# Can carefresh be used as a cage liner?



## C M (Apr 3, 2010)

I was wondering if Carefresh or carefresh style bedding (unscented) can be used as cage liner? I did a search but only found someone saying they don't use it as nesting material for breeding/egg purposes and that a baby choked on it. But what about adult cockatiels? Can it cause problems like corn cob can if ingested (I doubt mine would eat carefresh but you just never know)? 

Thank you so much.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

The best cage liner is plain old newspaper. It's cheaper and more sanitary than anything else. Carefresh for birds is somewhat controversial but opinion definitely leans in the direction of "don't". A layer of litter-type material holds moisture too well, which provides too much opportunity for bacteria and mold to grow. And it WILL get wet, from the bird's poop if nothing else.


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## C M (Apr 3, 2010)

Thank you much. I am a little confused though, wouldn't newspaper hold moisture the same as carefresh? Does bedding material (when it comes to carefresh or paper) matter if you have the grate at the bottom of the cage? Sorry for bugging you all with my questions, I just want to make sure my cockatiels are safe and happy.

This may sound crazy, but what about fleece bedding using just a plain white or very pale solid color anti-pill fleece? We use fleece bedding for our cavies because (when you wash it enough times and correctly) it wicks moisture away. I haven't tried it because I didn't know how safe that would be for birds or if it would wick moisture the same due to how birds eliminate.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Newspaper dries out faster than a lot of other materials, and is cheap enough that no one thinks twice about throwing it away if it gets too wet. A grate will keep the bird away from the bedding but it still isn't desirable to have bedding that's a moisture-retaining bacteria farm.

I've never heard of using fleece or any other kind of cloth in a bird cage. Most people wouldn't want to face the problem of washing all the poop off of it! So I have a lot of doubts about it in general but no specific information. Do you have any particular reason for not using newspaper? Because it really is the cheapest and best cage liner.


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## zohie (Apr 3, 2010)

Ditto! There is nothing better than good old newspaper. Inexpensive, readily available, and nontoxic. Your wallet will be most thankful


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## C M (Apr 3, 2010)

I've been using plain printer paper. I wasn't sure if all newspaper companies used soy based ink so I was curious about carefresh. I have nothing against newspaper, I just have to call our paper provider and make sure their ink is soy based only. Thanks again for the information, I really appreciate it. I do imagine it would be a lot cheaper than even the plain printing paper, especially since we already get the local newspaper.


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

I would avoid it because you'll find yourself having to change the bedding a lot throughout the day. Also keep in mind you'll be buying a lot bedding which I imagine would work out a lot more expensive then newspaper.


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