# Easy Clean - Pine bedding



## crazyratlady1995 (Dec 29, 2017)

Hey guys! So I know cedar bedding is a no no and I think I read somewhere that pine is as well but I found this bedding and it says it’s okay for rats. What do you guys think? Should I keep looking or try it? It says it’s 99.9% dust free


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## TinyDragon89 (Jan 13, 2018)

I've seen ceder and other bedding that have stated it was fine for rats and other various small animals even though it isn't.
I myself would not use it, especially knowing it isn't supposed to safe for them.
I mainly use aspen bedding, or sometimes I'll get care fresh. Yesterday's news cat litter is also fine to use. I'm sure there is more that others may be able to help you with.


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## Shadow <3 (Jan 25, 2017)

I personally wouldn't use it. Anyhow, dust isn't even the main issue with pine. It's the phenols which apparently irritate the rats respiratory system, and which give pine it's strange scent.

I've heard some good things about kiln dried pine, but there are a lot of conflicting messages so I don't want to chance it (also I'm not a big fan of the smell of pine). Then again I also have issues with other beddings like CareFresh (which I find dusty). 

I do however use Yesterday's News, which (to be fair) does contains a fair amount of soft woods (Fresh News is a completely paper recycled version of this). It's great at odor control and urine absorption, and doesn't have that pine smell I dislike.


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## crazyratlady1995 (Dec 29, 2017)

TinyDragon89 said:


> I've seen ceder and other bedding that have stated it was fine for rats and other various small animals even though it isn't.
> I myself would not use it, especially knowing it isn't supposed to safe for them.
> I mainly use aspen bedding, or sometimes I'll get care fresh. Yesterday's news cat litter is also fine to use. I'm sure there is more that others may be able to help you with.


I thought Aspen was bad for rats as well as Cedar? Or am I thinking Alfalfa? But thank you! I didn’t think it would work for them but I just wanted to be 100%.


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## crazyratlady1995 (Dec 29, 2017)

Where do you get Yesterday’s news? Order it online? I’ve heard of the brand but have never really looked into it. Normally I would use fleece but until my SCN comes in I’ve been using my handmade headgehog cage and it doesn’t really have anywhere to clip the fleece down so the rats are burrowing underneath it and moving it around. Recently I’ve been using newspaper but again Penelope and Nyx have been shredding it and using it to nest so I really can’t win right now lol


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## Shadow <3 (Jan 25, 2017)

I get Yesterdays News from Petsmart. Its a pretty common cat litter (I think I've also seen it at Target?), and buying the 30 pound cat litters is cheaper than most "rodent specific" pelleted beddings. I myself can't use fleece, as whenever I do the rats tend to stink it up super fast. But I know other use it without issue, so its definitely worth a try when your SCN comes in (my cage is also an SCN, but with a large cement pan as a base to hold in the bedding).




As for which woods are safe, Aspen (hardwood) is a fine bedding for rats. What you really want to avoid is softwoods (things like pine and cedar) because of the aforementioned phenols. However, that being said I myself don't like aspen because its messy and in my experience, isn't very good at controlling odor.


Alfalfa isn't bad for rats either, they just can't digest it (just like us and fiber, it passed right through them). It won't hurt them in small amounts, and alfalfa is a very common filler in rat blocks (like Oxbow). The issue comes in when a chew/house made entirely of alfalfa is flavored with honey (looking at you Snak Shak), tricking some rats into eating enough to cause fatal intestinal blockages (then again, I had one of these Snak Shaks in my girls cage for over a year before hearing about the possible danger they posed, and my girls showed no interest in eating it. I've also occasionally give my rats some loose hay to chew on, and they never try to eat it either).


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