Welcome topic that is now about Cell-Sorb, CareFresh & H

[CavySpirit]

Welcome to this forum.

Hi Teresa!

I love the Cell-sorb, but it's next to impossible to obtain! Very expensive online, and the guy that supplies from San Mateo (?) requires pet stores to buy a minimum of $200 of product, and the little places up here can't afford that. Maybe there are some folks that would be into going in as a group so that a store would buy enough for all of us?

Amy Lovekin

[CavySpirit]

Hi Amy,

Last time I spoke with Al (the owner), he was looking into signing up a new distributor for our area. Not sure where he stands on that. I'll give him a call when I get a chance. I am not impressed with the current distributor.

Depending on how much you need (I need a lot), the Ferret Store doesn't charge shipping on orders over $20. But, they only sell the smaller bags. If you have my cages, you need a whole 40# bag for the big cage!

Will keep you posted . . .

I have one of your cages, it's the smaller one i believe until i can make more room(10 sq feet). How much Cell-Sorb would you think i would need? I'm planning on putting a pellet bedding on the bottom and a softer bedding on the top, i don't want them walking on the pellets. I would like to change from Pine, as it's not really that good for the pigs and i'm allergic to it.

Thanks,
Megan

[CavySpirit]

Hi Megan,

It's really great to see you here. What a pleasure!

About the Cell-Sorb, first of all, you probably need to find a local source. I always buy the big 40# bags. They cost me approximately $20. I use an entire bag in a 2x4 grid cage. So, in a 2x3 grid cage, I use about 1/2 to 2/3 of a bag, depending on how deep you make the bedding. My norm is about 2/3 of a bag. If you haven't used Cell-Sorb before, it is a pelleted bedding that is definitely harder than CareFresh. But, of course, it lasts longer and you never get that ammonia smell. Although it will get yukky if not cleaned appropriately.

You could use a smaller amount as a base and put CareFresh on top. Once in a while I've done that if I've run out of CS and have CF. CF is definitely easier to find in the stores.

I also am very generous with the hay on top of the CS. When I refresh cages--every 2-3 days, I take off the top layer of hay and CS, stir it up, take out clumps, and maybe add a little fresh CS. We completely clean the cage (depending on size and number of pigs) once a week to occasionally a week and half, so 7-9 days average.

Hope that helps,

I did find a place to buy the cs. I can get 40lbs for about $25-$30. Although i would rather not give them my money, if that is the only place i could get it then i might just have to . I did find CF for about $20.00 it's a larger bag. I'm not sure how big though. I would really rather buy it from that petstore. Maybe he can special order it for me. I will check and see.(the CS) If i can't find Cell. I will just buy yesterdays news, or another pellet bedding and put carefresh on top of it. I think that will also work. I cover about half the cage with Hay, I don't really want them walking or eating what they went to the bathroom on. Most of the time they will go in the other half of the cage, and leave the place where they eat nice and clean.

What type of hay do you use? Right now i'm using L&M, and i would like to switch to Pet dinner, or Oxbow. Would you reccomend one over the other? I heard that APD is fresher(timothy hay) then oxbows because oxbow doesn't grow their timothy hay where they are and they need it shipped into them? Do you know if APD sells pellets for pigs? do you know how they are? My mom said i can order my guinea pig stuff from one place(hay, food, treats(if they would have) and then my chinchilla stuff from another place.(their food, dust bath, and toys, hay would come from the guinea pigs' place.)


Thanks for any help ,
Megan

Megan...Kendra bought the hay from APD and she says it is as soft as a pillow and that her pigs love it. :-) I think Razz is ok with her regular hay from the pet store(You can bet that I make sure there is no mold or anything like that.)but I plan to start ordering some things that Razz uses because the pet store does not have the best stuff and Razz deserves the best. As soon as I get twenty dollars(In about two weeks since I get ten a week as my allowance.)I am going to order the soft cavy bedding from APD. :-)

Hi!!

I use Cell Sorb and I put a layer of Care Fresh on top. For my grid cage ( 5 X 2 grids) I use an entire bag of Cell Sorb. I pay about $18 for it at the pet store. On top of that, I put about 1/4 bag of care fresh. My piggies run around so much, however, they mix it all up!! The hay on top that Teresa uses is BY FAR the softest way to go!! Also, when I tried that, the piggies didn't mix it up with the Cell Sorb. BUT... due to allergies, my family couldn't take that much hay. The CS/CF combo has been working very well for me. I clean about every 7 to 9 days and refresh areas that need it about 2 times during the 7 to 9 day period.

As far as hay goes, I have tried Oxbow and American Pet Diner 2nd cut Timothy hay. The APD hay is somewhat softer and smells great!!! The piggies LOVE IT!!!!! This past week, I ran out before I knew it and I had to use Kaytee hay from the pet store for 2 days!! My girls were thoroughly insulted!!!! They just sniffed it and ate very little! Today when the APD hay came I thought they were going to give themselves heart attacks getting to it :evil: They all munched away and then took LONG naps! Happy girls! I have also been getting my pellets from APD. I have been ordering the King 20 pellets for Guinea Pigs... Alfalfa hay ration. They munch it all up!!

Hope this helps. It seems to be the system we have "settled" into!

Kara and my girlie-bops!

Gud Day! I'm from Manila and I'm wondering if anyone of you knows if there is a supplier here of CareFresh bedding in the Philippines. I have a pair of peruvian and there 3 babies. We have only Pine and Cedar shavings here. I've read that it's a no-no. Please help me. Thanks!

[CavySpirit]

Some people have difficulty getting Carefresh in other countries. If you pine smells strongly of pine, you can try to put a thin layer of hay over it and be sure to keep the hay refreshed. The less pine odor there is the better. You might also air dry it yourself before using it in the cage. Definitely do not use Cedar. You could also think about shredding newspaper (if it's a soy-based ink--check with the newspaper) or some combination.

Thanks! BTW, what do you mean by soy-based ink?

[CavySpirit]

A soy bean-based ink is safe for animals to chew and eat. Other inks may be toxic to animals. Best to check with the newspaper on what kind of ink they use.