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Small Animal Question

The Cat

The Cat

New member
So my sister is getting a hamster and someone gave her pine shavings to use (even though I have loads of aspen). Is pine safe fore small animals? Please try to reply fairly quickly: I think she's getting it this weekend.
 
Most people use it with hamsters and such. However I've read that it (and cedar) can give them respiratory problems. Especially if their enclosure isn't well ventilated.
I don't know how true it is however. So, I've always used aspen just to be safe.

You can google it yourself and make your own conclusions if you wish.
 
I think that's what we used for our hamsters and gerbils, but it has been over 15 years since I had them! Holy cow.
I don't think we had any issues with it, but I could be wrong.
To be on the safe side, I wouldn't use it.
 
Yup, pine and cedar both can/will cause respiratory issues. (Also said to cause liver issues, according to a study I found a couple months ago...) Pine to a much lesser extent than cedar, but still not worth saving a buck. Use aspen for sure!
 
Years ago, I read about a European study on rodents and pine that said they could get respiratory problems with pine. I believe the study was done in Latvia. I only read the summary, not the whole study.

That said, I have kept rodents on pine for decades and haven't noticed specific problems. BUT - my rodents are for producing feeders, and I generally feed off the bin and start a new bin as they age, at about 1 year old. I suspect that older rodents would be affected a lot more than younger rodents, IF I ever kept older rodents.

SO - for a pet that you hope to keep into its old age, I would recommend avoiding aromatic shavings such as cedar and pine. But for feeders that are culled before they get old, I can't say I have noticed any problems.
 
I used pine or cedar when I was little with the devil of a hamster I had but after doing research/etc and owning rats I will never use pine or cedar again. I've only used aspen, shredded paper or the like for my rats.
 
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