WHY NOT CEDAR SHAVINGS?
For years, cedar shavings have been used as bedding for many species of small mammals including ferrets. Over the last ten years, increasing evidence is cropping up that this may not be a good choice. Cedar shavings, as well as other aromatic soft woods, such as white and yellow pines, release volatile hydrocarbons which affect those animals living in them. Plicatic acid, a volatile hydrocarbon, results in asthma in humans and rabbits. Other hydrocarbons result in changes in the liver, which may impair its ability to detoxify certain drugs, including various anesthetic agents. Cedar shavings have also been incriminated in increased mortality in rat pups, and various scientists over the years have alluded to possible carcinogenicity. In chicken litter, cedar shavings harbored more bacteria than other types of litter. On the more practical side, a 1986 article in Lab Animal evaluated many of the common bedding materials, also including hardwood chips, sawdust, paper chips, newspaper, gro
