# Starting Out



## Kallan (Aug 16, 2009)

Hi guys 

Today I went and bought a gerbilarium for my mousies:










Question is, what substrate would you recommend for the base? I've seen photos of people using horse bedding and stuff - is that preferable to shavings?

Got lots of cardboard tubes and going to have fun buying toys for said mousies!

Thankyou for your feedback 

K


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## Peteyandthegang (Jan 20, 2009)

Hiya,

Yes most people here use the horse bedding I think as it can be bought in bulk quite cheaply and wood shavings-even dust extracted-are very dusty. Mice have fragile respiratory systems, so it is preferable not to use them (we use em once in a while though and it doesn't hurt. Before discovering this I did have pet mice live years very healthily on shavings-but I much prefer the horse bed anyway and it's not worth the risk for them long term-it even makes me sneeze)

The bedding we use is Aubiose. It took us forever to find some though! It's great quality and was £8 for a HUGE bale (like a good few months worth) There's also Easibed and a few others with similar names...ecobed or something. Most are hemp based and can be found in farm and equine supplies shops. You can get some alternative beddings in pet shops like Megazorb that are like balls of paper, or bits of card, but I find these very overpriced and they stink up within a day

I like the gerbilarium by the way  bet theyll have loads of fun


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## julieszoo (May 27, 2009)

I use aubiose for my rats, mice, and hamsters, and find it to have excellent odour control. It does come in huge bales so you may find you don't really want to buy as much. Aspen is also excellent, although more expensive, but can be bought in smaller bales (try reptile specialists as its used as a substrate for those). Back to nature and biocatolet are also good and quite soft, yesterdays news is probably a little too hard for a whole cage covering, although it has probably the best odour control of any bedding I can think of. The bar spacing on that gerbilarium looks ideal for mice too - is it a savic one by any chance? The bottle looks a familiar colour


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## WillowDragon (Jan 7, 2009)

Keep an eye on the mice when they first go in... those bars may be a little big if you get young ones. If they can fit thier head through, then they can get out 

Willow xx


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## Kallan (Aug 16, 2009)

It's a PetsAtHome gerbilarium, I measured the gaps and they're 8mm - can't get my pinky finger right through so hopefully if I get adults they won't get out! 

Thanks everyone for their comments so far


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## Aly-Lou (Nov 14, 2008)

I started out with wood shavings, I got told it is mainly the pine you have to watch out for. But I can't find the wood type on any of the bags in my local area so I bought two big big bags of Yesterday's News, which is cat litter. It is really really expensive and not very good in my opinion, it doesn't absorb well enough, maybe for a big old moggy it does but not my meeces. I now use newspaper to line the bottom and put Aubiose on top, with a prepackaged white paper bedding mix. That has just finished so I think I might move onto hay. They love spending time ripping up the newspaper.

If I were you I would put a whole layer of boxes and tubes on the bottom and then do another layer straight on top so they have lots of compartments to burrow into. It might be hard to get them out on demand that way, but I know for sure they love it. I love using cling film tubes for my mice, it's slightly smaller than toilet rolls. Only issue is that we don't wrap enough stuff in cling film, so I now purposely buy the smaller rolls and wrap everything before it goes in the microwave, sad what you do for your mice. HAHA :lol:


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## Alan_Calderwood (Jul 17, 2009)

Kallan said:


> Question is, what substrate would you recommend for the base? I've seen photos of people using horse bedding and stuff - is that preferable to shavings?





Peteyandthegang said:


> The bedding we use is Aubiose. It took us forever to find some though! It's great quality and was £8 for a HUGE bale (like a good few months worth) There's also Easibed and a few others with similar names...ecobed or something. Most are hemp based and can be found in farm and equine supplies shops. You can get some alternative beddings in pet shops like Megazorb that are like balls of paper, or bits of card, but I find these very overpriced and they stink up within a day


the only thing is that is is very difficult to get Aubiose n Lanarkshire 
(some one PLEASE correct if if im wrong as i would love to be able to use it) 
ive tried for ages with no success. you can get it delivered from a few companies but the carriage costs almost as much as the bale its self

ive always just used plane normal shavings with out any health problems from the pine but after a couple of day is looks manky and STINKS and because its quite light it flys every where with the slightest movement

im sure ive seen a pic on here of someone using esibed just wondering how you rate this 
here's another chip type bedding I use for my birds and find it fantastic for that as is the breeding season the bird cant build nests with is and only with the material i use that has been treated for parasites wonder if any of you use this

lillico gold chip


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## Kallan (Aug 16, 2009)

Howdy 

I ordered some Aubiose from GJW Titmuss, it was £8.85 and delivery was £7 - arrived within 2-3 days after orderng on a weekend. 20kg - will last me ages!!


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

its me that uses easi bed and I rate it very highly.Cait doesn't get on with it.Aubiose is slightly superior,softer and finer.That slight superiority is reflected in the price.I use 3 of these products depending on which outlet Im at.Snowflake,easi bed or aubiose.I also used one which was an alternative when wood supplies plummeted as the bottom dropped out of the building trade.It was made of fine chopped straw.I can't remember what it was called and once aubiose and easi bed were available again my local outlet didn't stock it.I liked that product very much.If you want to try aubiose I can bring a bale to Preston,it's about nine quid.


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

how much is the golden chip and what size does it come in.I like trying new stuff.


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

Ive just remembered you don't drive Alan :roll:


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

You can order Aubiose (and Ecobed, Megazorb, Easibed, Paper Down, etc etc) online here:

http://www.gjwtitmuss.co.uk/HORSEBEDDING/cid358/HORSEBEDDING.asp

Sarah xxx


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## Alan_Calderwood (Jul 17, 2009)

Kallan said:


> Howdy
> 
> I ordered some Aubiose from GJW Titmuss, it was £8.85 and delivery was £7 - arrived within 2-3 days after orderng on a weekend. 20kg - will last me ages!!





SarahY said:


> You can order Aubiose (and Ecobed, Megazorb, Easibed, Paper Down, etc etc) online here:
> 
> http://www.gjwtitmuss.co.uk/HORSEBEDDING/cid358/HORSEBEDDING.asp
> 
> Sarah xxx


I know im being a bit mean but i don't like paying £15 for something i i am going to have to chuck in the bin every week :lol: :lol:



SarahC said:


> Ive just remembered you don't drive Alan :roll:


dont fancy howfing a bag of aubiose back up the road on the bus :lol: :lol: :lol: thanks anyway 



SarahC said:


> how much is the golden chip and what size does it come in.I like trying new stuff.


i get the gold chip from my fife canary club and its £9 a bag thats with the club adding a £1 and i think they buy it direct from lillico who make it

Heres a link to there country shops might be one near you 
Lilico

and heres a link to a guy selling a small amount on ebay if you want to give it a try 
Gold Chip on ebay


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## Mari (Jul 21, 2009)

Unfortunately, we don't have Aubiose or anything over here, that I'm aware of or that I can find. Wish we did, though, as I spend a lot more on bedding than you all do! I've found what works the best for me is a thin layer of Yesterday's News on the bottom, and then I cover it with a thicker layer of Aspen shavings. This mix seems to work great as far as absorbancy and odor control, as well as letting the mice burrow around, etc. Though the Yesterday's News is about $16.00US for 20 pounds (which isn't that much as they're heavy pellets) and the Aspen shavings I buy in the big bulk bag at about $20.00US (can't remember right off hand how many cubic feet).

Though this combination works _great_, it would really be nice to find something cheaper as I go through so much! It gets quite expensive! I probably spend $40.00US-$60.00US a *month* on bedding alone! Don't even get me started on food! :roll: lol


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

it seems likely that an equivelent stable floor covering would be available.What are horses over there kept on?


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## Mari (Jul 21, 2009)

Most of the people I know that have horses (and that's actually a fair few) all keep them on straw, which I don't really favor for mice...


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

Aspen shavings are what I settled on after trying a number of other types. Paper bedding can be contaminated with mold, or develop mold if it gets damp. Of course, pine and cedar are right out, as the fumes from those types are very irritating and can cause eye, ear, skin, and respiratory problems. Corn cob bedding smells really weird when it gets damp. I am really picky, and only use Kaytee Aspen Bedding. Other brands have had odd odors or been in pieces that are awkward to clean up as they are too big to vacuum. I like Kaytee also because it's a nice light color that shows dirt and moisture, etc., very clearly.


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