Wood pellet safety

[LykosAnubis]

I’ve heard that many people use wood pellets as rabbit litter and I’m super interested in using it along with a screen so that my buns aren’t stepping in their urine/defecation. My question is: how safe it is to use? I know if they chew it it isn’t that big of a deal because it’s wood, but I saw a LOT of articles online about how wood pellets are known to release carbon monoxide and there are cases of carbon monoxide poisoning from them. Would I be in danger having the bag in my apartment? Are my buns going to get exposed to toxic fumes? I had planned to get a huge 40# bag from Lowes but now I’m nervous to proceed. Any input is greatly appreciated.

[Dface]

Most of those cases are huge storage facilities for multiple homes as a fuel supply, with the majority exceeding a couple tonnes worth of pellets. They are also sealed environment with limited ventilation.

I use wood pellets and buy it in a 30l bag, and have never had any issues with it, and neither has anyone i know of who buys them for fuel.
To be honest a rabbits own pee is likely to be more dangerous for them (what with the ammonia)

[tobyluv]

If you are buying wood stove pellets, you do have to make sure that they are plain ones, with no accelerants. You could also buy horse stall pellets, which are just as economical, and there is no worry that they have been treated with an accelerant.

[Bam]

The carbon monoxide is real, and that’s why pellets should always be stored in smallish plastic bags (16 kilo is the standard size here). There have been fatalities in cargo ships where people have come into contact with huge amounts of loose pellets and died of oxygen deprivation. You should never empty out many sacks of pellets into one large container in a small, poorly ventilated room, always store them in the bags they come in. Carbon monoxide is a insidious poison, of course, it has no smell and it readily binds to haemoglobin, preventing it from binding oxygen.

For these above mentioned reasons, I’d not use wood pellets in one of those cat toilets that look like carriers, with a door that shuts behind the bun. I use wood pellets in open litter boxes. (I looked into this a little bit when I was deciding if I should switch from paper pellets to wood pellets).

[LykosAnubis]

Thanks for the replies guys, I think I’ll use wood pellets but store the bag outside in my storage closet; that way there is good air ventilation and my buns will only be exposed to the small amout in their boxes. I only use open top boxes, so from the sounds of it, we’ll be safe. I’ll probably wind up buying the horse stall wood pellets and not the ones used for cooking, that way there aren’t any toxic chemicals or flavorings added to the bag.

[Bam]

I have been using wood stove pellets as litter for years now. It’s great because it wont get stuck in the bun’s hair. It also absorbs smell and moisture really well and can be composted after use.

I’ve used both horse stall pellets and wood stove pellets. The difference seems mainly to be that horse stall pellets are a little less tighly compressed. It doesn’t make a difference though, all kinds turn to sawdust when the bun pees on them

[Q8bunny]

I use them too. I get a big bag without accelerant wherever it’s handy or on sale. They go in an open litter box under a stiff plastic cross stitch canvas from the craft store. The open bag goes under a table in the bun’s and my sunroom. We’ve never had problems with the air quality.

One thing I also do is keep a teaspoon of dry rice with baking soda sprinkled with a few drops of pure lavender essential oil in a salt shaker – every morning after scooping out bun’s wet sawust patch, I sprinkle a bit of the shaker mix on the remaining pellets and put the rinsed screen and fresh hay on top. He loves it! Nose boops me to hurry up and let him hop in the box.

[SamAnn96]

Do you need to presoak the pellets? My bunny seems to not like stepping on them, but I feel like this would defeat the purpose of using them.

[DanaNM]

@SamAnn96, welcome!

We ask members not to reply to old threads to avoid confusion! But I’ll address your question here. 🙂

Pre-soaking probably would defeat the purpose, but I put a nice fluffy hay layer on top of the wood pellets and that makes them much more appealing to the buns.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[SamAnn96]

Thank you! Sorry about that.

[jerseygirl]

All good. It’s one of those rules membersbecome familiar with when they’ve been here a while. Hopefully older topics will automatically be closed to new replies with the updated forum changes.

You *could* expand the pellets and they would still have some absorbent qualities but it will likely be messier and not last as long. The hay cushion on top should work.

Otherwise, if hay supply is limited, you can add a softer litter on top and start to reduce that one your rabbit gets more used to the pellets.

I’ll close this thread now. Feel free to begin a new one if you have any more questions.

[Author]

Messages