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[cashew]

Are Aspen shavings ok to have on the bottom of my Chinchilla cage?  The Petsmart lady said to use Carefresh.  Its softer but way more expensive.

[chinclub]

We use aspen in all of our cages.  It is much cheaper!!  The only advantage of using Carefresh instead is that it doesn't stick to everything.  Aspen will stick to my socks and my pants legs and it winds up all over the house!!!  The down side to carefresh is that I think it has a musky smell.

[Summer]

I totally agree!! 

[jmrothermel]

I agree as well!  When I clean the cages I have shavings ALL over me!  Carefresh doesn't do that as much, but when you have a herd of chinnys to change bedding in, I would be broke using the carefresh!  So for cost-effectiveness I stick with the shavings.

[chinchillagrl06]

I prefer aspen. I like the smell and I think it stays fresh.

[ThreeLilChins]

We use eco bedding. We have used the other two. We feel the eco bedding is better then both.

[chinchillaboy4]

I use carefresh and i suggest most people do because even though its more expensive, wood chip shaving bedding can cause respitory problems.

[jmrothermel]

I use carefresh and i suggest most people do because even though its more expensive, wood chip shaving bedding can cause respitory problems.

The use of aspen shavings in chinchillas has been shown to be perfectly safe, its mostly on the smaller rodents that wood shavings can cause respiratory problems.

Now on the flip side, carefresh has been shown to cause impaction problems in chinchillas.  There have been quite a few chins that either had surgery and barely survived or actually died from the carefresh causing an impaction in their digestive system.

[chinclub]

I use carefresh and i suggest most people do because even though its more expensive, wood chip shaving bedding can cause respiratory problems.

That is very true for Cedar shavings, however breeders have been using kiln dried pine and aspen for many years with no problems.   
Just stay far away from that cedar.

[Marie14625]

I usually use pine..but then will mix some carefresh in when cleaning out Trixie's cage.  She tends to think it is a treat, and wants to eat it all.

[Joyce]

Now on the flip side, carefresh has been shown to cause impaction problems in chinchillas.  There have been quite a few chins that either had surgery and barely survived or actually died from the carefresh causing an impaction in their digestive system.

  Oh my gosh, this scares me!  I have never heard this before now.  We use Carefresh for all 32 chins and always have.  I can only remember substituting aspen one or twice in the past 5 years as a trial sort of thing.
Do you think it is worth switching to aspen for good now?  Mine have never had a problem with Carefresh but I don't want to be a statistic either!  Did you get your info from a vet or a reputable source?  Thanks.

[Debbie.nl.ca]

My vet has been telling people not to use pine either. I think he's referring to the stuff Wal Mart sells that is air dried. It has a very strong pine smell, and is not good for small caged animals either. Can cause respiratory problems I've been told.
I use kiln dried pine, and/or these new Woody Pet pellets.
The problem I find with the woody pellets is the chins roll on them, like that are roller blading.
They are great for odors, and sure make a difference with the gp.
I've used the aspen too, but it's expensive here.

[chinchillaboy4]

Dusty has never tried eating his carefresh before, not that ive seen anyway. But where do you get kiln tried aspen or pine? is that the kind you buy in the petstore?

[QTPie61282]

I work at a vets office as a nurse, and we had one client who had a few rabbits die from using Carefresh. I dont know if it was a bad batch or what but, the necropsys found nothing else genetically or physically wrong, just some evidence that would have led to the bedding.

I use Small Pet Eco bedding, and Pine for their litter boxes.  Ive been scarred from using Carefresh because of that conversations I had with our client.

[jmrothermel]

Now on the flip side, carefresh has been shown to cause impaction problems in chinchillas.  There have been quite a few chins that either had surgery and barely survived or actually died from the carefresh causing an impaction in their digestive system.

  Oh my gosh, this scares me!  I have never heard this before now.  We use Carefresh for all 32 chins and always have.  I can only remember substituting aspen one or twice in the past 5 years as a trial sort of thing.
Do you think it is worth switching to aspen for good now?  Mine have never had a problem with Carefresh but I don't want to be a statistic either!  Did you get your info from a vet or a reputable source?  Thanks.

Yes I got the information from my vet, when I told her what bedding I was using.  Like QTPie also said, there has been Carefresh related deaths in other animals too, not just chins.  It really wouldn't pose a problem unless they were ingesting alot of it, but being the paranoid chin mom that I am I didn't want to take the chance!  I saw them eating it once, and that was enough for me!  If you read the back of the packaging too of the carefresh, it even gives a warning about seeking immediate vet attention if your animal seems to have consumed alot of the product.  Its made out of cardboard/paper and we all know that chins like to chew cardboard!

I'll see if I can find some links for you on research on the subject.    I'll post back later!

Jacqui