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Post by brickbreaker on Mar 24, 2022 9:49:50 GMT -8
Today I used some new wood shaving bedding for my gerbil. I think it's pine but it just says "Dust-free wood shavings prefect for filling the cage". It has a strong wood smell and I'm afraid it will hurt my gerbil. I had to use it cause I have no other bedding currently at home. I will sure change it tommorow but is it safe to leave it like that for 24h? ![]() |
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Post by betty on Mar 24, 2022 12:29:37 GMT -8
If you are in the UK then all dust-free woodshavings sold in reputable stores and packaged professionally should almost certainly be safe for your gerbils. It should still smell 'fresh' though and feel soft to grab in your hand.
If they have a very strong smell - you could always air them well before using - or use slightly less than usual with an equal amount of, say, shredded paper or hay to dilute the smell down for the first few days of using.
If it is packed loosely, badly (say at a street market), non-sealed or from a non-professional source (say floor sweepings) - then perhaps it would be safer not to use it at all. It would be safer in this instance to use 100% shredded paper/newspaper or a whole shredded kitchen roll short term.
If you aren't in the UK - then I can't assume the same safety for the 'pine' shavings as the classification of soft woods is very different.
Hope that helps for today at least.
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Post by brickbreaker on Mar 24, 2022 13:09:52 GMT -8
I don't live in UK and the wood shavings turned out to be sticky and overall bad. Also, little guy started drumming as soon as I've put him into his cage and I got an allergic reaction because of the smell so it's a big no no for me. I decided to use shredded paper towels and some leftover bedding I wanted to trow away. He seems happier now. Tommorow I will go buy some aspen shavings (I heard they are really good for making tunnels). At least I will now know not to use pine wood shavings in the future.
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