>Excuse me but this is ridiculous, hay and straw are very well bedding! Plus
>it's the most natural enrichment you can give.
It is not when humans have a lot of allergy problems to grass pollen.
And I used to live on a farm and put up hay to feed cattle and horses over
a six to eight month period every year.
The cuts and pokes are very real. For those of us that are citified, and
are keeping our gerbils in our bedrooms or apartments, the less
potential problems the better.
We have people on this forum who are having problems with CareFresh
for bedding, with their gerbils having allergies to dust in the bedding.
I suggest that keep the hay and straw on the farm, as a gerbil in the
wild is a far cry from the gerbil in our keeping.
>Gerbils may be pets but they happen to be animals that also live in the
>wild, they use grass and other stuff as bedding then, could someone go give
>them some paper! I always use hay (grass or alfafa) and straw, never any
>problems. My breedingpair has raised 3 litters and the 4th was born last
>week. The dust is no problem, gerbils also live in the desert.....
>You can also give them branches with leaves, they like that a lot.
I shudder to think of the stuff that is sprayed on trees, and who knows
what those branches and leaves have on them...or what bugs, molds,
pollens, and other things are in them.
If you want to give your gerbils such things, that is your choice.
I would much rather go off and get something that's a lot easier to
deal with in enclosed environments that most people must live in
now, and also because more people have allergies.
[My hubby has problems with most bedding materials and has
steadily worsening hay fever and allergies; so it is a very real
concern on having hypo-allergenic bedding for my animals. Plus
I have developed a real nasty allergy to some things in my later
years....]
I still strongly suggest that people skip the hay and straw and use
other bedding materials for their gerbils.
>
>>In a message dated 1/18/01 12:49:27 PM Eastern Standard Time,
>>[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
>>
>><< It has lots of dust and allergens...it can often be moldy or musty.
>> It can break off and have sharp edges and points. (papercuts and
>> needle pricks can have nothing on it). Bugs and other things can
>> be in it.
>>
>> Humans often have allergies to the dust and pollen mixed in with it.
>>
>> I suggest you use hay and straw for horses and cattle, and use
>> other things for gerbil bedding.
>>
>> Deb
>> Rebel's Rodent Ranch >>
>>
>> Actually....PLEASE DONT use the hay!! LoL
>>
>>DRL
>>
>
