Kaytee Soft Sorb Bedding

[Susan9608]

Hello All. I noticed when reading through the posts that there were a number of questions/comments regarding Kaytee Soft Sorb Bedding. I have used this bedding, and while it is soft, absorbent, and slightly cheaper than Care Fresh, it has one big disadvantage. While CareFresh bedding pieces are fairly large, individual clumps, Kaytee SoftSorb is made up of extremely small little pieces that can fit through the smallest of mesh and create a huge mess. I used that in my hamster cage that had 1/8" openings, and the Soft Sorb ended up everywhere. A true vacuuming nightmare.

In regards to Yesterday's News, I have tried that also, but I discovered that when it gets wet, it becomes extremely heavy. I had to have my husband help me carry the cage out to the trash can at cage cleaning time because I couldn't manage the weight plus the size of the cage by myself.

I have had the same problem with pine shavings that I had with the Kaytee Soft Sorb - it ends up falling out of the cage every where and creating a huge mess.

I really like CareFresh, but it's so expensive.

 

[ice_on_fire]

is yesterday's news cat bedding..? is it made out of recycled newspaper and what does it look like.?

 

[Sierra]

It's like little pellets.

Have you tried fleece, or aspen bedding? I hear Cell-Sorb Plus isn't as heavy as Yesterday's News when wet, I am trying to figure out all this myself.

 

[mncavylover]

Thanks for the info. I love my aspen! I use a thick layer of it with a thin layer of carefresh on top. Fleece may work if you're willing to put in the time to change it every day. Also, put something absorbent under the fleece.

 

[Susan9608]

I have tried aspen bedding, but I have the same problem with the aspen that I have with the Soft Sorb; it makes a huge mess. I have tried Cell-Sorb once for both my guinea pigs and chinchillas; I didn't really see a difference in it from yesterday's news, except that it was more expensive.

My guinea pigs don't seem to care for the pellets, either. I know that Yesterday's news is also sold as cat litter, and that's really what it seems like to me.

I really like CareFresh - I just wish it wasn't so expensive.

 

[mncavylover]

What kind of cage do you use? With the 6" sides on c and c cages it's not a problem.

 

[Susan9608]

I have never thought about using fleece ... but if that's something that has to be changed daily, I don't think it would work, especially not to cover the whole cage bottom with. I wonder if there is a comparable product to CareFresh that's cheaper, like a generic drug.

 

[Susan9608]

I did have the C&C cage with the 6" sides, and the aspen still got everywhere, as did the pigs' hay. Now I have a wire mesh/wood cage that has much smaller openings, so maybe the aspen would work now. I"ll have to look into it.

 

[mncavylover]

So far, there's not anything like carefresh only cheaper. The fleece wouldn't work for me either. What cage do you use?

 

[Susan9608]

My dad actually built some cages (3) for me. They are the same dimensions as a 2x3 grid C&C cage, and they are beautiful - more like furniture almost. The four sides and the top are made with 1/4" wire mesh; the edges of the wire are encased in 2 and 1/2" wood slats that make up the frame of the cage. The bottom is essentially open, except for some wood slabs that run horizontally to keep the cage from resting directly on the table and to allow the door to fully open. For a door, my dad hinged the front side and attached two hooks to the frame, so to open the door, you simply unhook the hooks, and pull the front side down. I am still using the coroplast box as my bedding pan, but I am looking for an alternative. These cages are delightful because not much can escape through the openings, it's much easier to get things (and pigs) in and out through the large door, they are very stable, so they can be stacked, and the coroplast box can simply be slid in and out through the door, which eliminates the need to lift off the cube system. I'll have to post some pictures.

 

[mncavylover]

Ok, that's cool! Yes, pictures would definitely help. So you are using coroplast inside of the wood? If the sides are 6" it should not be a problem.

 

[Susan9608]

I'm using the coroplast until I find an acceptable alternative. the sides are 6 inches, but somehow, my piggies still manage to kick their hay and bedding everywhere, even up over the sides. They are incredibly rambunctious, especially around feeding time. But I think it's time to give the Aspen stuff a try.

 

[mncavylover]

Wow, that's interesting. Rambunctious pigs is right! lol Maybe you could just try for a bit and see how it goes. Good luck!