Yes, I am one of those people who believe that pine kills. I have not seen one shred of evidence to convince me otherwise, and I have seen plenty to support my beliefs. Say what you will about your own experience, nothing shall sway me from my stand on this issue. Pine is a killer of baby gerbils.

My Own Experience

My first litter of gerbils was born in February of 1996. That litter was of 4, and it was uneventful. All pups survived to adulthood, and 2 are (to the best of my knowledge) alive to this day. My second litter, out of the same female, was born in late March. It was of 3 pups. I loved them all, of course, but my favorite was a little argente (my first), who looked just like his mom. His name was Dimetapp. I adored the little thing. However, as weaning time approached, it appeared that "Dime" was not well. He was three weeks old when I suddenly discovered him sitting, listless, in the family's food dish. He showed no real interest in the food, nor the rice krispies I offered him (he & his siblings always went batty over the krispies). When I touched him, he felt chilly. His coat, normally soft and shiney, was rumpled. It was obvious he wouldn't last very long. Despite my best efforts, he died soon after.

Dimetapp, my treasured little boy, was the victim of a "weaning fatality". These are said to be very common among weanling gerbils, but they don't have to be. What most "weaning fatalities" are is a respiratory infection, characterized by a clicking noise when breathing, listlessness, fluffy fur, and chilliness. It's normally found in pups ages 3 to 6 weeks, when they're going through the weaning process, and left vulnerable without their mother's antibodies. It's then that they're especially susceptable to the fumes contained in most pine beddings.

During my first 4 litters, the only ones produced by my founding gal, Missy, I kept my gerbils on pine. I thought that I was doing the right thing, because I wasn't using cedar. Perhaps I was wrong. Of the 20 pups Missy had, 3 died just as Dime did. That's 15%. When I began breeding again in November 1997, I had already switched to aspen (hearing it was a great bedding). I'm lucky I had! At the time of this writing I've raised 19 litters on the aspen bedding, without a single respiratory infection! I find it highly unlikely this is just a coincidence.

Others' Experiences

I'm not alone in my suspicion that pine is a killer. In October 1997 I began emailing with a nearby breeder who was interested in a pup from me. We visited each other a lot and swapped a few gerbils. But after a while it became obvious that my friend had a problem. Lots of her babies were dying. At that time, she had 3 breeding females. Her original female had raised a healthy litter of 6 on *cedar* of all things, which had turned out fine. Once my friend had switched to pine, though, all of the pups died in the next two, possibly 3 litters. Most died around weaning time, but in one case they died the day of birth, I think. Then there were her other two females. One had come from another breeder and I'm under the impression she'd raised several successful litters (I saw at least one pup from a previous litter who was just fine). However, once put on pine bedding approximiately 50% of her pups were lost in the next two litters. The 3rd female had never had pups before but she seemed to make a great mother. Her first litter was of 7, IIRC. All but one died, again, at weaning.

At this point we were brainstorming to figure out what was going on. Obviously it wasn't hereditary, as it effected 3 unrelated mothers. So it had to be something in their environment. But she did everything just as I did! Except, she used pine. Suspicious, we phased out the pine, using corncob and aspen instead. Sure enough, all of the litters born on aspen/corncob survived extremely well! It's now rather rare for my friend to lose a pup.

I know of at least 3 other breeders that speak often of losing numerous pups. I remember, in my wait for some special gerbils, about 4 that I could have "adopted" died before I finally managed to get a survivor. Obviously I recommended that breeder switch to aspen--at least the mothers that had lost so many--and I think (though I may be wrong) they did, with positive response, again.

What I suggest now, is that all of you--I don't care how many extra pennies you have to spend to buy bedding--switch to aspen, or corncob, or carefresh, or even paper if you must. At least one of your pairs, for at least a few litters. See if you notice any change. Then let me know.

In Closing

Yes, I know, not everyone has such severe problems. My own problems were not as severe as some that I have heard of, and for that I suppose I'm lucky. But I will never, ever use pine again, I don't care what anyone says. I'm willing to accept the fact that some brands of pine are harmless, for example possibly those that are kiln dried & aired out of fumes, but what I ask you is....

Love your gerbils. Don't be selfish. GET RID OF PINE! If you agree with me, please link this page from your website. Use this HTML:

More information on the toxicity of pine (and CEDAR!) can be found here for those who remain skeptical.