[Gpdd] (CARE) Bedding

[Cuttlefish Arts]

> "Anderson, Jocelyn M" <jocelynm at umich.edu wrote:
> 
> Hello All,
> 
> 
> I'm looking at expanding the piggy arena (Benito launched himself at Edgeworth
> and now the piggy arena is split in two) but a little worried about bedding
> costs. It's $21 for a bag of CareFresh here and it takes a bag and a half to
> cover the piggy arena, which is cleaned out once week. I found out that Kaytee
> makes a similar paper product called "Kaytee Total Comfort Bedding" that's a
> little cheaper: 
> http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=16590 . Anyone
> tried this bedding?
> 
> Jocelyn, Edgeworth, Flashbang Fatbottom, and Benito
> 
> 
> 

Is there a particular reason you need to use carefresh or a paper based
bedding? 

One substrate I have found that is relatively economical and extremely good
at controlling moisture and odor is something called ³SANI-CHIPS².
(manufacturer: http://www.harlan.com/ ) It was developed for lab animals,
but I found it when my usual aspen chips became unavailable. It is heat
treated hard wood (no phenols) and a very small size, kind of like fine cob,
and heavy; it packs like cob. It is available in feed stores or you can buy
in bulk from Harlan Teklad.  I¹ve kept guinea pigs for 20 years and this is
the BEST thing I¹ve  ever found, bar none, in terms of cost, health for the
gps (NO dust or phenols, very little odor).

If you want to keep using paper, Harlan sells that as well ---if you put in
a big order I understand that carefresh (or the equivalent) is pretty
reasonable . 

NB, feed stores are usually far more reasonable in price than big box pet
stores. You need to use google or something to track them down, but you¹d be
surprised at how many of them there are even in urban areas; they just don¹t
have a high profile. AND they have alternative products in large quantities
because people are typically buying for larger animals. My local feed store
carries manna pro GP food repackaged in 5 lb bags for $3. I mix it with bit
of bulk organic grains and seeds from my local health food store and have a
very high quality feed for a very low price.  A 2.2 cu ft bag of Sani Chips
is about $13. A 5 lb bag of timothy hay blocks is $1.50. I¹ve completely
stopped shopping at Pet Smart.