compound the problem).

What I tell my pet rabbit buyers is this: There is some evidence, though not well proven, that ceder bedding is not good for small animals respiratory health. Since it's not definitively proven one way or the other it's better to be safe than sorry and simply opt for a non-cedar bedding. Many people are able to use cedar bedding without issue...they are generally folks with good air flow. So consider the rabbits living situation carefully when thinking of cedar.

Pine shavings, assuming they are aged and dried should be of no issue. The difference with shavings is in how they are manufactured.

Aspen is pricey and not always available. Works moderately well...not as well I find as pine.

Wood stove pellets/horse stall bedding. These are not all created equal. So you need to play around with it a bit to find which ones work best for your rabbit/situation.

The pelleted corn cob/shaving litter used for cats works excellently as well. Usually comes in a big bag - more expensive than wood stove pellets, smells better, small size.

If you use peat moss under the stove pellets you get a good bedding as well. Also composts excellently.

The best bedding I have EVER used is a mix of carefresh and pine shavings. Absorbent, odour reducing, and easy to compost. BUT pricey to find already mixed, even more pricey then carefresh on it's own.

There is a product like carefresh that has small round pellets rather than those big fluffy carefresh ones... it seems decent. Works nicely mixed with a fine cut pine shaving. Rabbits seem to like that mix, but my guinea pigs seemed discontented.

I've not tried yesterday news....just seems WAY too expensive for what it is.
I've not worked with any of the plastic pellets either. Just seems an accident waiting to happen for a rabbit.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Never use Cedar shavings--too high in phenols. I've been using Kiln Dried Pine for more than ten years now. The Kiln drying removes the phenols from pine. We have been using Pets Pick from WalMart for the last six years.

 

[Azerane]

There is a product like carefresh that has small round pellets rather than those big fluffy carefresh ones... it seems decent. Works nicely mixed with a fine cut pine shaving. Rabbits seem to like that mix, but my guinea pigs seemed discontented.

What is carefresh? I've not seen that or the pine pellets here, but I may not have seen the pellets due to simply not looking for them. I did pick up some Breeder's Choice cat litter today though, the recycled newspaper type. I put a lot down in his litter tray, then just did a covering layer of shavings for feel and smell. He didn't even blink and used it straight away. Such a smart bunn.

 

[BunnyWabbit]

I would say no to wood shavings but I do use untreated wood stove pellets. They work very well and are generally cheap and easy to find.

 

[lagomorph]

Google Carefresh and you'll find it.

I once did a pretty thorough review of actual peer reviewed journal articles on use of pine and cedar shavings for pet bedding, since I've been involved in this debate numerous times, with regard to chickens (what to use for litter), wild birds (in terms of type of wood to use for nesting box), and small mammals (pets and laboratory animals). I also looked into the effect of wood shavings on human health, which is where the research began.

You can take this with a grain of salt, of course, since I am an anonymous person on an internet forum, but my own conclusion after all this research is that heavy exposure to wood dust of ANY tree species can cause respiratory disease.

Western red cedar is the worst, due to high levels of plicatic acid, which is particularly irritating to the lungs. Pine dust is probably second to cedar, but again, dust from wood of any kind can cause lung disease IF EXPOSURE IS VERY HIGH. Very high exposure means inhalation of lots of sawdust, as in the case of sawmill workers.

I personally would avoid using shavings for litter for a rabbit that is confined on this litter 24/7, but would not hesitate to use it for just the litterbox if ventilation is good and rabbit spends significant amount of time outside the cage or away from the litterbox.

As for inhalation of volatile compounds which emanate directly from the wood, I would not worry about this unless ventilation is poor, wood smells very fresh, and animal is confined on this bedding all or most of the time. All the studies I could find which possibly implicate wood fumes in causing various health problems, involved forced, heavy exposure. For example, in one study, mice were force fed concentrated cedar oils, and in another, mice were housed over fresh shavings with a plastic container over them to ensure they inhaled a lot of the gas.

Overall I agree with your inclination to go with the bedding that smells less and that is composed of larger pieces, minimizing dust.

 

[gmtstars]

I used CareFresh for awhile, but it got costly and Pearle (my white bun) started turning brown from sitting in her box

After a lot of research, I found that ExquisiCat Naturals Fragrance Free Pine Cat Litter works really well. It isn't actually a litter, it is a pellet. For $16 I get a 40 lb bag that lasts a really long time! Its easy to "scoop" out as well. They sell a compressed, fragrance free pine one as well as a paper based one. That with a bunch of hay on the top seems to do the trick!

Also, mixing half pellets with half CareFresh would be a good compromise!

 

[missyscove]

I used to use feline pine which is a wood pellet cat litter. When Cricket started sneezing, we tried changing their litter to see if that would help. Right now they're using Exquisicat paper litter.

 

[Gabbi]

We use the recycled newspaper litter, it is in pellet form. Fresh 4 Life is the brand we have here. It works pretty well. I find we can't really scoop it though because the pieces of litter are bigger than the pieces of poop. But it seems to keep the odor down, as friends have told us that they don't notice a smell at all when they come in. So that's really nice to hear lol

We don't really have a big selection here. I looked at Wal-Mart to see if they carried recycled newspaper litter (hoped it would be cheaper than the pet store) and they don't! All I remember seeing was the usual clay-type litter. I was highly disappointed.