So, I have reviewed all sorts of beddings when it comes to guinea pigs and their homes. However, I have never done an in-depth Carefresh guinea pig bedding review, so let’s get into it.
First things first, I am going to give you a brief description of what guinea pig bedding is designed to actually do. In my experience, it serves two purposes. The first is to keep your guinea pig warm and comfortable. Bedding can act as a great insulator, especially in the winter. So make sure you use something that is designed to retain your guinea pig’s body heat.
Secondly, bedding is designed to act as an easy to clean absorbent material. As I am sure you know already, guinea pigs pee and poop… a lot! So the bedding is designed to absorb all of this waste quickly and efficiently (preferably without a smell).
The Types Of CareFresh Bedding
Now, in order to do a Carefresh Guinea Pig Bedding Review, we gotta realize that Carefresh makes a whole load of different types of bedding. So I am just going to review as many different types of their beddings as possible.
Carefresh Guinea Pig Pet Bedding – ‘Custom’ Review
So the first up in this Carefresh Guinea Pig Bedding Review is their ‘Custom Bedding.’ This line is designed to be extra absorbent, extra fluffy, and super dust-free. One of the things you will find in a lot of beddings is the presence of dust. At first glance, this doesn’t sound like a big issue. However, with any living creature, dust inhalation can cause serious respiratory problems and become a big health issue down the road.
Absorbency
This custom bedding is designed to be incredibly absorbent. This actually means a longer life span for the bedding itself. The longer it can absorb pee and poop, the longer you can use the product.
This bedding is said to be 2 times more absorbent than your standard wood shavings. A side note of wood shavings, if you do decide to use this type of material, make sure the wood that the shavings are from is from an untreated source. This means no chemicals in the wood and therefore no chemicals in the bedding.
This custom bedding is designed to be incredibly absorbent. This actually means a longer life span for the bedding itself. The longer it can absorb pee and poop, the longer you can use the product.
This bedding is said to be 2 times more absorbent than your standard wood shavings. A side note of wood shavings, if you do decide to use this type of material, make sure the wood that the shavings are from is from an untreated source. This means no chemicals in the wood and therefore no chemicals in the bedding.
How Much Are You Getting
So, there are a few different types of weight classes you can get a hold of. Personally, I prefer to get the most amount I can buy in one go because the more you buy in one lot, the cheaper it gets. The most you can actually buy however is a 60-liter package. You can also buy the bedding in 23, 30, and 50-liter portions.
Now as far as price goes, I am not too sure, as it changes on a daily basis. However, in my experience, you are getting good value for money when it comes to this product.
The material is also designed to be odor-controlling. Carefresh states that this particular bedding holds its odour-controlling nature for up to 10 days.
Carefresh Guinea Pig Bedding – ‘Shavings Plus’ Pet Bedding Review
So, let’s move on to Carefresh’s shavings in this Carefresh Guinea Pig Bedding Review. Unlike the previous recommendation, the shavings are not designed to be as fluffy and as cushy as their Custom Bedding range. However, to make up for the lack of comfort, the shavings are mixed with 30 percent fluff paper bedding.
Time to move into the nitty-gritty. Unlike the custom guinea pig bedding, this shaving material does not come with all the cool guarantees. There will be a bit more dust (so this is not a dust-free guinea pig bedding material). Carefresh does make the effort to keep this to a minimal amount, however, like all types of beddings (and especially shavings) it’s impossible to completely remove the dust factor.
There are 5 days of odor control guarantee with this bedding, so half that compared to the Custom range. However, in the case of this bedding, these comprise come at a reduction in price. While I am not certain as to the exact numbers, in my experience this bedding is typically about one-fourth the price of the custom range.
What’s In The Shavings?
So, as I said above, the mixture is made up of about 30 percent softener, but what is the remaining 70 percent? Well, I called up the Carefresh company and they gave me the following response:
The shavings comprise an even mixture of Western Hemlock, Devil’s Fir, and Spruce. Your first question is probably, is this okay for my guinea pig? The answer is yes, these materials are totally healthy and risk-free for your little guy. As I mentioned above, anything that uses wood when it comes to your guinea pig should come as untreated. This means the wood hasn’t been sprayed with any harmful chemicals. HOWEVER, the wood is kiln-dried which means you are going to get a lot more dust (as mentioned above).
How Much Are You Getting?
Once again, you can buy this bedding in varying volumes. In the case of this bedding, you buy it in increments all the way up to 70 litres (this may change depending on supply and demand).
My Review
Personally I am not a big fan of this bedding. It is very cheap, yes, but the dust factor is a real turn-off for me. Personally, I have no problem with purchasing the more expensive bedding in exchange for a higher quality product.
Carefresh Guinea Pig Bedding – ‘Complete Bedding’ Review
Next up in my list of Carefresh Guinea Pig Bedding Reviews is their ‘Complete Bedding’. Now, in my experience, people who use Carefresh have been using their products for a long time. However, people tend to be in two camps with this bedding material, they either love it or hate it. One of the big complaints is the lack of consistency in the product itself. One batch may be great, and the next back might be different.
This ‘Complete Bedding’ offer hits a lot of the marks in my opinion, however. This bedding is made using recycled paper. Unfortunately, I am not too sure what type of paper they are using. In saying that, Carefresh does boast that this product is 99 percent dust-free.
Carefresh does state that the bedding is also extra soft and cushioning, which is true in the case of their complete bedding. This extra soft and cushiony factor also ties into is absorbency in that it is able to hold a large amount of liquid (probably guinea pig pee).
How Much Are You Getting?
As with pretty much every one of Carefresh’s offers, you can buy in different increments. Keep in mind, that the more you buy the cheaper it gets, just based on scale. Personally, I prefer the largest option which comes in at a big old 60 liters.
Once again, I can’t give an accurate read on the price, but last I checked, this was right in the mid-range as far as beddings go price-wise.
Carefresh Guinea Pig Bedding Review – ‘Complete Natural Paper Bedding’ Review
Next, up in this long list of Carefresh Guinea Pig Bedding Reviews is their Complete Natural Paper bedding. Personally, this is one of my favorite options in regards to made by Carefresh. Why? Well, I am a sucker for things that are natural and biodegradable.
This bedding is made using materials that are 100 percent compostable and therefore a lot healthier for your guinea in terms of any potential respiratory problems. To top it all off, this is probably the most dust-free bedding material out of everything these guys make.
What’s In The Bedding?
Well, these guys have made this product from entirely renewable naturally occurring fibers. Unfortunately, I am not 100 percent certain as to what the fibers are made of or where they are sourced from, however, I would assume they are similar to Carefresh’s Complete bedding in that they are made from safe and harmless trees (in a sustainable way).
Odor Controlling and Absorbant
So just like all the other bedding materials in this Carefresh Guinea Pig Bedding Review, this bedding is extra absorbent and great at controlling odor. How great? Well, I have typically heard people stating that they change this bedding every 2-3 weeks which is a pretty low turnaround rate for beddings.
How Much Are You Getting?
Unlike the other offers, these guys only sell bedding in 23-liter increments. So yeah, you may have to buy this material more often than some of the others but in my opinion, it is well worth the purchase.
Carefresh Guinea Pig Bedding – ‘Absorption Corp Ultra’ Pet Bedding Review
Next up is Carefesh’s range of products is their Ultra Pet bedding. Now for this particular bedding, Carefresh has put this bedding material through lab testing to ensure both its safety and its ability to absorb liquid and control odor.
So, what did they learn from these lab tests? Well, they got a gauge both on the absorbency and odor control. This has been proven to be three times more absorbent than wood shavings. On top of this, Carefresh has ensured that the odor-controlling nature of this bedding lasts for up to 10 days. To be honest, what I have seen with most of Carefresh’s products is that the odor-controlling nature of bedding tends to last for anywhere from 5 to 10 days.
What’s The Bedding Made Of?
The bedding is made from 100% sustainable and renewable wood fibers. Once again, I am not certain what type of wood fiber. Carefresh, in the case of this product, has made sure that no post-consumer waste paper was added. This is great in that it ensures there are no harmful chemicals in the mix to cause any lung infections or breathing problems.
The material is also entirely compostable. Once you clean the cage out, simply dump the waste out into your composting unit and you’re done
How Much Are You Getting?
Unlike some of my other suggestions, this bedding only comes in 50 liters increments which is a lot. These 50 liters should last you a while depending on how many guinea pigs you have and how big your guinea pig cage is.
CONCLUSION
Well, guys, that does about does it for my Carefresh Guinea Pig Bedding Review. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I really enjoy hearing from you guys
Now if you are interested in any other articles that focus on bedding for guinea pigs, check out any of the links below: