Woody Pet Bedding

I saw on the bedding page that there was not information on the Woody Pet brand of bedding. It said to share on the forum, which I am doing. Hope this helps...

Our horse stalls have a clay bottem and the urine makes for a nice mess when the shavings get wet. So, we started using this brand of bedding (because it is sold at Tractor Supply) to help absorb the urine. It works great for that purpose, but is still messy. The pellets turn into a "mushy" type of urine soaked wood. We found that the urine is absorbed better, but we still have to keep shavings on top of the Woody Pet. Plus, this might have to be done for guinea pigs anyways, as the Woody Pet is sort of hard and looks just like guinea pig pelleted feed.

Well, I hope this helps someone. I have gotten a lot of help on this forum and thought that I should try to help someone, as well!

Hi - I have been using Woody Pet from the start since I also have horses and had it readily available. I do find that it works best with the guinea pigs when wetted beforehand. I put a pile at a time into a basin in the sink. Probably takes about 20 minutes to get enough bedding "fluffed" for my 2x3 C&C cage. I don't break down every last little kernel of Woody Pet - just enough to make it a comfy surface. Although it might take a little longer, the advantage is that I only have to completely strip every few weeks. In the meantime, I sift through about every other day for wet spots (take those out entirely) and for poops. I use a kitty litter fork to sift and turn over the bedding. Then I add more Woody Pet as necessary.

I don't seem to have any dust problems - in fact I find that with both the piggies and horses, there is significantly less dust than with regular shavings. Woody Pet is also a super odor absorber. The key I think is getting it fluffed enough in the beginning to make a soft surface for the guinea pigs' feet, and to make sifting easier.

I do have fleece upstairs where they poop less, but find Woody Pet downstairs the least maintenance and best-smelling. Hope that helps!

Woody pet broken down is not a safe bedding option. It makes extremely fine sawdust that is at high risk of causing respiratory issues. I know that from experience and common sense. Do not wet it beforehand. To make it more comfortable use a thin layer of shavings or other bedding over top. This will also keep the sawdust down underneath where the pigs won't be breathing it in. Woody pet is most definitely more dusty than good quality shavings. Now some of the shavings I've seen people use for horses are just plain dust not even shavings. In that case woody pet would be an improvement but those beddings are also not suitable for pigs.

Woody pet is nearly the most expensive pelleted bedding you can buy. About the only thing that tops it for price is Feline Pine. I thought myself rather stupid for using it in the stalls for years. For 1/2 or less the cost you can get cheaper pellets of lesser known brands from most feedstores. I believe I'm using some pestel brand spruce pellets now. You can also get plain wood stove pellets(check there isn't anything added to make them burn better) that are identical to woody pet for far cheaper. No idea why woody pet charges such a high amount for a product that has a dozen other cheaper and identical brands out there.

I used Woody Pet in my horses run in barn and loved it. I had rubber floor mats, and the Woody Pet absorbed the urine and kept down the odor.

I also use the wood pellets in my bunny cage-it keeps the odor and flies down in the plastic trays and is a cinch to keep clean and dry.

In my gp hay area at the end of a C&C cage, I use wood pellets with Care Fresh on the top. The wood pellets are too rough for tender paw pads by themselves. Great absorption and odor control.

I get my wood pellets from TSC-I use Cozy Fresh for my piggies.

You could also try Wood Stove Pellets. They are cheaper than Woody Pet. A friend of mine uses a layer of aspen and tops it off with the wood pellets.