Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've seen people suggest using baking soda for feeder mouse bedding to reduce the smell. Is this safe, and what's the most effective way to use it? The different methods I've seen online are mixing baking soda in with the bedding, putting it underneath the bedding, or even putting it in a separate container outside the mouse tubs.

I'm currently using aspen shavings for bedding. I had one person recommend using sand with baking soda mixed in as bedding, and spot cleaning it like a litter box. Recently, I started using a small HEPA-Type air purifier in the same room as the mice, and that's cut the odor at least in half. Ideally, I want to find the most cost effective way to keep my feeder mouse colony clean and healthy so they can produce lots of snake food for me

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Paul D

www.MoonlightBoas.com

Paul, there are no ways around it. Cleaning your animals that is. Vanilla in the water, baking soda, spot cleaning, Hepa, etc..
They all MASK the odour of the rodents, but actually getting in there and cleaning your stuff every 3-4 days is the ONLY way to keep the scent (and the bacteria) down.
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www.strictlyballs.ca

Yeah, I've been cleaning twice a week. I started mixing baking soda in with the aspen shavings too, and it's made the smell much more tolerable.

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Paul D

www.MoonlightBoas.com

The only way to keep your colony clean and healthy is with regular thorough cleaning and fresh bedding. That being said I had great success with odors using ordinary charcoal briquets placed on top of enclosure screens and around the room. I change these out whenever clean enclosures. Charcoal is a natural absorber of odors and this has been the most effective and economical method of minimizing odors.

Hope this helps,

Big T
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Hope this helps.

BigT
There is a difference between ignorance and stupidity. The ignorant can be taught, stupidity is beyond our control.
1.2 P. M. Melanoleucus B/W N. J. Northern Pines
1.2 P. D. Deppei Mexican Pines
2.2 P. L. Lineaticollis Linis or Lined Pines
1.2 P. M. Lodingi Black Pines

Shavings are my last choice for bedding. Hardwood pellets (sold as fuel for wood pellet stoves) work well in terms of keeping smell down; pine pellets (sold at feed store as horse stall bedding) work even better. I know, you "can't" keep rodents on pine -- but the only studies to this effect that I've seen have tested pine shavings, not pine pellets. My mice (~10 colonies) do well on the pine pellets. The pine pellets turn to powder easily, though, so I mix pine and hardwood 50/50. Need to clean every 10 days or so with 1.4 breeders and young in a 10g tank.

FWIW, I've tried baking soda and found no reduction in smell.