Pine vs. Cedar shavings?

I've heard that for small animals (ie. guinea pigs) you don't want to use Cedar shavings. Are pine shavings bad as well??

Pine vs. Cedar shavings?
Yes they are bad as well. They contain aromatic oils that can lead to a whole mess of problems.





If you want to use wood shavings, stick with Aspen, which is safe. Even better are the paper based bedding options. I use a bedding that looks like little paper balls. It's fairly inexpensive, seems comfortable and absorbs odors really well. Add it's completely safe. You can also use treated pine beddings. For example, pine pellet bedding as the treatment renders it safe. I personally do not like these because when soiled they basically turn into sawdust which can irritate lungs.
Reply:Hi, in the past, cedar was widely used because it was a deodorizer as well as it kept fleas %26amp; other bugs away. Now we know that the phenols in cedar harm our furry little friends lungs, and do not recommend that cedar be used any more. Pine, while it also contains phenols, is safe once it is kiln dried. Kiln drying removes the harmful phenols from pine (but NOT cedar). Aspen is also another good choice.
Reply:I would stay away from them all. i would get the newspaper type. they are not news paper, they are only the color. they are recycled paper. the Shavings are not the part that is bad, its the Dust they make... the paper ones dont have the dust.
Reply:Pine and cedar are both bad choices for a substrate. The aromatic hydrocarbons they produce can cause respiratory and liver problems.





I suggest using aspen shavings, or even newspaper.
Reply:Pine and cedar shavings are bad for small animals because it can cause respiratory system problems, changes in their liver, inflammation,asthma, and allergic reactions. Pine and cedar are the same thing. So thats why you shouldn't use both. Cedar is actually used for killing insects.
Reply:Both pine and cedar aren't ideal for pets.Cedar is worse then pine. They used to be the bedding of choice, but, it turns out that long term exposure to the aromatic oils can cause respiratory issues in animals.


Aspen is considered the ideal wood bedding.. Other options a pine pellets like Feline Pine or the type sold for use in pellet stoves as the process of pelletizing them removes most of the aromatic oils.


Other options are the carefresh beddings made out of paper products..


I house my rabbits with aspen as the main bedding and wood pellets in the litterbox and corners of the cage. The pellets seem to be a lot more absorbent then carefresh in my opinion..
Reply:Pine and Aspen are good, Cedar is bad. I read cedar is bad and actually I havent even ever seen it at a store. Only pine and aspen which I read are good.





I use both for my hamster/mice.
Reply:It's not you don't want too some tend to get skin irritations from it, but mine were all fine, horse, guinea pig, rabbit, chickens, ferret and squirrels. It's a natural flea repellent and great smell. Pine is good just don't absorb the odor like cedar, most do well with cedar or you can mix it 50/50.
Reply:Pine and cedar are softwoods which contain chemicals called phenols. These have been shown to cause severe respiratory problems in most small animals. Cedar especially can be fatal.





The only type of pine that is safe is kiln dried, as most of the phecols will have gone out of it.





It is much better to use a totally safe bedding such as aspen or carefresh.





Check out these links for more info:


http://www.cavyrescue.co.uk/rat-article2...


http://www.afrma.org/rminfo2.htm


http://www.trifl.org/cedar.shtml


http://www.ratfanclub.org/litters.html


http://www.ratfanclub.org/litters.html