Feline Pine (Formally All Pets Pine) Substrate

Does anyone else use this? It used to be marketed under All Pets Pine bedding stating that it can be used for a variety of reptiles and mammals (which in my experience it can). I suppose it didnt sell very well for whatever reason using this marketing technique so they just switched it over to "kitty litter" only. Tried and true its the exact same product. Im honestly not sure how it would work as a kitty litter as Ive never tried it for this. Obviously any other type of kitty litter could NEVER be used as reptile substrate due to obvious reasons of dust, smells and digestion issues (but we all know this). Its sold at Walmart... Target...Petsmart...etc. There is also a generic version on it sold at Petsmart that I know of that looks and works exactly the same - its set up right by Feline Pine just as any store brand "generic" version would be. Im not sure why they dont sell it in the reptile section too now under a diff name, but Im guessing its just due to what they see as a selling point.

I have used this substrate for a variety of reptiles and small mammals over the years and continue to do so. Before this bedding went on the market (its now been on the market for at least 7 or more years) I used to use newspaper, but they get soiled so quickly. Other types of bedding are expensive and you dont get much. They also do little to absorb odors and some bedding makes the poor critters sneeze. Wood chips and cypress mulch I found often harboured the nasty little wood mites and kept in too much moisture. No they are not harmful but I just cant have anything crawling over my animals. Also the fake grass turf-dont even ask me about the nasty fake grass! That should be gone along with heat "rocks."

I think feline pine bedding works really well because it starts out as compressed pine pellets, but as the animal would pee on it, it turns to a sand that can easily be scooped up, same with poo. Also, when the animal moves across it over time it breaks down into sand also which makes it great for burrowing. You dont have to keep changing it totally every time, just scoop up the waste and add a bit more as you go. Unlike pine and cedar chips, it doesnt have any effect on their respiritory and it passes through their digestive system with no ill effects that I have ever seen. It doesnt heat up like sand either, which makes it good for reptiles like geckos with sensitive feet. Nor does it make them "dusty" even when it turns to a dustlike substance. As for the odor, it smells slightly of pine when first fresh dumped in the cages, but after a day the odor fades - and you likely wont notice odor at all with just bits at a time scooped and added. It does cover their poo smell too - not totally when faced with a fresh python sized or large beardie poo - but it soaks up quickly.

Beardies especially love it! I have hide logs (the $5 edible small animal logs from Walmart are great because again, no wood mites and obviously beardies wont eat them-plus they love them to bask!) and at night they use the substrate to borrow under these logs and I cant even find them unless I look for their tails! Then in the morning they "pop out" of it sometimes quickly-its pretty funny. Ive probably kept every kind of pet small mammal or land reptile that anyone could think of using this bedding-no probs and they just love to dig in it. Keeps moisture in the cage to a VERY min too - we all know how our beardies can be messy! Good for crickets too-keeps the smell down. Only thing you could not keep on is amphibians for obvious reasons-it does soak in moisture and they would not be able to tolerate it at all.

This bedding may not be the best choice for large scale breeders, because even though this stuff is priced much better than other substrates "created especially for reptiles" obviously newpaper is still the cheapest way to go and it technically is safe if changed often and moisture isnt allowed to accumulate. Of course there is always the generic versions too, but still may be more than some keepers are willing to spend.

I had a question from someone the other day about what kind of substrate I used as they were tired of newspaper (we all know the fresh smell of beardie poo in the morning!) and just wondered if anyone on the board here knew of this product or possibly had any other types of substrate they have had good luck with. If anyone for any reason has had ill luck wih this substrate I would also like to know. I never have had a bad experience with this bedding in all my years of reptile and small mammal keeping, but that doesnt of course mean there are not exceptions and I would like to know for the health of my lil guys.

My concern would be the pine being under heat. I tend to avoid using soft woods to build my tanks due to the wood itself.

I use non adheasive shelf liner for all my tanks at this point and I have used textured tile as well.

Originally Posted by TheWolfmanTom

My concern would be the pine being under heat. I tend to avoid using soft woods to build my tanks due to the wood itself.

Same here. The fumes from Pine when heated can be very toxic to small reptiles. Plus the chance of it being inadvertantly eaten would bug me. I use newspaper and have no bad things to say about it (in the past I have used tile, non-adhesive shelf liner, playsand, excavator clay, and reptile carpet and none of them are as simple and easy as newspaper IMO)

yep the only thing i use pine pellets (equine fresh) for is in the cricket bin to keep the little buggers from stinkin up my dragon den. works great! as far as for my dragons, i cut out a piece of sheet vinyl the size of the cage floor and use glass tec tape( a vinyl double sided adhesive tape...what? i'm a floor guy by trade!) to adhere it. makes cage cleaning an absolute breeze. pull the dragons out, bleach the cage out ( heavily diluted of course), rinse it till the bleach smell is gone, dry it up air it out for a few minutes, and put my baby's back in there home. then i use 12x12 tile upside downe for basking rocks, it is easy to clean, helps keep the dragons nails trimmed, and looks fine if you get a rectified(whit all the way through) tile. you wanna talk about cheap? 12 bucks for the vinyl to cover 3 4x2 enclosures, and if you a tile guy nicely, free for the tile, use cuts...or 50 cents at home depot for the cheapest tile. so your talkin 4.50 done. like forever lol.

ask a tile guy... man i can't spell