# silica gel?



## silvercat (Oct 24, 2008)

I have happily brought home a new hedgie. It was a long drive home so I'm letting her get settled in. The breeder named her Peanut but I'm thinking she's going to be an Annabell. 

She (actually all the breeder's hedgehogs) is littered trained. The grocery store only sells clumping litter and unscented silica crystals however. The gystals are 100% silica gel. Is this safe to use?


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## Shelobe (Jul 22, 2010)

Silica is not dangerous at all as far as toxicity goes but as how big are the granules? They could get stuck in parts where a hedgehog doesn't want them. I personally use wood shavings in my litter pan.

I see non-clumping kitty litter all the time, in fact I buy it for my cat. Tidy-cat makes non-clumping and its sold almost everywhere. Maybe you could try Petsmart.


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## silvercat (Oct 24, 2008)

They're large crystals, about the size of gravel, er I guess that's not a good discription. Just under a cm across on average.


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## Shelobe (Jul 22, 2010)

It sounds like they should work fine, just make sure your hedgie doesn't try to eat them. I'd wait on a second opinion though to be on the safe side, somebody here might have actual experience with the silica gel.


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## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

You can put sheets of paper towel in the litter pan too, then just put in new ones daily. I actually use fleece litter box liners that I make, no mess, absorbant and washable. I would worry about the hedgie eating the silica.


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## silvercat (Oct 24, 2008)

I notied she likes to roll in the litter lodge, like a dust bath almost. So I put the crystals in there last night and a papertowl in the pan under the wheel. Unfortuantely I discovered this morning that she also likes to tip over said lodge. So today everything has been paper towelled.


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## Tomato (Aug 8, 2010)

Silica gels aren't toxic? I've always had the impression they were because I see *DO NOT EAT* on all the little packets in packages...


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## EryBee (May 23, 2010)

I use Yesterday's News, which is a large pellet. It won't get stuck in a hedgie's unmentionables, and is nice and absorbent. Plus my hedgehog likes to rootle around in it.


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## Shelobe (Jul 22, 2010)

Tomato said:


> Silica gels aren't toxic? I've always had the impression they were because I see *DO NOT EAT* on all the little packets in packages...


They are actually not toxic. They put DO NOT EAT because of the size and you could choke. 
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/ask-the-e ... a-gel.html

EDIT - different link which no wall of text.


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## Tomato (Aug 8, 2010)

That's great to know, thanks! It'll be hard getting that stigma out of my head after seeing it (and thinking it) for so many years.


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