Shredded Aspen Question

[Bristen]

I've been trying shredded aspen that I bought at Wal-Mart recently.. it was finely shred and had very little smell to it. It has been working out ok. Yesterday, I went to "Pets Unlimited" (unfortunately had to go there, let's not get into that) and purchased a large bail of shredded aspen for close to $40 CDN. Once home, I expected to see the same thing I had purchased at Wal-Mart. However, it was not the same. The wood is whiter, and it has a much stronger smell. It is also not shred as fine as the other stuff, but I could of lived with that.

Does anybody know why it smells stronger than the other stuff I was getting? Are there different types of Aspen? Should I be concerned about that strong smell? I thought it may not of been Aspen, but some other type of wood.. but it does say "aspen" on my receipt, it was stacked with other aspen packages, but the packaging was just brown paper with no text on it... I'm expecting a few animals coming in this week, so I would like to get this cleared up soon so I can setup their tubs.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks!
Bristen.