# Best rat bedding?



## NightFury

Discuss.

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I like Carefresh Ultra, Its better than the cedar I was using before.
Its nice and soft, and not dusty (Trust me, I have a sensitive nose, and if it was dusty I'd be sneezing all day long.)
Although it comes in different colors, I chose white. The white one is very absorbent, but not the best for hiding rat poo ._.


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## RatMama13

I use wood shavings because I can buy it in large bales and it's inexpensive on a college student budget. My rats prefer the fine vs. the flakes and burrow constantly. However we are no using it only in the litter boxes as we are trying to litter train them and using fleece on the bottom of the cage. They seem to like it


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## Rattymonday

I use aspen wood bedding. Not dangerous to my rats health like softwood bedding, but relatively cheap, and helps with odor.


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## clossboss

yesterdays news for me....my rats mostly use the litter box to poop anyway


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## kitcatcodi

I personally use care fresh ultra, both me and Sully my baby boy love it! ;D


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## DivineSheep

I use a layer of organic cat litter that I make sure is aspen and pine free, and above that a layer of boxo for them to snuggle and burrow in. Boxo is recycled shredded cardboard, and it's ridiculously fluffy and cozy.

PEOPLE, DON'T YOU KNOW WOOD SHAVINGS, ASPEN, CEDAR AND PINE ARE BAD FOR RATS?! They are toxic! They eff up their lungs and can cause infections and allergies!  
Get something else, darn you. Dare to spend a bit more money, it's for your babies' health!


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## Sidurah

Aspen is fine because it isn't a softwood. Pine and cedar are softwoods, so they're dangerous to rats. 

Cat litter, if it's clumping, can be dangerous.


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## Kiko

Actually @DivineSheep

Only softwood shavings are bad, Pine and Ceder. Aspen is perfectly safe, and an affordable safe option for rats 

Please make sure you know your facts before assuming we are harming our pets.


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## RatMama13

My school has used wood shavings for YEARS and never had health problems due to the bedding. I use it because it's affordable on my budget...although I may switch to something else once this bale is gone because they are litter trained and shavings on fleece is a nightmare!


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## DivineSheep

Kiko said:


> Actually @DivineSheep
> 
> Only softwood shavings are bad, Pine and Ceder. Aspen is perfectly safe, and an affordable safe option for rats
> 
> Please make sure you know your facts before assuming we are harming our pets.


Thanks!! Sorry for the mistake


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## Jaguar

It really all boils down to personal preference for bedding. Some swear by Carefresh, others say it's too dusty. I personally don't use any beddings at all, not even in the litter boxes anymore. All fleece. My boys are neat.


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## christinelovesyou

I use a sheet of polar fleece. I have 2, actually. Take one out, put the other in, and wash the old one to use next week. It works great and helps me find poop better.


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## Hakeshima

I'm still trying to find the perfect bedding. 
I used to use a paper based bedding (I don't remember the brand), and it came in small, expensive packages. I switched to Kaytee Soft-Sorbent bedding, which I am now using.
I need a more affordable brand, that_ doesn't _potentially sacrifice the health of my rats. Any suggestions? (I'm in Canada, and I don't like ordering online, unless it's a good deal.)


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## meekosan

I really think it depends on the rats. You have to experiment with different things that you know is safe for them to find what they like and works with your budget. So far I think I got a winner with the soft fleece blankets along the floor and CareFresh for the litter box.


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## Axelmyrat

I use carefresh natural


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## CarolineRose

I tried CareFresh but I found the odor control to be lacking. I switched to Yesterday's News and the smell disappeared! 

I have all polar fleece covers for my pans and I use the YN in the litter box, it seems to be working out perfectly!


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## giggles_mcbug

I use a mix of yesterdays news and aspen in the litter box and that's it. I just use the plastic pans on my FN as is and clean my cage 3X a week sometimes 4. 

When I used a rat manor, I used aspen. When I use the rat manor now( It lives at my moms house now) I use old t-shirts.


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## Tibbs87

I use paper pellets because it produces the least dust and is quite absorbent, in my experience. They're compact pellets so there isn't a lot of fluffy material my rats can kick around, which is why there's minimal dust. It's also pretty good at minimizing odor. I've owned 6 rats in the last few years and they seem to respond best to the paper pellets. I buy two 20 lb bags at a time (like the one in my link above) which is about 6 months worth of bedding for the one big cage I own (rated for 4 rats). If you have a medium-sized cage, that would probably give you about 8 - 9 months worth of bedding. I buy online and pay about $14/bag times 2 bags = $28 for 6 months (about $4.60/month if you average it out). Definitely the best in my experience!


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## Tibbs87

I also think fleece would be a good option so long as you wash it fairly regularly. I change the bedding in the cage about once/week.


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## Tibbs87

Tibbs87 said:


> ...I buy two 20 lb bags at a time (like the one in my link above) which is about 6 months worth of bedding...


 Buy a 40-lb bag if you can. It's cheaper than buying two 20 lb bags.


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## Tibbs87

OK, one more thing which I just found out and I think is a really good tip: freeze your bedding. It sounds weird, but if you freeze bedding before you use it in a cage, it supposedly kills any mites which could potentially be living in the bedding. If you live in a cold climate, that's easy to do right now...just leave the bedding outside for a full day. Then when you want to use it, bring it inside, let it thaw for a day and you should be good to go!


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