Pet Habitat South Africa

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02 Oct 2016

Wood Shavings Are Toxic To Small Pets

Posted By : Guest

Wood shavings are commonly used in South Africa as a bedding product for small animals because it’s cheap, absorbent and masks the odour from urine. It also has natural insecticidal properties and prevents the growth of bacteria (natural disinfectant). However, there has been much discussion over the safety of wood shavings among pet owners. Are wood shavings really dangerous for the animals for which they are intended?

When you open a bag of wood shavings you will instantly smell the "aromatic" nature of the litter. That smell is where the problem lies. The smell is from the natural volatile chemicals in the wood called phenols. Thus one of your best detection methods for determining an unknown bag of shavings is your own nose! If you sniff the shavings and they smell like a freshly cut Christmas tree, those shavings are releasing phenols. That bright, crisp smell is the chemical compound evaporating from the wood. Kiln-dried pine shavings are considered safer for your pet since the high heat quickly sucks away any remaining moisture—and the chemicals along with it—but avoid air-dried shavings, which often smell stronger. Shavings from Aspen wood (hardwood) is also considered safe because it does not contain any phenols, but it is only available in USA.

These phenols in the wood that give it insecticidal and bactericidal properties are also irritants to the lungs and upper respiratory air passages. The main irritant in cedar wood is plicatic acid and in pine, the main irritant is abietic acid, sometimes called sylvic acid. These acids can actually destroy cells that line the lungs and trachea.

Many of the studies on wood toxicity have actually been conducted on humans who are exposed to these woods and their by-products in the wood product industry (such as those who work in lumber mills who are exposed to lots of wood dust). A study found that people in the woodworking industry who are exposed to softwood dust have a higher incidence of squamous cell cancers of the respiratory tract. These studies often compare the incidence of disease in workers in the wood product industry compared to other workers or the average population. Obviously, this is a much different type of exposure compared to that of our pets.

Several studies have shown that rodents kept on wood shavings have elevated levels of liver enzymes. The liver is the body's detoxification system, and elevated liver enzymes indicate that the body is working harder to eliminate toxins. In mice these enzymes started rising after only 24 hours exposure to wood shavings and only returned to normal when the mice were away from the shavings for 12 days. If pine shavings are heat-treated or soaked in a solvent, so that some of the phenols are removed, the effects are not as great, but still occur.

One study showed that the death rate of rat pups raised on wood shavings was tremendously high compared to rat pups raised on other bedding. Of the pups raised on wood shavings, 56% were dead by 2 weeks of age, while only 0.01% of the pups raised on the other beddings died. The wood shaving-raised pups also weighed about 23% less than the other pups.

Exposure to toxins is a stress on the body and constant stress can result in depressed or altered immune function. A study done in 1991 found that mice kept on pine wood shavings for only a month had a more highly reactive immune response. Mice kept on pine shavings for 8 months developed abnormally enlarged livers. This same study found that mice housed on pine wood shavings also had a decrease in reproduction rate. When given free choice of beddings, rats and mice reject wood shavings in favour of any other type of bedding.

The most characterized and potentially the most troublesome problem is that liver enzymes are also used to remove drugs. Remember that removing drugs is just as important as their administration; we want the drugs to have the desired effects and then go away when we no longer need them, so knowing exactly how long they will be around is an important part of every drug's action. If liver enzymes are elevated because of constant exposure to wood shavings, then the time a drug will be in the body and have the desired effect is much less than predicted. Some of the drugs affected are xylazine and ketamine, the most popular injectable anaesthesias. Other important drugs include dexamethasone, theophylline and all of the opioid painkillers, such as butorphanol, that are commonly used for rabbits. In rodents, for example, constant exposure to phenol-containing shavings reduced drug effectiveness by greater than 40%. We as pet owners are limited in what safe drugs we can use on rabbits and other small animals, and decreasing their safety further by making them unpredictable should be avoided.

Many people have claimed that their pet rodents have always been kept on wood shavings with no adverse effects. However, animals with elevated liver enzymes do not show any symptoms, and unless these animals received full autopsies at death with no sign of enlarged livers or liver dysfunction, respiratory infection, or altered immune system, how can they claim that the wood shavings did not affect them?

Wood shavings are often defended with the claim that customers are not forced to buy them. However, most pet owners are not aware of the toxins in wood shavings. They assume that if a product is offered for sale, it must be safe. But just because wood shavings have been traditional and popular beddings does not mean they are safe.

Based on the studies that implicate the compounds from wood shavings in allergic and respiratory diseases as well as the impact on liver enzymes, it seems it is best to avoid using wood shavings as bedding or litter for our pets, especially since so many alternatives are readily available.

There are an increasing number of other litter or pellet type products on the market now, which are appropriate for use as bedding or in litter boxes. The best option depends on the type of small animal and what the litter is used for.

Burgess Excel Bedding & Litter which is made from compressed straw pellets and Comfy Pinokio wood pellets might be better used in the litter box of a ferret or rabbit, while the softer types of bedding are good for the smaller pets that need their cage bottom filled. However, even some of the pelleted products can be used as a substrate or bedding for rodents, especially as a cage liner with some softer bedding provided as a top layer.

Carefresh bedding is a good choice for small animals such as hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, mice and rats. It is very soft and absorbent and does a good job of odour control. It is not dusty so it shouldn't irritate yours or your pet's respiratory tracts and its softness also makes it easy on the skin. Carefresh also comes in a variety of colours even though many people prefer white to help monitor cleanliness. The coloured variety of the bedding are apparently safe and colourfast (the colours don't bleed when they get wet). The major drawback to Carefresh is the price. If you have many pets or a large cage it is expensive to use. Another often overlooked alternative is alfalfa pellets (e.g. rabbit food) which are cheap and fairly absorbent. Many options exist and most of them are less of a risk to your pet than wood shavings.

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