Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

Can someone tell me the best, or freshest bedding to use to breed rats? Something that holds the smell down real well.

Thanks,

John

>>Hello,
>>
>> Can someone tell me the best, or freshest bedding to use to breed rats? Something that holds the smell down real well.
>>
>>Thanks,
>>
>>John

Sorta depends on what you want for weight (pelleted bedding is great, but weighs a lot more in a rack system of tubs) and cost.
I house my rats in cages, a couple of tubs, but no rack (yet)so weight isn't an issue. I house them in rabbit pellets (as in rabbit food/alfalfa pellets) It is low dust, I have never had a rat react to it with upper respiratory troubles and it is cheaper to get than Cellsorb Plus or Yesterday's News. I can get through a week to ten days in a cage change for the rats and mice...using shavings for the mice but with a fistful of rabbit pellets in each corner of the tub.
Horse pellets is actually cheaper but FERMENTS when it gets damp. Rabbit pellets can't be let to get wet either, as it will mold more than the recycled papers but not like the horse feed. Cellsorb Plus, cost aside, is my favorite. Odor control, low dust, and the pellet is softer and not as harsh or as quick to go to powder as Yesterday's News. Any of them only require less than an inch layer. If you want to soften it you can try aspen or shavings mixed in. But some rats will react to wood with sneezing, porphrin staining ('bloody' tears and snot) and mycoplasmosis outbreaks.
Aspen, the least offensive of the wood products, is a next in line to me. Though I don't use it (I react to too much wood myself) and it is more cost than I like. Less odor control.
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Sonya

Haven't we warned you about tampering with the structure of a chaotic system?
Mrs. Neutron

I found that dried corn cob litter works great and doesnt mold when wet and also controls odor. I use this on the bottom layer of my tanks top with recycled paper bedding for cushion and nesting. I cant really recall the name of this paper bedding but its awesome and is sold in petstores, used primarily for ferrets but both are all natural with nothing added which alleviates the worries of dust, ink or any other worry thats associated with unnatural litters and shavings.
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Jaye- " When you try of all your forces to make your own way, you will help some of others and will be helped by others. As long as you do not make your own way, you cannot help anybody, and nobody can help you. " (Shunryu Suzuki)

http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?ASSORTMENTast_id=2534374302023691&FOLDERfolder_id=2534374302025465&PRODUCTprd_id=845524441776933&bmUID=1087333681775

This is the url above to where you can get info on it.
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Jaye- " When you try of all your forces to make your own way, you will help some of others and will be helped by others. As long as you do not make your own way, you cannot help anybody, and nobody can help you. " (Shunryu Suzuki)

>>I found that dried corn cob litter works great and doesnt mold when wet and also controls odor. I use this on the bottom layer of my tanks top with recycled paper bedding for cushion and nesting. I cant really recall the name of this paper bedding but its awesome and is sold in petstores, used primarily for ferrets but both are all natural with nothing added which alleviates the worries of dust, ink or any other worry thats associated with unnatural litters and shavings.

I am kinda surprised you don't have mold trouble with the corn cob. That and I found it tended to cause ringtail and dry skin.
Carefresh is popular with many pet rat owners. I don't like it's dustyness. I find I am asthmatic with it.
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Sonya

Haven't we warned you about tampering with the structure of a chaotic system?
Mrs. Neutron

I also don't like the Carefresh. Too expensive, too dust and irritating. I never used it straight though, mixed it with aspen which the mice loved. They were actually able to burrow through it, making little tunnels all over the place when I had the bedding deep enough. I never used it with rats though, as I stopped buying it altogether by then.

I used a mix of pine shavings (kiln dried when I could find it, air dried when I could not) and shredded paper. I also put a layer of newspaper underneath the bedding, to help absorb moisture. I didn't find any real smell from the rats till a day before cleaning day, not like the mice who stunk 10 minutes after I put the male into the clean cage.

I have used the 'Yesterday's News' with my guinea pigs and find it works well, especally mixed with shavings of some sort. Though I haven't used rabbit pullets as a substrate myself, I am leary about using anything that is in fact, food, because something is bound to come and eat it. It's bad enough my timothy hay and/or my guinea pig food produces small moths, don't need any other critters eating my animal's bedding. Besides, I wouldn't want to deal with the extra weight, hard enough getting bags of shavings to the garbage as it is. Or maybe I should start going back to the gym.

>>I have used the 'Yesterday's News' with my guinea pigs and find it works well, especally mixed with shavings of some sort. Though I haven't used rabbit pullets as a substrate myself, I am leary about using anything that is in fact, food, because something is bound to come and eat it. It's bad enough my timothy hay and/or my guinea pig food produces small moths, don't need any other critters eating my animal's bedding. Besides, I wouldn't want to deal with the extra weight, hard enough getting bags of shavings to the garbage as it is. Or maybe I should start going back to the gym.

I used shavings with the GPs when we had them (for 8yrs!) just so I could change them 2 or 3 times a week. Golly I hate that smell!
I haven't found any bugs coming to the rabbit pellets. I did have Wheat beetles (little 4 mm reddish monsters that just don't die!) in my kitchen, got rid of them by throwing out anything they were in and then found them in a cockroach bin downstairs! Best guess is they came in on a drink holder I put in the bin for layering, as I found a nest of them in the creases of it. Nasty bugs! I had to reset and hand pick out the thousands of lobster roaches, bleach everything and dump it outside and am still finding a random beetle here and there.
I have my herps in the cellar, so I have to haul the bedding up and down a set of stairs....I consider that saving me from the gym membership. Though it doesn't seem to be helping with my weight. Hmmmm It would be expensive if I had to pay to have it hauled. I have a 'pile' inhabited by some well fed wild rodents....life in the country.
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Sonya

Haven't we warned you about tampering with the structure of a chaotic system?
Mrs. Neutron

I use Arm and Hammer cat litter w/ my guys - 'bout a 1/2 inch of the stuff covered w/ whole sheets of newspaper to soften it a bit. I change out the paper every week, spot cleaning the litter one week and changing it out the next. I haven't noticed any problems w/ it and it does keep the odor down immensely. I didn't realize this 'til I put in solid wood cage furniture into a taller cage to use more of the vertical space - I find I have to clean off the wood every couple of days to keep the odor down.

Russ
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Russ

>>I use Arm and Hammer cat litter w/ my guys - 'bout a 1/2 inch of the stuff covered w/ whole sheets of newspaper to soften it a bit. I change out the paper every week, spot cleaning the litter one week and changing it out the next. I haven't noticed any problems w/ it and it does keep the odor down immensely. I didn't realize this 'til I put in solid wood cage furniture into a taller cage to use more of the vertical space - I find I have to clean off the wood every couple of days to keep the odor down.
>>
>>Russ

Is it a pelleted paper litter or clay?
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Sonya

Haven't we warned you about tampering with the structure of a chaotic system?
Mrs. Neutron

Clay, I have a friend w/ sugar gliders that uses it under their cage as well.

Russ
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Russ