# Wood shavings for rats



## CrazyRatGirl1 (Nov 19, 2020)

Hi, I’ve heard mixed opinions on wood shavings for rats. I live in Portugal and find it really hard to find suitable beddings for rats. (If anyone knows where to get some that would be greatly appreciated.) I came across some wood shavings made for horses and wondered if this would be better than wood pellets. Sadly these are the only beddings I have found so far. The wood shavings are very thin but they are in larger chunks. Thanks you everyone 🤗


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## 511958 (Feb 11, 2019)

As far as I know, only one wood shaving bedding is safe for rats and that is aspen bedding. You really want to steer clear of pine and cedar.
Can you get something shipped online to you? If not, you can also use unscented, non-clumping, paper cat litter like Yesterday's News.


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## VivDaRatLuver (Dec 26, 2020)

Hemp beddings are also good if you can't find paper. Another option is using fleece and making a dig box.


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## CrazyRatGirl1 (Nov 19, 2020)

VivDaRatLuver said:


> Hemp beddings are also good if you can't find paper. Another option is using fleece and making a dig box.


I have heard fleece can be bad for rats because the pee just gathers in puddles and realises ammonia. Is this true? I might be wrong sorry. Thank you for the tip on hemp bedding I will keep an eye out for it. 🐀


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## TwilxghtRat (Nov 27, 2020)

CrazyRatGirl1 said:


> I have heard fleece can be bad for rats because the pee just gathers in puddles and realises ammonia. Is this true? I might be wrong sorry. Thank you for the tip on hemp bedding I will keep an eye out for it. 🐀


It can be, but you can put puppy pads or another absorbent item underneath! People with fleece usually have to change it fairly often though, at least once a week!


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## VivDaRatLuver (Dec 26, 2020)

Whenever I use fleece I change it every 3 days to avoid smell and ammonia.


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## CrazyRatGirl1 (Nov 19, 2020)

Thank you. I will definitely try fleece. I have a furat ferplast rat cage so I couldn’t clip the fleece down, could I use something like a ikea bathmat instead? Thank you so much everyone!


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## VivDaRatLuver (Dec 26, 2020)

Bath mats work great. I use them as shelf liners but due to Covid-19, i cant get them at the moment.


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## Creepy McSteezerson (Dec 30, 2020)

I avoid wood shavings solely because I heard cedar and one other type of wood is bad for rats .... Interestingly enough though paper based seems best? That seems counter intuitive but idk lol. Really rats aren't picky though. I use yesterday's news for litter and I tear up construction paper and inkless cardboard for regular bedding. You can use some cloth materials too as long as they aren't stringy.


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## VivDaRatLuver (Dec 26, 2020)

I would also avoid Wood because it can scratch and irritate hairless rats if you have them


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## CorbinDallasMyMan (Feb 24, 2017)

I've tried a lot of different types of substrate and my favorite so far is aspen wood shavings. Pine is also probably fine if it has been kiln-dried/heat treated. If the packaging doesn't tell you what kind of wood it is, I probably wouldn't feel comfortable using it. 

One of the types of aspen I use is sold in big bales as a horse bedding. It's very cheap but it's also very dusty. It's too dusty to use for rats so I use a mesh laundry basket to sift out the excess dust. It's great after that. I've started sifting all of my bedding, even the stuff that claims to be 99% dust free. I think it helps a lot.


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## VivDaRatLuver (Dec 26, 2020)

I will try that because i still notice a lot of dust on my air purifier filter.


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## 511958 (Feb 11, 2019)

CorbinDallasMyMan said:


> One of the types of aspen I use is sold in big bales as a horse bedding.


I've heard you mention that bedding before, what's it called? I've been looking into switching bedding for a while- I tried hemp, and it was fantastic but the shipping price was so expensive. Now I'm using Kaytee Clean and Cozy but it's really expensive as well. The aspen you use sounds great


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## VivDaRatLuver (Dec 26, 2020)

I am pretty sure aubiose cut shipping prices and added them to the sales price if that was the hemp you were using.


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## VivDaRatLuver (Dec 26, 2020)

Im not sure tho but the website said that last time I was on it tho


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## 511958 (Feb 11, 2019)

VivDaRatLuver said:


> I am pretty sure aubiose cut shipping prices and added them to the sales price if that was the hemp you were using.


I didn't see that! Thanks for letting me know


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## VivDaRatLuver (Dec 26, 2020)

No problem.


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## CorbinDallasMyMan (Feb 24, 2017)

Willow&Whiskers said:


> I've heard you mention that bedding before, what's it called?


I get Premium Horse Bedding from my local farm/feed shop, Fleet Farm. The giant 7 cubic foot bale is only about $6. It weighs about 40 pounds but almost 10 pounds of that is dust (it's really dusty). 










It's a shredded aspen product (not shavings). Shredded aspen is much finer pieces. Its like the snake aspen you can buy from the pet store. Because it's so fine, it's a bit dense and lays really flat.










I actually prefer to mix it 50/50 with Kaytee or So Phresh aspen shavings to give it more bulk and texture and to make it easier to forage through.


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## VivDaRatLuver (Dec 26, 2020)

That is really smart I have a horse and he uses that bedding so I will take some from his stash and try that.


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## Rex the Rat (Apr 7, 2020)

Since we're talking about bedding, does anyone know about this kind?: PittMoss® Prestige- Equine Bedding
I'm thinking of picking some up for the pets.


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## VivDaRatLuver (Dec 26, 2020)

I have never heard of it but it looks like a good bedding.


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## Rex the Rat (Apr 7, 2020)

I especially like the fact that it's recycled!


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## 511958 (Feb 11, 2019)

Rex the Rat said:


> Since we're talking about bedding, does anyone know about this kind?: PittMoss® Prestige- Equine Bedding
> I'm thinking of picking some up for the pets.


That looks really interesting- let me know if you do pick some up!


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## Creepy McSteezerson (Dec 30, 2020)

Edit: apparently I already said this but I can't delete sorry

Just throwing this out there but as far as substrate I don't use it at all. 🤷 Bedding yeah but they're happy with yesterday's news for litter and shredded construction paper/cardboard as long as they can climb, be mentally and physically stimulated and have warm spaces to hide (cloth hammocks). Keep their space clean and you're good. I mean yeah we all strive to better our pets but I just don't think pricey substrate is necessary personally.


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## Rex the Rat (Apr 7, 2020)

Creepy McSteezerson said:


> Just throwing this out there but as far as substrate I don't use it at all. 🤷 Bedding yeah but they're happy with yesterday's news for litter and shredded construction paper/cardboard as long as they can climb, be mentally and physically stimulated and have warm spaces to hide (cloth hammocks). Keep their space clean and you're good. I mean yeah we all strive to better our pets but I just don't think pricey substrate is necessary personally.


If that works for you then it's perfectly fine. I used to use Yesterday's News but since I've transitioned, I find that it's _way_ more enriching for the rats to have loose substrate and it's _way _cheaper.


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## VivDaRatLuver (Dec 26, 2020)

I have always used loose substrate but I tried fleece once. My rats destroyed it and I ended up spending a lot of money for liners that they also destroyed. I finally found one that they didn't want to destroy but they seemed bored because one of their favorite things to do is forage for food and dig in the bedding. I had their dig box inside and it just made a mess. I definitely think my rats are happier and it was cheaper to buy huge bales of aubiose ($105) that last 7 months than buying liners ($90) every two months or bedding ($30) every month. 
One year of Aubiose: $210
One year of Liners: $360
One year of Carefresh:$360
Even though the liners and pet bedding may seem to be cheaper, horse bedding is an amazing bang for your buck and works really well. My horse (Pepper) uses aubiose and he pees a river, but aubiose stays dry and doesn't smell too bad.


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