----- Original Message ----- From: "Sharon Havens" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, December 19, 2001 4:35 AM Subject: Pine?
> I was sort of following the discussion on allergies, and someone > mentioned that pine can cause allergies. I was aware that cedar causes > allergies, but not pine. I have had my gerbils for a little over 3 weeks > now and have had them on pine for a little over 2. They seem to be fine > so far, but I was a little worried after hearing it causes respiratory > problems. Think it'll be ok? > The word pine can be used as a catch-all for lots of different conifers. For example, here in the UK, pine invariably means spruce, and spruce does not usually cause allergies. However, some of the true pines can indeed do so. However, cedar is much worse than any pine for causing allergies. Personally, I prefer a paper-based product. I use biocatalet (again a UK product) simply because it causes less dust and my gerbils are all in my living room. So it's really for my benefit, not the gerbils' However, paper-based products do cost at least twice as much as wood shavings. if your gerbils are fine on pine, then i would continue to use it. Cheers Sue > -Sharon >
