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Hardwood pellets seem to have been phased out locally Any softwoods ok?

frNzR4evr

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I have been well pleased with the hardwood pellets I have been using under my fleece, but now my local hardware stores evidently only stock the softwood pellets. Are there any brands that are safe for guinea pigs, or does anyone know where I can order the hardwood ones online in Canada?
 

sallyvh

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You can get hardwood pellets from Canadian Tire.

I believe the brand is Canwick and they are $5.99 for 40lbs.
 

miniver

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You can get hardwood pellets from Canadian Tire.

I believe the brand is Canwick and they are $5.99 for 40lbs.

That's what I use. If they don't have them on the floor, ask at customer service. They have brought them out from the back anytime I've needed them in the summer.
 

BeckieL

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you guys only pay $5.99 for HARDWOOD pellets? That's the cost of pine here, but the hardwood is much more expensive (and is prediminantly made for food/smoker application from what I see). I got a 40lb bag for $19.99

Having said that...I actually think that even at that cost, the hardwood lasts SO MUCH longer than the pine that it might actually be more expensive. The pine disintegrates immediately, the hardwood holds up much better and still has no odors.
 

bpatters

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Wrong kind of hardwood pellets, [MENTION=39415]BeckieL[/MENTION]. What you're looking for is made for wood stoves for heating, not smokers or cookers. But they're hard to find.
 

BeckieL

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ah, that explains why they can find them in Canada then. Defintely NOT in texas, lol!


Even at $20/bag I'm still thinking the hardwood might be better than pine. Have you tried the hardwood before [MENTION=13820]bpatters[/MENTION]? the pine seems to completely disintegrate quickly and the hardwood holds up much better. I don't notice any odors in the hardwood part of my cage and it's 2 months old now. I just remove the soiled hardwood (the pee spots actually clump up a bit unlike pine) where they pee a lot when I do a cage change, spread everything back out again, and keep going.
 

bpatters

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I used to use hardwood, but then it disappeared from the market in my area.

But I don't have a problem with the disintegration. That's what the pellets are supposed to do. Why does that bother you? To me, it makes a fairly smooth, compact floor that can be brushed, and it works well.
 

BeckieL

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@bpatters another good point. My pigs don't shed enough yet for me to need to brush the fleece before I wash it. Catnip is just now starting to shed a bit and Harry Styles doesn't seem to shed at all yet.

Do you do a full change of pellets after a certain number of weeks? Maybe I'm over cleaning my cage, as I feel like I need to get that broken-up stuff out because it's been peed on and is going to create odors. The cage is right in a main room of our house and I don't want it to smell.
 

bpatters

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I'm at something over four months now. I just stir it up occasionally.
 
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