Best buy on bedding?

I use kiln-dried pine, it helps bake out some of the pine oils. I have found it cheap at several locations, but the best in my area is Mills Fleet Farm. If you buy it by the bale, it is $3.90 a bale. If you buy a half pallet (20 bales) it is $3.75/bale. If you buy a full pallet (40 bales), I believe it drops to $3.40/bale. I go through approx. 3 - 3 1/2 bales a week.


Just a side note: newspaper print is not toxic.

I WAS using pine shavings. Pine oils/odor is nice, but makes MY rats sniffle and do the eye/nose porpherin (sp?) bit w/congestion sometimes. Not good...so I don't use it any more.


I buy a big bale of Harlan aspen from the feed store, but it just went up in price to $20. Buuuuut I only have to buy one every 6-8 weeks (or longer). I use it for my rats and the snakes.

If I can find a better price, it would be nice!! so I think I'll have to do some shopping around.

I was looking at the CareFresh type stuff, but now that I have biiiiiig cages, that's not cost effective for me.

RuLyn

I use pine shavings from a company called suncoast. I get it from my local feed store $5.95 for 12 cubic feet and it has very little dust.
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f3...baleswshav.gif

I get huge bags of kiln dried pine (no dust) at the feed store (the bags for horse stalls) for $5. Two bags lasts my 13 rat/mouse cages a month or two.

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Originally Posted by Wolfsnaps

OK, yes, even though it was a mistake and said on the wrong forum, do not use newspaper for rodents (unless it is the non-printed stuff). Newspaper ink can be toxic is eaten and can rub off on the rats. The rubbing off of ink isnt too bad I suppose unless they get inked and then sent to the snake. I don't know about you but I don't want to feed my snake inky rats. PLus, newspaper does not help with smell and is not very absorbant. Now if you are talking a paper product like cell sorb or yesterdays news, they are pretty absorbant. I still would not use it for rodents though (I used to use it for my ferrets). I just worry that the rats would eat it and fill their tummies with paper. I use aspen, so far so good. I am going to have to check out my tractor supply because the pet store here is pricey....maybe walmart too. I have shopping to do.

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While newspaper isn't a good choice for rodents, it is in no way toxic. Most newspaper publishers use organic pigment, vegetable based or soy based.

Just a side note on the whole paper thing. It's not toxic but it doesn't absorb well and will make the bottom of any rodent cage a soggy mess in a day or two. However, strips of old phone books are a wonderful addition to any rodents home. Not as bedding really though they will nest build with it (especially mice) but they love to mess about with it and it's a great way to recycle those old phone books. :)

One thing to check when you are pricing out bedding is the compression listed on the bag (and what it expands to). You'll find a bag at WalMart for $5.00 and at Petland for $8.00 but I've noted that the Petland is compressed harder so it's cubic feet of actual bedding is twice as much but not twice as expensive.