A rabbit that sneezes...advice.

[teeny 10]

Been using it for years with our bunnys, had no problems till this one. And there was nothing on the internet that suggested i shouldnt be using it at the time, it was simply a case of 'some rabbits might be allergic to substrate such as sawdust.'

 

 

Even growing up in the late 60's my dad always used shavings as sawdust can get inn the eyes and cause major problems. we have always used shavings , I use megazorb for some guinea pigs now but more usually shavings

[laura_17 10]

Even growing up in the late 60's my dad always used shavings as sawdust can get inn the eyes and cause major problems. we have always used shavings , I use megazorb for some guinea pigs now but more usually shavings

 

Surely then the same should be said for hamsters, and any other animal on sawdust. Personally i dont like shavings as i've found that some bits are too sharp, and sawdust is generally nicer for them to live on. I think it comes down to personal preferance in the end. Like i said, i've only ever had that one problem with sawdust, and i've had animals living on it for years.

[teeny 10]

Surely then the same should be said for hamsters, and any other animal on sawdust. Personally i dont like shavings as i've found that some bits are too sharp, and sawdust is generally nicer for them to live on. I think it comes down to personal preferance in the end. Like i said, i've only ever had that one problem with sawdust, and i've had animals living on it for years.

 

 

I have seen quite a few problems in rabbits who have lived on sawdust including breathing differculties.

I never used sawdust for hamsters in 45 years of having animals. I know its down to preferences but please consider how ill it can make a rabbit etc

[AlexAtkin 10]

Not sure about sawdust but we stopped getting shavings after reading about a breeder who kept losing Rabbits due to liver damage.

 

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/1/liver-disease.html

 

Overall though, I do not think its a good idea for ANY animal to live around something with "dust" in the name.

[terminator 10]

Not sure about sawdust but we stopped getting shavings after reading about a breeder who kept losing Rabbits due to liver damage.

 

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/1/liver-disease.html

 

Overall though, I do not think its a good idea for ANY animal to live around something with "dust" in the name.

Thats normally due to pine wood and another soft wood forget off hand wich that one is dosnt matter if its sawdust or shaving in that respect.Any shavings ect bought from a pet supply shouldnt really contain that so should not be a problem but if your getting it from a joiners shop ect then you dont really know what your getting.Basicly dont use soft wood shaving only hard wood.

[teeny 10]

Thats normally due to pine wood and another soft wood forget off hand wich that one is dosnt matter if its sawdust or shaving in that respect.Any shavings ect bought from a pet supply shouldnt really contain that so should not be a problem but if your getting it from a joiners shop ect then you dont really know what your getting.Basicly dont use soft wood shaving only hard wood.

 

sounds to me as if they were getting wood that had been chemically treated not the type we get here

[AlexAtkin 10]

I am dubious about shavings full stop, as how do you know for sure they are hard wood not soft wood? All the ones I have seen, even pre-bagged brand seem to be soft wood.

 

I certainly do not trust our local pet store though as we have had to stop using them for hay because it was coming with twigs, mud and oak leaves in it. He is using local sources which unfortunately are just not as strict as the airtight branded bagged.

 

But I do not entirely trust the brands either. We were getting dried dandelion leaves and they started coming with dried mud and roots in the bags. Better to be safe than sorry when it comes to our beloved pets lives.

[teeny 10]

I know most of our customers use these bags from the pet shops and most bunnies live till old age, as for the quality of the hay we have customers who bring their pown hay as they thinks its ok , we find some of it dusty , musty and has sticks , stones and mud in , however where we get our hay from we get none of the above in it.

I buy only certain makes of hay with dandilions in ! as I too have found some not up to feeding standards.

[AlexAtkin 10]

Not to worry though, we are getting hay/straw delivered from Pawsitively Pets now after reading the forum.