Carefresh

[ShutUpAndSmile]

I used it for a day as litter for my little girl Opal. It was really dusty, it stuck to everything and just a pain to work with. Plus not only that Opal likes to eat paper so she chewed on it which I didn't like at all.
Overall
Pros:
Don't have to wash it
Allows for digging

Cons:
Expensive
DUSTY (Which can lead to breathing issues)
Apparently it tastes good
Not appeling to the eye.
Hard to spot clean with
Gets everywhere

[Lilysmommy]

Another issue with Carefresh is that it will dry the hedgie's skin out a lot. I've read comments from people that have had a hedgehog with a very dry face or lots of dry skin issues, and they were using Carefresh. However, in my opinion (though I haven't used it with Lily, I do work at a pet store where we use it for all of our mammals) it'd be the best store-bought option for bedding if liners aren't used. Mostly because I haven't heard of any risk of carrying mites, which all wood beddings carry a risk of.

[Nancy]

I've used it with rescues, both the green and the white. It is very dusty and makes a mess when picking hedgie out of the cage. It gets in food and water dishes and can cause impaction if hedgie eats it.

PROS - IMO, none, but can go longer without cleaning the cage than with liners

CONS
- messy
- expensive
- can cause impaction
- the green hides any off coloured urine or feces
- dries out feces making it difficult to find and tell if hedgie's poop is normal
- because it hides urine and feces, often people won't clean the cage as often as it should be
- dries out their skin and gets stuck in their quills

[Christemo]

It is extraordinarily dusty, to the point of setting off my asthma. I couldn't imagine what it could do to a hedgie's lungs.

[kaZombie]

I was using fresh n' comfy (which is basically the same thing) in Zephyr's little box. It really light so I found he easily kicked it out/ it dragged with him and brought it all over his cage. I switched the recyled newpaper pellets in his box and its SO much better, and less of a mess. Cheaper too.

[Lilysmommy]

Originally Posted by Christemo

It is extraordinarily dusty, to the point of setting off my asthma. I couldn't imagine what it could do to a hedgie's lungs.

Yeah, it drives me nuts when I'm cleaning cages at work, and adding new bedding. I always end up sneezing throughout the process, from all the dust. ><

[Christemo]

When people think that they switch from wood to Carefresh, the risk of mites disappears. However, this is not the case.
If you think about it, the wood shavings, somewhere along the way to the store, are stored next to the Carefresh. The mites (and whatever other little bugs are living in the plant, warehouse, store, etc) can find their way into the packaging.
The members on the hamster forums I used to frequent would store their Carefresh in the freezer for a week, to try to kill whatever is in there, but this isn't 100% guaranteed to work.
Just a little heads up about it.

[Tina.]

Is it really that bad? I just bought a big bag for almost $20, I don't want to have to throw it all away =( but I guess if It's really that bad for him...

[ShutUpAndSmile]

Yeah it's pretty bad. Try and return it? Or maybe you can sell it online for like $10 and at least make some money back

[Tina.]

I don't think they will take it back and selling online gets to be such a pain in the butt. I might just use it as litter until I run out when I get a corner litter box for him.