Cage Substrates

I have been doing a lot of research over the years into bedding for my degus. I have had to spend so much money on them just trying to find a substrate that is cheap, easy to use, doesn't need cleaning every day because it smells so much and isn't kicked out the cage constantly! This has meant that I now use Finacard, it comes in a huge bag and I get some bedding with it which is just shredded tissue paper like stuff. Only costs £18 and lasts forever, you don't even need to use much to fill up my cage and the degus love it. However I have seen a few people doing this and as I have had to come up with a table for a uni project I decided to share my thoughts on different substrates and I hope you find it useful:

Newspaper/ shredded paper
Easy to clean, cheap, can make a good bedding
Ink could cause health problems, will be chewed to shreds, doesn’t last very long, can be very messy

Finacard (shredded cardboard)
Look good, easy to clean, doesn’t make much mess, comes in a large bale so lasts a long time, cheap, not dusty, can still be kicked about but too big to be kicked out of cage
Not as easy to forage in as some beddings

Megazorb

Is brilliant at absorbing liquids, retains smells, looks good, cheap
Very light and easily kicked out of the cage, has a strange odour to it.

Wood Shavings
Looks good, cheap, retains liquid well
Dusty, easily kicked out of cage, smells very quickly

Pellets
Retains liquid, cheap
Can cause bumblefoot as it’s hard on the degus feet. Can also cause stomach issues if ingested. Please never use pellets as a substrate, its not good for any animals, keep it in a litter tray!

Carefresh
Soft, absorbent, doesn’t smell very much
Expensive and can be dusty, can also be easily kicked out of the cage.