Thanks for stickied this topic, it is a crucial information for people with small animals!

Pine is toxic to ALL animals and I was reading somewhere that there is a new study proving it is bad for humans as well.

My experiences with beddings:

Pine : I used it for years for my mice and gerbils with no ill effects. Several litters of gerbils were raised on it and they all lived long healthy lives. I wouldn't use it now because I don't want to take the chance of my mice getting sick now that I know that it can happen.

Carefresh : I wasn't impressed. It was dusty and did not control odor in the mice cages. I changed it twice a week. I didn't liek the look of it either.

Corncob : I used this for my longhaired hamster and for my rats. I loved it and never had a problem with it molding. I changed my hamster cage once a week and the rats twice a week.

Aspen : I have used this for the past two years. It can be a little dusty sometimes and it doesn't really control odor in my male mouse's cage.

I will be switching to a soil/sand/aspen mix here in the next week or so and I'll let you guys know how it works out.

I believe that kiln-dried pine is much different.

I only use carefresh or fleece for my pigs, I hate the smell of everything else.

yeah kiln-dried pine doesn't have the phenols that cause respiratory problems.

WOW, learn something new everyday!!

I too have heard the claims that kiln-dried pine is fine, but I've gotten some that has as much, if not more odor than regular pine, and my pigs did have problems on it. I'd rather be safe than sorry, personally. Aspen isn't so expensive that it's cost prohibitive (when I used woodshavings, now they're on fleece, spoiled brats)

Did the package actually say kiln-dried on it? I know alot of pet stores will claim that the bedding is kiln dried BUT it doesn't say so on the package. So ALWAYS read the package. Some say kiln-dried and some say something else that has to do with drying and that's ok too.

Yes, it specifically said kiln-dried pine. Our rescue does not use any pine products because of the related problems we've seen with kiln dried pines.

That's weird, do you happen to remember what brand it was?
We've been buying kiln dried pine for the last 5 years or so, 2 different brands and have had no problems, i love the stuff because i'm very sensitive to strong odors and the kiln-dried we get doesn't affect me at all. And I know tons of other people that have used kiln-dried pine for ages and ages with no problems.

We tried several different brands. Maybe it's a local thing, there's a huge forestry industry here. Anywho, I ended up switching to fleece because any type of woodshaving set off his allergies, and if they bothered him across the house, I can only imagine how living 3 inches away from it (like the pigs) would affect your nose.

Well for anybody that can find a lab supplies store or feed store willing to buy stuff for you I recommend NEPCO pine bedding. It's the lab-grade kiln dried stuff and has virtually no odor.
NEPCO - The Pet Bedding Specialists
here's there website, and if you click on laboratory shavings then click on laboratory grade pine shavings. This stuff is awesome and CHEAP!

Hm. I really don't think I'd like to support a company that produces bedding for lab animals specifically. :\

This really isn't a thread to talk about what you do or do not support, this is informative for people looking for the right bedding for their small animals.
Also, they do not produce bedding for only lab animals, they produce all sorts of bedding for all sorts of animals.
The kiln-dried bedding just happens to be labeled "lab-grade". If it's high enough quality product to be used in labs then it's even better for those that just own pets.

Ha, cuz we know lab animals are treated well.


I don't really like any of the wood beddings, mostly because of the smell. I hate the smell of aspen and I don't like how hard it is. I have tried kiln-dried pine, hated it too. Im sure my pigs are wishing I would just stick with one thing, lol. Carefresh is my favorite, its just so expensive to buy every week.