[Alan_Calderwood]

I was just wondering what you all used as a floor covering for your mice. as i am in the process of deciding my self what i am going to use

so I thought id start a poll to see what you all used and get you to rate in five categories that I think are most important rate 1-5 (1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest) and give a brief summary of why you scored what you did

I've used shaving in the past so i will go for that
Longevity (over a week): 2/5
Odour control: 1/5
Absorbency: 4/5
Price: 5/5
Availability: 5/5

summary
although i have scored shaving high in most areas the two that it fails in i think are the most important and are linked the bedding becomes smelly very quickly and i think smells more than other types of bedding I've used with other animals because of this it needs changing more often

 

[Mari]

I voted wood shavings, which is what I primarily use. However, I mix aspen shavings with Yesterday's News paper-based cat litter so I can't really give an accurate rating of the shavings. The Yesterday's News tends to make up for the shortcomings of the aspen (which I agree with Allen tends to be absorbancy and odor). Together, they make a very nice bedding that I would rate a 5 across the board, with the exception of cost, which would probably be a 1 or 2, as it's quite a costly combination, but works great!

 

[Alan_Calderwood]

aspen is more like a fine version of easiest rather than traditional wood shavings

ive used it b4 in a few shops ive worked in for reptiles

 

[Rowangate]

I use woodshavings, mainly because I also have rats and that is what I keep them on, although I have hay for bedding material for the mice but use shredded paper for the rats. I have over the years tried many different types of bedding but keep oming back to shavings as I find it works out cheaper, is easy to work with and readily available.

 

[Peteyandthegang]

Personally I find the odour control better with shavings, but we've begun using Aubiose after hearing about the health concerns and I rather like this too but for different reasons. It doesn't become smelly more quickly but it has a slighly more unpleasant smell when in need of a clean I've found (lasts over a week with no smell though so it's still great) But I love just having the great big bale of it, I like how it's easy to get out of the packet and doesnt do that annoying clumping into balls thing, I prefer the look of it and the mice love it. It does seem far less dusty, the shavings used to make me sneeze even when "dust extracted". And I'm guessing it works out cheaper at £8 for the giant bale rather than £3 or so for a small bag of shavings every time. It was hard to find a bale of it though!

Megasorb I think is terribly overpriced and a bit rubbish. I'd choose shavings over that
We were advised against easibed and I have to say after getting hold of some it was really sharp and didn't seem half as good quality as Aubiose

 

[WillowDragon]

I voted for shavings, its what i have always used for my rodents, and i don't think they smell that bad hehee

Willow xx

 

[Cait]

My take on...

AUBIOSE
Longevity (over a week): 5/5
Odour control: 4/5
Absorbency: 5/5
Price: 4/5
Availability: 4/5

Love it, great stuff though a little more expensive than the alternatives, however worth it IMHO. As for the odour control I have sort of had to guess a bit on both beddings because I have a lot of mice all in one place and the smell doesn't bother me anyway! Aubiose isn't dusty - great for my asthma/hayfever.

EASIBED
Longevity (over a week): 2/5
Odour control: 2/5
Absorbency: 1/5
Price: 4/5
Availability: 5/5

Prone to going mouldy in under a week with certain single bucks who must produce more urine, also gets damp quite easily and does not keep moisture away from the surface. Coarser than Aubiose and not as comfortable to handle either, however not dusty.

 

[Maplewood Stud]

Auboise

Stats:

Longevity (over a week): 4/5
Odour control: 4/5
Absorbency: 5/5
Price: 5/5
Availability: 5/5

Summary:

Auboise is a great bedding to use as it reduces odours by soaking up wee in prone areas allowing for small parts of the bedding to be changed at a time therefore reducing waste. It also comes in a very cost effective £8 - £9 bale that lasts forever so beats all other beddings on price.

Bio-Catolet

Summary:

Another bedding I have used in the past in bio-catolet recyled paper cat litter pellets, (as used in the rodent tanks in places such as pets at home) I found this to be a great bedding for absorbing wee and reducing smell etc but unfortunetly it is quite expensive at £4 or so pounds for a small bag and id need about 20 of them every clean out so its just not worth the money.

Stats:

Longevity (over a week): 5/5
Odour control: 5/5
Absorbency: 5/5
Price: 2/5
Availability: 3/5

edited for terrible spelling

 

[SarahY]

Wood shavings for me, I've tried just about everything else and always end up coming back to them...

I really can't rate longevity, odour control and absorbancy because on the advice of Dave Safe I clean out 2-3 times a week as it helps keep the mice fit (you know how they go mad after they've been cleaned out) but - my mouse room always smells of woodshavings and hay and never ever smells of wee.
Price: 5/5
Availability: 5/5

Sarah xxx

 

[Erica08]

I personally use sredded paper it's cheap, absorbant, for the most part its safe and the mice like to play in it and hide under it. I'm in school as a Vet tech and for the mice and rats they use newspaper pellets which work nice.

 

[Myth]

I use wood shavings - as I buy in big bale for my syrians anyhow.
Also tried them on 'back to nature' paper type bedding mixed with wood-based cat litter ( what my Longhaired male Syrian is on)
Tried cardboard bedding but found it smelly faster not too good at absorbing and keeping down 'boy' smell- wasn't too bad ontop of a layer of shavings.

I find shavings best at the moment for the meeces, plus a generous amount of shredded newspaper.

 

[moustress]

I won't use paper because of the risk of the very toxic mold than can grow in it. I tried corn cob bedding, but it smells awful if it gets the least bit wet, and isn't very absorbent. I settled on Kaytee Aspen bedding (over other brands of aspen shavings) because of its consistent high quality.

Of course, I would NEVER use pine or cedar bedding. The fumes from those even give me a headache.

 

[DomLangowski]

We use aubiose and it gets top marks from me, I wouldn't use anything else since finding this stuff.

AUBIOSE
Longevity (over a week): 5/5
Odour control: 5/5
Absorbency: 5/5
Price: 5/5
Availability: 5/5

WOOD SHAVINGS
Longevity (over a week): 3/5
Odour control: 2/5
Absorbency: 3/5
Price: 5/5
Availability: 5/5

 

[moustress]

What is Aubiose made out of? (I could just Google for it....) I did and I see now, it sounds interesting. I wonder if anthing like this is available in the US? (Runs to Google again...) Yes, under the brand name Lifemate. I'm not sure it would work with cats, but I'm gonna check it out and see if it would more cost effective then the Kaytee Aspen Shavings, which I really like.

Part of what I like about the aspen is the nice light coloring, which shows any kind of shmutz (blood, etc.). the life mate looks like it might be a nice light color, and it may break down better in my composter. I started composting my aspen litter last summer, and it breaks down, but it takes a few months in the composter, and then another month in the finishing pit. When it's done,it makes a very good mulch/fertilizer. We started doing more to reduce our volume of garbage when it beamse apparent that the alternative was paying another $11.00 a month to have an extra small dumpster. Just recycling gallon jugs from spring water and milk made a really big difference. I usually have about three 30 gallon bags of used litter from the mousery each week. (Yes; when you have a big mousery it's ALWAYS time to change litter in some tanks.)

It could be worse; about half of my mice have learned to use just one corner for peeing in, and scooping out that corner reduces the odor problem greatly. Now, if I could get them to poo in the same corner too...moustress slinks off to ponder the issue in depth...)

 

[SarahC]

we have to go to the tip every week.It takes a full day to clean out all the mice.

 

[moustress]

Ugh. the thought of cleaning all my tanks in one day or night, or even a day and a night...*faints*

 

[icedmice]

Oh wow ...I've never seen aubiose. I just googled it.

For the moment I use breeders choice cat litter (a recycled paper cat litter) with lucerne chaff.
I also give them a huge handfull of pasture hay for nest building.
I'll be honest with you, for the price your paying for breeders choice it's rubbish!

I've just bought a big bag of vaccumed wood shavings to give that a try. I've been turned off it for a while because my original pet mice got eye infections from the dust. This one is dust free.

I don't know if we have aubiose in Australia.

 

[MarlaAlVutha]

I voted other because I use a mix of aspen shavings and shredded paper. The paper helps extend my shavings and most of them sort out every piece and use it for nesting.

Brenn

 

[moustress]

Aspen shavings are what I use; it's very absorbent, I like the light color, and it smells fresh and nice, unlike pine or cedar, which makes even my big human nose and eyes water a bit. It's pretty absorbent, and the meeces can shred it into excelsior that is soft and fluffy. I know my mice like it, because whenever I put in fresh stuff, at least one in a group tank will sit and nibble on it a bit. Other types of bedding each seems to have one problem or another; mold on paper, fermentation when damp with corncob (and it's CORN=carcinogenic for meeces), wheat hulls, I'd worry about fermentation again. No cedar or pine for me; other kinds seem way too expensive. Which leaves aspen the clear winner.

 

[julieszoo]

Aubiose is made from hemp, it is excellent for absorbancy and odour control.