Hi Jo Ann,
Thanks so much for contributing to my growing list of chin friends here. I can't tell you how valuable this information is to me. I did also find the booklet in my email box, and am printing it out to show my daughter.
I did take the bedding out that came with her Chewbular tube but although I went to the pet store this morning to buy aspen shavings as someone else had suggested I came back only with a container of bath dust (I never did use the sand I originally bought. I stuck my finger in it, hated it, and brought it back to the store. I was not sure why they would market this type of product for a delicate little animal, but at the time I did not know the difference between sand and dust, so I picked up the wrong thing).
I am so leery of using any kind of wood after the tragedy of our little guinea pig. I see you recommend pine and to be sure there is no cedar in it - this is what scares me, I guess I don't trust what the bag says when it comes to something that can actually kill her. I heard a while back from my vet (he's an exotics vet, because I only have exotics) that KayTee had been cited for using materials in their products that were harmful and did not disclose this on the package, and I just never forgot his words to this day. Apparently they are also a paper manufacturing company and were combining low-quality woods (that were not suitable for paper production) in with their animal bedding products and the consumer was totally unaware. Gives you a chill - you try to do best for your pets and there is just no way to know these things unless someone tells you.
With the Carefresh bedding even though other materials would be better at least I know its only paper and can't hurt her. Hopefully in time I will not be quite so cautious as I am right now and will get the pine bedding as I think she would like it more and it would have a fresher scent.
Thank you for the tip on the cranberry juice, I am going to keep that in mind. I am inclined to think she does not have a urinary problem because the cage itself has no smell, and sometimes if she pees from the top level of her cage some of it will drip onto the plastic under the cage, and I would definitely smell that as there is nothing to soak it up. The plastic is just a large sheet of heavy vinyl to protect the carpet, but I have found pee spots on it a couple of times. I am hoping that it is just the nervous scent that someone else had suggested and this will just pass in time. If she has her period
well, we've all been there, and we can be totally sympathetic to that!! My daughter actually had asked me if she would get a period and I said I figured so, since she was not spayed. The only other female pet we have is one of our rabbits, and she is spayed.
Thank you again so much for the booklet, it just finished printing and I will staple it and leave it on my daughter's desk for her to read later.
Cheerio says thank you too!!!