KayteeAspen Small Pet Bedding, 226.5 Liters

Wow! That is my first word of this review and my first thought when it arrived. Huge amount of bedding and such a low cost too! I will try and break it down for the rest of my review below -Packaging and ArrivalThis bedding (8.0 cubic inches) came in a pretty big box and was wrapped with a thick plastic. There was a hole about an inch in diameter, but the bedding did not fall out; however, I will say that since it was in a box, it wouldn't have been a big deal if a little had fallen out. So, A+ for packaging!TextureThe texture of this bedding is very fine, although there were some bigger chunks - no biggie, I just picked them out as they weren't hard to find. There may be sharp pieces, but seriously this is not an issue as most wood-based beddings will have this. Plus, I was able to grab a handful and squeeze without slicing my hand, so yes - nicely shaved.OdorThis bedding has virtually no odor, just a slight wood scent but nothing major. It actually smells nicer than those scented beddings! As far as odor control for the animal, I cannot say this yet since I just received and added it to the hamster tank today - but I will update after the first cleaning!Hamster Approval?My Winter White dwarf hamster went absolutely NUTS when I placed her back inside. She started digging like crazy through every inch of that tank and she immediately started making her sleeping area. The fact that this bedding is wood shavings and not a paper-based bedding does not seem to matter. I do add a little Kaytee Clean and Cozy to the mix though, to give her extra softness for her to sleep in.Overall, this bedding so far has exceeded my expectations! I usually get Carefresh for the main areas of the tank and for $50 or more, you get 1/4 of the amount of bedding compared to this Kaytee Aspen bedding. Just amazing.In conclusion, if you are thinking of getting a safe, wood-based alternative - I would recommend this bedding because it truly is an excellent amount for such a small price!

Pros:*Kiln dried.*Guinea pigs tolerated it well.*Easier than paper bedding to spread and clean up.*lasts forever (5 months for us)Cons:*hard to store bc it's so giant*bag it's packed in is heavy duty but still punctured easy.*shavings will be on your floor if you have messy animals or a kid who trashes the animals out a lot.I bought this package in March of 2018 it's lasted till August 1st and I have one more cage changing left. So I change my cage every week. And my cage is the size of a 2 x 3 C&C cage x 2. Each C&C Square is 14 in by 14 in so you can do the math if you need to.I love this bedding because it is much more affordable than the recycled paper bedding. It has a nice smell that's not too strong it does not irritate the guinea pigs. It doesn't have baking soda like the paper bedding so it doesn't have an "odor shield". My guinea pigs like it better than the paper bedding because I can put the pine down and put various amounts of shredded paper on top of that and they can play in the shredded paper or stomp it down so they can lay down in an area. It's been much more economical for my family we have two guinea pigs in two separate cages so it takes a lots of bedding to keep them happy. And yes this is kiln-dried Pine so that it has less of the pine odor than the equine shavings.

For my snake I use recycled paper, the soft fluffy kind.For my feeder mice I started doing the same, but noticed it only took 3 days before the smell would become an issue. Week after week this would happen no matter how well I cleaned the mouse cages. I added computer fans to increase air flow, still the smell would be rancid by time a week would pass.Since switching back to wood shavings, and waiting three weeks, there has been no smell issues. I am going to clean the cages today, but not because a horrible smell... just because I like my mice to remain healthy and clean for my snakes meal. I house approximately 20 mice, and that is a lot to deal with. These wood shavings have saved me money and time. I am very pleased with this product. But I do not recommend this for snakes. Certain woods are not good for snakes. For rodents, it's a cheap and effective medium.

I really want it for my hamster Beauty