[Gpdd] [Health] Softwood bedding and dirty cages cause liver failure in rodents

[Cheryl Cline]

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I was looking at The House
Rabbit Society pages and found a frightening article called "Litterboxes and
Liver Disease in Rabbits"
http://www.rabbit.org/journal/1/liver-disease.html.  It basically says that
rabbits kept on softwood bedding - whether pine or cedar - show evidence of
liver dysfunction (through blood tests demonstrating higher liver enzymes).
I know that rodents aren't necessarily interchangeable with regard to health
problems, but the article cited Science Magazine studies that showed similar
problems in mice and rats:
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/157/3792/1057  A related
article showed that rat liver function is impaired by dirty cages:
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/179/4076/896

My Alex had been kept on pine bedding for the first 3 years or so of his
life, although I now use Carefresh, and will probably switch to using
blankets and towels to cover most of the cage, combined with a litter box
full of Carefresh.  I just wanted to pass on the precautions:  no pine or
cedar for our rodents, and keep those cages clean!

Now I'm worried that the aromatics in, say, detergents and dryer sheets will
hurt my piggies...any thoughts?  I'm thinking of using baking soda to wash
them and skipping the dryer sheets from now on.

By the way, thanks to everyone who responded to my question about leashes.
I want to get a couple for when I take my pigs outside, in case I have to
grab them in a hurry, but I won't try to walk them as one walks a dog.

Cheers,
Cheryl, slave to Alex, J.B. and the many hams