RE: [OT][VERY OT] Woodshavings...

["Steve Morgan" <smorgo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Ian,

I have a thicknesser that turns wood into woodshavings _really_ quickly.

If you were somewhere near me (Shropshire), I'd gladly convert some for
you.
You might be able to hire a thicknesser for a day and do it yourself.
Alternatively, try the Yellow Pages for a local cabinet maker - you want
someone who keeps their equipment fairly clean.

You'd want to be pretty certain about the timber you were using; I would
imagine that some hardwoods might cause problems of their own. I've not
come
across Aspen in this country, so I don't know what it's like.

Steve

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ian Lowe [mailto:ian@xxxxxxx]
> Sent: 17 April 2004 22:17
> To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx
> Subject: [ukha_d] [OT][VERY OT] Woodshavings...
>
> Bit of a strange request, hopefully someone on the list can help.
>
> We keep Gerbils, and this time around we ended up with a
> breeding pair rather than the two males we thought we had...
> the first litter was born about a month ago, and
> unfortunately, every single one of the pups died from a
> respiratory illness - a pretty horrible way to go, and they
> died at only 21 days old - all seven of them.
>
> It seems the problem is the bedding material - wood shavings
> that are sold by Pet World (and almost everyone else) for
> small rodents are incredibly toxic to gerbils, especially at
> the 3 week stage, when the mother's milk no longer provides a
> boost to the pup's immune system, and they are having to fend
> for themselves. Volatile oils released by the wood cause a
> respiratory condition in which the pups make a horrible
> clicking, rasping sound as they breath - and don't last
> longer than 2-3 days.
>
> I am told by a couple of US breeders that either Aspen wood
> shavings, or hardwood shavings are ideal - Straw, hay etc are
> fine for adult gerbils, but not for pups..
>
> The problem is, I'm finding it *extremely* difficult to find
> a source for these shavings - the local wood yards just chuck
> all the turnings into the same waste, so I would end up with
> pine in amongst the other woods.. and possibly end up with
> cedarwood as well - which is almost guaranteed to be fatal to
> pups, even worse than pine. :
>
> If anyone knows where I can get a reliable supply of hardwood
> shavings, or better aspen wood shavings, please let me know.
> It's now a matter of life and death - our gerbils just
> birthed another litter - these pups will be okay until about
> day 10, the 27th April - if I don't move them to other
> bedding by this point, we may well lose the whole litter again
> - and I really don't want to see these pups die.
>
> Any help will be incredibly welcome!
>
> Ian.



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