Reviews of Kaytee Aspen Bedding for Pets

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List Price: $10.29
Sale Price: $8.49
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This is a great price for such a large package of aspen bedding; however, the first time it was sent to me was in the plain brown wrapper (pictured) and it had multiple tears when it arrived. I may be pickier than most, but I don't like using/paying for a product that has spilled some of its contents while in transit. Amazon did make it right by resending the package boxed. The brown wrapper is not strong enough and the shredded material will make a mess if not properly contained.

I have two guinea pigs in a large cage which I change every three days to keep it sanitary and comfortable. Buying smaller packages of aspen bedding is costly and time consuming. I've tried other options such as the paper and pellet variety, but frankly, they don't last much longer, control odor or really absorb any better and they cost more to use. If you are a small pet owner, you should be aware that you should not use regular pine shaving or pellets (or cedar for that matter) even though they are less expensive; the odor they emit is harmful to a small animal's respiratory system.

In addition to the aspen bedding, I use two liners on the bottom of the cage, which I also buy in bulk. I would utilize these no matter what bedding I purchased. I have used both human grade chucks and the wee-wee pads for dogs; the former is less expensive. They provide an absorbent layer that draws the urine from the bedding as well as keeping it from seeping/pooling into the bottom of the cage; it makes clean up much easier. This system for small pet-cage maintenance took some trial and error to arrive at; it has worked well for me.

Note: The texture here is coarse, so this bedding would likely not be my pick for a smaller animal, such as a hamster. There are smoother shavings available in smaller packages; in my experience they are a lot more expensive.) My guinea pigs seem to be fine with this; rough edges don't appear to be an issue as the shavings are quickly flattened. As a breed, to the best of my knowledge, guinea pigs aren't litter box trainable and tend to soil indiscriminately, so it doesn't make sense to me to spend more on a finer grade of shaving (or fluffy bedding) at this point. The compromise here is that the bedding may not be as soft as others, but it is economical enough to change frequently (plus there is no dust or fumes,) which is more hygienic and healthier in the long run.

Update on 07/24/2012 from 09/27/11:

My enthusiasm has waned...

The price has jumped up considerably (approximately eight dollars) since my initial review and there has been another issue. The last two bags I purchased of this item had quite a few large chunks throughout; something akin to landscape bark. This time, I purchased aspen bedding from Foster's & Smith-their own brand-when it went on sale. While not less expensive, it is a softer, finer shred and of better absorbency & quality. Since this is no longer the bargin it once was, I think it best to look elsewhere.

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These come delivered in a giant thick paper bag and are fairly well compressed. When you start pulling the shavings out, they will fluff up and definitely fill a lot more space than the package they are shipped in. I have no complaints about these and they cost a fraction of what you would pay at pet stores or repeatedly buying smaller quantities. My only gripe is Amazon raised the price more than 60% after the first time I bought this... I should have bought more with my first order! The newer price is still reasonably competitive, but may inspire me to double check other options before I purchase again.

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Living on Maui, I am used to the fact that many times I am forced to pay higher prices for certain retail items purchased locally. One good example of this is pet supplies for our Holland Lop rabbit; at the local pet store on the island, I was shelling out $14.99 for the 3200 cubic inch package of Kaytee Aspen Bedding. Several months ago, I realized that I could purchase this same product on amazon.com for $9.43 (and, since I am a member of the Amazon Prime program, there was no additional charge for shipping & handling).

Just the other day I came across the 8.0 cubic foot package of Kaytee Aspen Bedding on amazon.com for $21.99 this is a huge savings for me over anything I could find locally, and I am thrilled to be able to save so much on this product! In addition, due to the large size & weight of the product, not only is shipping free, but amazon.com sends it out to me by UPS, so I get it within 2 days.

My only complaint (and this is why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5) is that the bedding was not sealed in any kind of plastic wrapping, but simply in brown packaging paper. It's not as secure as the plastic wrapping might be, and as you can see from the photo I uploaded, there is a small rip in the package....and the bedding is starting to make a mess everywhere. I would recommend plastic packaging for this type of product in the future.

UPDATE as of September 2012: I just re-ordered this product, and was very pleased that this time it was wrapped very securely in thick plastic packaging (see photo). The price did increase by a substantial percentage, but for my situation (living in Maui), even this cost including with it the free shipping through Amazon Prime membership still beats anything else I could either purchase locally or order from the mainland.

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I was a little apprehensive about having this delivered because I've seen complaints about the packaging, but it arrived inside a box and inside the package itself is plastic. So if you're worried about it getting wet/torn, it doesn't look like it should happen. The bedding is very clean, almost no dust and no smell. My guinea pigs are fine with it. Someone said the pieces are to large, but in the package I got they were regular sized shaving pieces (it may vary from one package to next, I don't know about that). I put newspaper and absorbent pads underneath to protect the cage floor because it does get moved with active animals running on it. Obviously it's a natural product, so it doesn't have any odor masking qualities, but refreshing it mid-week and a full change once a week has worked for me very well so far.

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I'm not an aspen bedding expert. This is only the second bag I've purchased. I thought these were more like shavings. They have the texture of chips with shredded sharp edges. If I had to live and sleep on this stuff I'd be full of wood slivers. The last brand I bought was Harlan Sani-chips which was much more to my liking. They were wood shavings, softer w/o the sharp splintered edges. Looks like Harlan was just bought out so I hope the new owners are putting out the same product because I'm ordering a bag. I'm not buying another bag of Kaytee.

11-28-11

I'm going to suck it up and say that my opinion of the Kaytee litter has improved. The critters (dwarf hamsters) love to burrow into it and make nests out of it which they can't do w/ the Sani-Chips. So in the future I'll buy some of both since the critters give them both a thumbs up for different reasons.