Pine Bedding Problem

[AlisaD]

I think my reiko is eating his pine bedding. I don't think he's swallowing it, I can't be sure, but I keep finding little piles of finely ground up pine pellets. There are also ground up spots in his litter box where there wasn't before.


Please Help!!!

[HedgePigLove]

Hello Alisa,

I'm sorry I missed your post before. Hope this isn't too late to help.

Question: Is Reiko on pine chips or on the compressed pine pellets like are used in the litter box?

If you're using pine chips and it looks like it's being gnawed, I'd switch to a different bedding choice - there's no guarantee that Reiko's not swallowing some of the gnawed-on chips and they might cause stomach distress.

If you're using the compressed pine pellets, those are designed to crumble when wet, so they might be breaking down as he relieves himself.

[AlisaD]

They are the pellets. I heard that the chips can be harmful by getting lodged in the males .... sheath. I didn't know they broke down, I just figured they swelled up and got soggy or something. :rofl:

I was getting worried cause he's pretty much litter trained. He's on liners, and he has 2 litter boxes. One on the top level under his wheel and one on the bottom level near house, but I kept finding little ground up pellets on his liners away from his litter box - that's why I was figuring he was chewing on them.

The biggest majority of ground up pellets is under is wheel and I haven't found any on the liners lately other than the ones he throws around during the night when he has his little .... Fiesta??? :rofl: He's a messy boy at night!!!

Alisa

[Nancy]

My Teasel is a nest builder. When he had either Yesterdays News and Carefresh in his litterbox he would drag it up to his igloo and lay it around the edge of the igloo. With the yesterdays news he would have all the pieces neatly end to end all around the inside edge, then he'd start the next row.

Pine shavings is fine to use for males it is corncob that causes problems in their penal sheath. Make sure you change the pellated pine daily as when it gets damp it does crumble when wet but it also gets very dusty as it dries out. :)

[AlisaD]

I am very carefull to change his bedding and clean his cage daily. I do not want any infections or sickness for my little man. I just didn't want him eating the bedding. I also have a "play box" in his cage. It's a shoe box that has a ramp leading in and out of the box. It's filled with shredded packing paper (the brown recycled paper) that has been crumpled and cut into small strips, so that he can burrow to his hearts' desire. Though he usually just gets in goes under the ramp and naps!!! :rofl: He's silly I know.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b164/tusweet2h8/reikogoingin.jpg :neener: http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b164/tusweet2h8/reikoinplaybox.jpg

[Steph]

First I just want to say that little play box idea is really neat!! Mine would love that!! Very creative!!

Secondly, I have hedgies who build nests as well. I am with Nancy in that pine is ok as long as you look for larger cuts of the shavings, the smaller ones can pose a problem, we've seen it here, and same with Aspen as some of it is shredded really small.

If it's just under his wheel my guess is that he's pottying under there and then going back to wheeling and that's what you're seeing. I've never had a hedgie try to eat wood but I have seen them really dig at the shavings to make an interesting nest! I also have several who will haul things around in their mouths and butt their igloos around all night.

Some are just more in to nesting than others...

[AlisaD]

The bedding I am using is not chips it's pellets. He's not trying to build a nest. It just looks like someone takes a tiny pinch of bedding and puts it out in the open away from everything else. There isn't anything around it, just a little pinch of ground up bedding. It looks like MAYBE 2 pellets ground up, if that much.

[illinidairychic]

I've had the pine pellets before and notice they 'break down' when they get wet into a powdered looking texture. I also agree it was not cheap, I used it in their litter for awhile and everyone annointed off of it cause of the pine smell.