corn cob

[wolfsoul]

Has anyone here tried corn cob bedding? I heard that it molded quickly, which discruntles me, but I'm out of things to choose The petshops near me don't supply very much unfortunatly..I wanted to try carefresh or mountain fresh but they don't carry those

Any opinions? I'd like to know if anyone has had any trouble with corn cob, thanks.

[Jessica12345]

this isnt much help but....i dont beleive ive even heard of it lol... I would suggest carefresh but you said they dont carry it.

[Desert Arabian]

I do use corn cob bedding. I do not use it as my main bedding though, I use it in the ferret "potty", which it their wrestling box.

Here is a picture of what I am talking about. This is where I put the corn cob bedding:

This is the corn cob bedding I use:
The Kay-Kob was only $1.49!

I like it a lot is aborbs a lot of urine and odors.

[wolfsoul]

I bought that Kaytee cob today, and it cost me two something, but I guess that's cuz I'm in Canada lol. It was pretty cheap compared to theother petshop's prices, they wanted six bucks!

[shellonabeach]

I've never used the stuff but have been told by people who have (for hamsters) that it moulds very quickly and is a hotspot for growing the deadly aspergillus fungus.

I have also heard that if ingested it can swell causing an internal blockage.

Personally for my hamsters I use carefresh and for the gerbils either shredded cheap toilet paper or paper horse bedding which is made out of toilet paper like stuff.

Are we talking about rats I guess? If so my friends use yesterdays news paper cat litter.

[wolfsoul]

Eep! Are you sure that's what it does?! I hope not, I have to use this stuff up! Grrr I shouldn't have bought it before I knew....
Does anyone know if this is legitamate?

I tried yesterdays news, and personally, I hate the stuff. It's hard, smells bad, and Frisco is allergic to it. So I won't be using that again.

[shellonabeach]

If YLL uses it for her rats then I would trust that it is ok. Rats are larger than hamsters so maybe ingestion is less of a problem.

As for the moulding, that can be solved by keeping the cage extra clean.

[wolfsoul]

It doesn't say anything about molding on the back, but I have heard that it is pretty bad for molding...Itdoes say on the back that it adversely reverses the effects of contaminates though

I have one problem though; Icarus is eating it! He seems to think that it's a treat! And I know that corn is bad for rats, so what do you think?

[Aspen and Misty]

We use it in Julians Litter boxes. We have not had it mold and it sits in our bathroom for about a month and then again in teh litter box for about 3 days or so.


Ash

[Desert Arabian]

I have never had a molding problem, and the longest I've ever kept in the cage was for about 5 days or so (with some poopy spot cleaning). My rats have nibbled on it once or twice, and as you can see they are all alive and well.

[Desert Arabian]

This is what it says about the product (Kay-Kob) on the back of the bag:

"KAYTEE Kay-Kob is cleaner, brighter, and more aborbant than other cob bedding availiale today. From the start, the corn cobs used are stored indoors, which sets KAYTEE Kay-Kob apart from the others. Other cob beddings are usually left outside exposed to rain, snow, dust and other contaminants. Moisture and dust can produce bacteria, discoloration, and reduce the aborbancy in the cob bedding. Storing indoors insures Kay-Kob meets the industry's highest standards of quality and is the healthiest cob bedding for your pet."

This is one of the many reasons why I love Kaytee. I think they have the best products on the market, well, besides Super Pet.

[CathyBogart]

You do mean aside from their food products right YLL?????

[wolfsoul]

But remember what luckies4me said about their yogurt drops? They contain ethoxyquine

[Desert Arabian]

No, I like their food products and so do the rats.

Yea, yea, yea, I know the "deadly" Ethoxiquin is found in KAYTEE food, but it is like 40th in the list of ingredients (meaning their is hardly any in there). My rats have never gotten sick/ill off of it, and they eat it like little piggys. In fact, it helped Peanut regain a lot of weight she lost when she got a serious case of pneumonia.

They eat the KAYTEE Fiesta Rat & Mouse, honey and berry sticks, chew biscuits, strawberry yogurt drops, tropical mix yogurt drops, and for extra bedding I use timothy hay, kay-kob, and aspen. All made by Kaytee.

[CathyBogart]

You also know then that seed mixes are very much recommended against when looking at proper rat nutrition. Yes it would be a complete diet IF they ate it all, but any animal will pick out the tasty stuff and leave the nutritious stuff behind. Lab blocks are the best store-bought diet for rats.

The problem with Ethoxyquin is not necessarily that it makes rats SICK, but that later in life in can cause them to develop tumars. So perhaps you just have yet to see the effects of this diet on your animals. It is cumulative, so the fact that there is very little in the food makes no difference.

I know many people who insist that they have used Pine or Cedar as bedding for years with no problems, but that doesn't make it okay IMO.