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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2017 20:33:36 GMT
They do indeed! Well done!!! Thanks 😁😁 I even got Cal to help me! A victory in itself lol!
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Post by randomname on Nov 16, 2017 18:07:59 GMT
Have managed to do a thorough trial of all the new substrates so I thought I'd do a review for anyone interested. Giant wood shavingsExactly as described. £8.12 for 20kg. Comes compressed so somewhat difficult to get out, ended up with splinters under my nails a couple of times. Not good for animals with sensitive respiratory systems. The shavings are mostly big enough that they don't fit through the bars of the degu & chin cages. However it's not foolproof, still swept up at least twice a day. None of the animals seemed fazed by it, none of them ate it. The absorbency is as terrible as I remember. After 3 days I smelled the cage across the room. I cleaned twice as often as usual due to the smell. Not impressed. Ended up using it only in the rabbit & guinea pig homes underneath more absorbent bedding just to use it up. Wouldn't recommend or buy again. Auboise (hemp chips)Chips from the straw of the hemp plant. Environmentally sound to produce & dispose of. £10 for 20kg. Easy to use. Small bits about the size of standard wood shavings. Does escape the liberta/aventura cages very easily. I sweep up 4-5 times a day. None of the animals react to it. Has no phenols so is suitable for animals with sensitive respiratory systems. Very good absorbency, no cage smell for 7 or 8 days. Would recommend & buy again. Aubichick (hemp)Smaller chopped version of the above, marketed as suitable for birds. Another green option, can be composted. £8.75 for £20kg. Super easy to use & very, very soft (think cotton wool soft!) but also very, very small bits. It's comparable to confetti! Escapes the Liberta & Aventura cages really easily. I found it great for the rabbits, guinea pigs & chinchillas but too annoying for the degus cage. I swept up way more than usual. Is great for a deep cage & I'd use it for hamsters or gerbils in a gerbilarium for sure. Cheaper than the standard Auboise & all the other options I've looked into, so I'll probably continue to buy it for the rabbits, guinea pigs & chinchillas. Highly recommend if you've got the right cage, but not for a degu cage without decent edge guards. Another great absorber, at least 9 days before I smelled their pee. Flaxboise (flax chips)Made by the same people as Auboise, but with Flax straw instead of hemp. Also a green option as it's also a grass crop. Is £8.27 for 20kg. Easy to handle & use, feels soft & silky in the hand. The bits are similar size to hemp chips, but are much softer. It does go everywhere when the degus dig or fight. I swept up around the same amount as with hemp chips. Cheaper & softer than hemp chips. Good absorbency, comparable to hemp chips but not as good as Auboise. I'd recommend & buy again (over Auboise as it's cheaper) I didn't really notice a smell until at least day 6. Miscanthus (elephant grass)
Another environmentally sound option. £8.10 for 20kg. Billed as 3 times more absorbent than wood shavings (hemp is 6, flax is 4 I think) Easy to use, is much like the flax bedding but not as silky feeling. Texture wise it's somewhere between hemp chips & flaxboise. It is a comparable size to hemp chips, so (you guessed it) it goes everywhere! Standard number of sweeps a day (4ish) One of the chinchillas thought it might be edible, but she soon realised it wasn't. Good absorbency, lasted over a week. Would buy again & recommend. Conclusion : all of them were good except wood shavings. As there's not much to choose from performance wise, I'd go for the cheapest. None of them stayed inside the degu cage better than any other. I will probably buy the miscanthus bedding but I really liked the Aubichick one. That's the one I'd want under my feet, it feels lush Before I go I can report that the paper bags have worked out great I stuffed them with hay & some forage. The chins pretty much just opened them with their hand & ate them like crisps! The guinea pigs ended up buried head first, bum out in theirs The degus LOVED them. They tore them apart, pulled out the hay, ate all the noms, added the paper to the nest & went back down to poo on the hay. Kept them busy for a little while. 84p for 100 paper bags on Amazon, can't go wrong. Have also discovered the degus really like the cardboard parrot toy (birdie bangles) that are super cheap to buy as well.
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