Pine or Aspen? Also, Food question.

[chris1858]

I have both and I'm wondering What I should use once they run out.

Also, Does Oxbow make a good quality pellet? I bought that today because that's what my chin was already eating. Is it comparable to Mazuri? Thanks guys!

 

[chris1858]

^When I say "I have both" I mean that I have both Pine bedding and Aspen bedding.

 

[GorillaJTA]

Either one works. It is personal preference.
And yes, oxbow is arguably better than mazuri. It is what I feed.

 

[chris1858]

Thanks!

 

[lola]

well i dont use either of the beddings i use carefresh and it works great and also i feed her mazuri with timothy hay and she seems to be doing great

 

[greychins]

We use pine here, mainly because it's cheaper. I've used Aspen before, and I never noticed anything special (not to mention, it's considerably more expensive when you're buying the big bags), so we stick with the pine.

Oxbow is a good food, so is Mazuri. If your chin does good on a food, then I would personally keep the chin on that food, especially if you only have one (or a few) chins. We have our 19+ and then rescues, so Oxbow is a bit too expensive for us to feed - all our chins eat Mazuri, and do fine on it. Some people's chins have loose poos on Mazuri, but all our rescues have switched over to it over the last 9 years, and so far, no loose poos. But, that's us. Other people have different luck. I think both foods are good foods, what works for you or what may not work for you is the important thing.

 

[Jenn]

I use aspen for the litter box, but have fleece liners for the floor. Much less mess!

 

[danilinn]

Jenn, that is exactly what i was considering--not just for mess, but coziness and appearance (the latter not major, but the habitat does have a decorative theme).
i am so glad you mentioned that!--no one had that i'd seen and i thought there must be a reason why you shouldn't.
how often do you need to wash a fleece liner with a kit? (abt. 12-13 weeks old) our niece is making ours based on a link i found here, but she's still in jr. high, so we're going our first week with just one.

 

[GorillaJTA]

Jenn, that is exactly what i was considering--not just for mess, but coziness and appearance (the latter not major, but the habitat does have a decorative theme).
i am so glad you mentioned that!--no one had that i'd seen and i thought there must be a reason why you shouldn't.
how often do you need to wash a fleece liner with a kit? (abt. 12-13 weeks old) our niece is making ours based on a link i found here, but she's still in jr. high, so we're going our first week with just one.

I only have one chin and I wash my liners about once a week. When I had 2, I went through about 2 sets a week.

 

[chris1858]

Does a chin have to be pee-trained in order to use a fleece liner? I don't quite understand how they are used! Lol

 

[Jenn]

Does a chin have to be pee-trained in order to use a fleece liner? I don't quite understand how they are used! Lol

no, the liners are absorbant for chins who have accidents or who aren't trained to use a litter box. The liners are a prettier and less messy alternative to bedding.

 

[danilinn]

fleece is absolutely cuter, and my niece is making us a liner for the all tie-dye and daisies theme cage, but i know that i'll have to wash it every day or so. i've talked to the breeder about it, and she said she ultimately went to pine shavings because the fleece was a hassle. i have no illusions that my Dusty will train herself so well that the fleece will stay clean for days, so i'm buying some pine shavings, too, so that we can switch over the minute practicality outweighs cute and cozy.

 

[liewwan]

well i dont use either of the beddings i use carefresh and it works great and also i feed her mazuri with timothy hay and she seems to be doing great

I used to use carefresh until it was brought to my attention that if the chin eats the bedding it can lead to impaction. I switched to aspen right away, it's much cheaper and should they eat the aspen it's ok. I'll be switching to fleece this weekend.

 

[chris1858]

Is a fleece liner just like a fleece blanket that you put on the bottom?

 

[ChinnyMom]

a fleece liner is polar fleece/anti pill fleece bought from the fabric store and sewn so that all the seams are hidden (chins can and will chew exposed seams). some people sew a terrycloth towel into the middle layer of their liners for extra absorbency.

what i do is just take a piece of fleece that is twice as big as the cage floor and fold it so it is a double layer. no sewing involved this way!

regular fleece blankets often have decorative edging/threads, so they are not safe to put in a chin's cage. when all of Rhino's liners are in the wash, i use a polar fleece bed sheet that i hacked all the sewed edges and decorative trim off of (to make it safe) as a temporary liner until the laundry is done.

 

[TheChinchillaDude]

what i do is just take a piece of fleece that is twice as big as the cage floor and fold it so it is a double layer. no sewing involved this way!

Same here. I don't really see the point in sewing it if you aren't going to put something in the middle. My single chin doesn't pee enough that he needs extra absorbancy, so it works great.