Bedding for Small Furries - Best value?

Captain Flaps

First time posting here, I did search but apologies if there';s a thread on this elsewhere.

I'm trying to work out what the best value bedding is for my pets. I have a single dwarf hamster and a syrian, each with their own 20 gallon aquarium. We've been using Carefresh natural bedding with great success (it's always a good sign when they pack their nests with the bedding you use in the whole tank! We went with this brand because it's nice and soft, fairly dust free and above all it's totally safe for them. an 8L pack (expands to 14L) costs about a tenner, and with a full bedding change twice a month for each of them we go through 2 packs, so that's €20 in bedding alone.

We've also just taken on a pair of gerbils, a first for us. We got them a great 25 gallon vivarium with scope for adding shelves and multiple layers, which is all great. The viv came with a big bag of wood shavings which I've used for the time being, but they're pine which I know is terrible for small animal's respiratory system (I have no idea why petshops still sell this stuff to people knowing full well it releases toxic gasses when mixed with animal waste).

To give the gerbils enough depth to dig and burrow I'd be looking at another €30 worth of carefresh a month, which I'll do if I need to, but I'm just wondering if anyone has any bedding alternatives?

loveisdivine

We used to use carefresh for our guineapigs and I could never find anything that matched the quality for a cheaper price.

The only thing I ever managed to find was a UK product called Megazorb, its marketed for equines but is perfect for small furries, however it now seems impossible to get it delivered here because it comes in huge (and cheap!) bags that nobody wants to ship.

We use a fleece bedding for our pigs now but that probably wouldn't be suitable for smallies that dig and nest.

Captain Flaps

Yeah, fleece and other fibrous stuff is a no go for them. There was an even nicer bedding called Cosi n' Dri that was a little pricier than Carefresh bush much softer and more absorbent, but most places aren't stocking that any more for some reason. It wouldn't have been an option anyway.

I'll have a look into megazorb. TBH Equine bedding seems to be a good route of inquiry but it seems to be hard to confirm you're getting the mulched stuff rather than just shredded newspaper.

Captain Flaps

Can get an 85L bag of megazorb off Amazon for 30 quid including postage from the UK via parcel motel, might be worth a shot! €30 for 85L is definitely better than €30 for 42L of Carefresh (and that's taking their 'expands to 14L' claims at face value, which I've always been skeptical of).

Edit: Oops, didn't check dimensions. It's too big for a parcel motel locker but they can courier to me in work for 17.50. This eats into the saving somewhat as it's now 39 for the megazorb but its still considerably cheaper than the equivalent amount of Carefresh. Thanks!

Edit 2: Found another place that will deliver to Ireland for a non-extortionate fee. https://www.farmandpetplace.co.uk/ Come to 31 including delivery to my door. Definitely going to give there guys a shot.

mymo

We had gerbils as kids, we used sand as it keeps there coats nice, and for nest space we gave them torn up toilet roll or kitchen towel.

Sand has to be kept just right though, not too damp and not too dry.

They love cardboard tubes and stuff to hide in too.

Sand has to be sieved regularly for food and bits, they will chose a toilet area so you can put a pan of wood chips or something there and makes cleaning easy.

Captain Flaps

Sand seems ok but it doesn't allow them to build their own tunnels, and it's bad for the hamsters as it dries their skin and fur out. I've ordered an 85L bag of megazorb, will post back with impressions when it arrives!

jimf

just a suggestion maybe theres a reason why it cant be used but what about shredded paper

Captain Flaps

It can be used, it's just not particularly comfy and work out expensive enough since you don't want to use anything with dyes or inks. Not many ways to get loads of unmarked paper other than buying sheafs and shredding them.

baby and crumble

I use woodshavings for my little guy (long haired syrian)- I was using CareFresh with Isabella (short haired) because wood shavings made her sneeze but that was a nightmare with the long hair when we got Twitch, the wood shavings are much easier to brush out of a long coat I find, and not all release gases. It's also far far more economical.

Captain Flaps

Yep, Aspen shavings are fine, I've just found it hard to source shavings that don't contain cedar or pine. The megazorb seems like better value than even shavings, I have high hopes.

hadook

I used strawchip for my last gerbils because I was ordering it anyway for the chickens. It's finely chopped, treated for mould, sifted/medicated etc & makes a good material for building nice nests/tunnels. It comes in 100l bales and keeps for ages after being opened.

They're based in Kildare & I think a single bale is less than 20 quid delivered if you have no stockists nearby.

Captain Flaps

That sounds like a good option too!

Megazorb just arrived, I'm amazed as I hadn't recieved any shipping confirmation off the site. Initial impressions are good - it's nice and soft, massive bag but smaller pieces than I was expecting (think grit rather than gravel). I'll be doing a full change on the 3 tanks tomorrow evening so I'll post back with images and a review.

loveisdivine

Oh I'm glad you managed to get some megazorb. In fairness it had been a long time since I'd last looked so its handy to know you can get it online now.

Hopefully you'll find it works well. We thought it was brill, helped keep smells to a minimum too if I remember correctly.

Captain Flaps

Apologies for not replying here sooner, just wanted to say that megazorb is fantastic and I've ordered more from that place a few times since. Would absolutely recommend it! It lasts for ages, is very soft and both the hamsters and gerbils loved it. Here's a snap of some new arrivals all curled up in it!