Bedding & Litter

[Hales80]

Me Again, what type of bedding and litter do you use for your ratties. Im using breeders choice cat litter for the litter box and currently using newspaper on the floor until they get better trained.

Ta
Hales

[Leeann]

I use breeders choice shavings, available from produce places for about $10 a bag (big bags)
or Back to Nature Litter, this is great as it not only absorbs but also helps with any smell between weekly cleans.

Just be careful as some are dusty and may cause sniffles/sneezes.

Leeann

[Hales80]

Also on the subject of cleaning, i have read somewhere that ppl use some sort of wipes to wipe out daily mess that is fragrant...does anyone have any suggestions that wont cause the ratties any harm? I have also read about using vanilla?
ta
hales

[erynne]

I've got them on Aspen at the moment with Breeder's Choice in the litter tray. I'm so stoked that you can litter train rats! ;D

[Leeann]

Sorry Hales for not seeing this about fragrant wipes sooner.

I personally wouldn't use fragrant wipes, as they will have chemicals in them also.

Best way would be to use something that is edible, like essence or vineger.
Add some to warm water and wipe cages over.

Erynne, spoilt ratties hey, lol, on aspen, as long as a pine based bedding isnt used, the next thing to look at is the dust level in some of them.

As mentioned Breeders Choice is one a few of us use, and the cost is reasonable also.

[wart]

I know some people use a product called 'Vanilla Fridge Spray' to clean out their cage.

Its quite safe to use, as the main ingredients are ethanol (alcohol) and vanilla.
It is anti-bacterial and deodorises the cage.

Years ago, when I first owned rats, I used wood shavings for them. I found it made me sneeze and the rats sneeze. It was just too dusty (even though on the packet it said it was 'dust extracted').

Breeder's choice cat litter is quite good. As are the other paper based cat litters (Dr Harrys/Coles own brand/back2nature and I think I have seen another one around too).

Zoe

[Australian Rat Forum]

I used that Vanilla Fridge Spray once when my rats were younger and they had a bad reaction to it, so I've never used it again.

I went on to use white vinegar in warm water which didnt bother them at all.



I do know that you can add a couple of drops of vanilla essence to water and then use it to give the cage a wipe over once you have cleaned it.

I have a friend who does that to get rid of the vinegar smell once she has cleaned her cages.

I guess its kind of like an air freshener for rats

[littleraton]

Hi Hales,

Bedding can sometimes depend on the types of rats you own. If your little ones greatly enjoying burrowing and digging then I would choose some sort of shavings or mouse tunneling material with perhaps I bit of newspaper underneath to make the cage easier to clean.

Personally, I have stopped using shavings as I found they really made the cage stink! Now I line the bottom tub of the cage with odour-absorbing litter, then place a fair few filling sheets of newspaper on top (to make it a little comfy for them). On top of this I place their small round bed with a furry bottom and lined with waterproof material (found it in a pet store by chance, it's brilliant!), and then add in another corner of the litter (with a suitable cover, eg igloo) for a toilet area!

As for the fragrant wipe-clean spray, I've seen it in the pet stores. It just comes in the usual spray bottle (like the windex ones), but I've never used it. I tend not to trust such harsh-seeming products around my ratties and generally stick with warm water and a little soap and disinfectant at cleaning time. However, I have a flea spray that is used to spray rats as well as their cages and this usually tends to freshen up my cage's smell at the same time as protecting Poppy and Tama from fleas!

Hope this helps,

little raton

[wart]

Thats a pity your rats reacted to the vanilla fridge wipe Nathan. Its like anything, there are people who are allergic to water
I think I used it once or twice but wasn't overly impressed with it.
Personally, the smell of vanilla makes me feel ill.

My cleaning routine for my furry kids involve "Nature's Own multi-purpose spray", which is then rinsed down, then I spray the tray with a dilution of "Fido's Fre-itch" rinse. Let that dry naturally, and voila, I am done

I found using the rinse helped immensely back when I had a mite infestation. I'd give the boys ivermectin, but the mites kept returning, so in the end, I took them out the cage, and sprayed the cage thoroughly and let dry.

Zoe

[newbie]

I use breeders choice shavings, but when I get to the bottom of the huge bag, I fertilize the garden with it, the bits are just too small.
I buy 100ml bottles of Ivermectin from Lou Dux of BRR in Queensland. I've been told (on another forum) that ivermectin's not recommended. Does anyone have any ideas as to why this was said? You need 10x the medicating amount to overdose, it's not as expensive as revolution but it does the same thing, and it works!
Has anyone had mites or other beasties using the shavings? I leave the bags out in direct sunlight for 2 days when I first get it, then it's sat at the end of the hallway for at least a week before use.

[christie]

I use the back2nature/breeders choice (same company makes them both) litters for the litter bowl and just use fleece and other material for the rest of the cage.
I almost went off using the back2nature because the last bag i got was full of plastic pieces, one of them was really sharp to. I called the company and they explained how it would have happened and sent me another bag to replace that one. Because they handled it so well I'm giving it another go. But if i find that much plastic in there again then i think ill have to find another type of litter.

[fizzlesticks]

I'm allergic to pine/aspen, so wood-shavings would be awful for me; what's this back2nature stuff, and where would I be able to get it?

Any other bedding/litter suggestions?

[christie]

Back2Nature/Breeders Choice is just a recycled paper litter. If can be found in some pets shops and also in some supermarkets.I know the Safeway near me sells it in large bags.
As for bedding i suggest just using Fleece. You can pick it up pretty cheep on sales, just cut it up into smallish pieces and put in the cage. The rats will move it around to where they want it. Its also washable and you don't have to replace it till its all holey from them chewing it up lol. I pull some out of my cage looking like swiss cheese. Also with the fleece just grab some safety pins, and pin the corners to the top of the cage and you have a hammock for the rats to.

[abby]

Great idea with the hammock there. I end up going and buying them but with they way they get nibbled at...well it would be a far cheaper alternate.

[fizzlesticks]

Rats in hammocks look so cute, too.