# Rats are pulling up the fleece!



## digitalduckie (Mar 22, 2012)

I put some fleece in my girls' cage (Petco Rat Manor) on the second level to, at the very least, keep it from 'raining' in the cage when they decide to pee from up there. I figured it'd help keep things a bit tidier and they wouldn't manage to get each other wet.

But one of them has taken to pulling up the fleece and chewing it apart. I'm afraid it won't last terribly long at this rate.

So is there anything else I can try to keep things a bit dryer?


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## DyersEve726 (Apr 15, 2012)

Unfortunately, rats chew...and chew, and chew, haha. There's not many ways around it...just be prepared to replace when necessary. I've heard of people using lenoleum, but I have no experience with that, nor do I know if it's safe for them to chew or not. I've gone the route of using mostly fabric around my rat's cage and just replacing often.

Perhaps some others on this forum will have a better alternative for you.


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## CarrieD (Nov 20, 2011)

I have a Rat Manor and tried the same thing with the same result, but with degus who are wild, wooly little souls. I ended up buying little grass mats (Petco has them in a 3 pack, I think) and zip tying them to the floor. The larger one (Peters?) is a bit softer. I have my ratdoptables in it right now, and just put a very large cozy cup up there- it covers most of the floor and seems to be working well.


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## moongate (Mar 12, 2012)

I use fleece and change it often, I cycle through about 6 or 7 changing them every second or third day. I think i noticed one that has a bit of chewing, but I think that each rat has his or her own preference on what they like to chew on.


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## Munchie (Mar 13, 2012)

My rats always peed on their solid plastic shelf, (so no danger of 'raining' but it would puddle up and get all over them, especially if I didn't clean it up immediately.) So I bought grassmats (like CarrieD suggested) and put it in the corner where they peed, they love them (to chew and sit on) and they're pretty inexpensive so I'd definitely give it a shot if they're destroying the fleece


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## bgj1010 (Apr 7, 2012)

I use ceramic tile. Works great, and my girls love it. I bought 8 tiles at Home Depot for like .68 cents each, maybe 5x5". Doesn't cover the entire mid-floor, but that's totally unnecessary anyway, aside from them pee-bombing from above. I have the Manor as well, and have 2 tiles on each shelf and 4 on the mid-floor. As they walk on the tiles, it keeps their nails manicured. It won't grind them down, but it maintains them. There's minimal mesh exposed, if that's of concern, but most people cover the floors to prevent bumblefoot, which shouldn't be a concern at all unless you keep a filthy cage and the ratties have ONLY wire floors. The mesh the Manor uses is fine (closely spaced) so there should be no worries whatsoever...


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## bgj1010 (Apr 7, 2012)

pics of the tiles


























I could have placed more tiles (larger ones even) on the mid-floor, but I feel the solid floor would make the cage seem too confined looking. I like to be able to see through the mesh and it allows more light and air flow...


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