# Fleece Liners



## McWhat (Oct 15, 2012)

So I've recently switched to fleece liners for my girls cage. I've notice that the smell is a lot worse now. I clean the cage every other day, but it constantly smells like urine. Any suggestions?


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

You can switch to Towels. More expensive and not as pretty, but I've heard that they hold urine better. Fleece just transfer the Urine to under it, so paper towels or newspaper would be best to put under it. You could try putting some Aspen chips under it but that kind of defeats the purpose to fleece. You could always go back to a dust free bedding.

If you have like a critter nation you can get some Coroplast (sold at sign shops) and make a deeper pan out of it. It's cheaper then ordering the deep ones.


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## W0LFPR1NC3SS (Oct 22, 2012)

Pit peepee pads under it. Like for puppy training. Or i heard terrarium carpet for lizards is really good.


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

Towels aren't great because they fray badly and the loops/fraying can catch little toes very easily. JUST fleece will not work very well because it simply wicks urine away from the surface and lets it puddle underneath to stink up. Puppy pads aren't a great idea because of the way that the absorb and expand, which means bad news if the rats decide to taste it. Terrarium carpet... I have no idea.

I like to sew cotton batting into my fleece liners so that the fleece wicks the urine right to the cotton where it can sit for a few days without smelling.


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## PrincessRat (Aug 22, 2012)

I use just plain fleece and I can go three weeks without smelling a thing (I clean my cage every 3 days to a week any way though. I've never known it to smell..I've never used anything under mine or anything. This surprised me.


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## Rinzy (Aug 29, 2012)

I use the terrarium carpet. It's called Zilla terrarium liner. I really like it. It absorbs well and reduces odor. They are also very easy to clean - just rinse in cold water and lay flat or hang dry. I would recommend them.


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## PrincessRat (Aug 22, 2012)

Rinzy said:


> I use the terrarium carpet. It's called Zilla terrarium liner. I really like it. It absorbs well and reduces odor. They are also very easy to clean - just rinse in cold water and lay flat or hang dry. I would recommend them.
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How much are they? Can the rats chew them up? (I'm having huge chewing problems with my fleece)


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## Rinzy (Aug 29, 2012)

PrincessRat said:


> How much are they? Can the rats chew them up? (I'm having huge chewing problems with my fleece)


I got the 75 gallon one for $16. They tried chewing it a little at first but it's pretty dense and mine don't really mess with it now. I have 2 sets so I don't have to wait for the others to dry.


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## Flora (Aug 30, 2012)

I use towels AND fleece on the top. It still smells pretty bad by the time cleaning day comes around.


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## trematode (Sep 8, 2012)

On the levels, I use a layer of faceclothes with fleece on top. I clip them to the levels with binder clips and clothes pins.

I bought the terrarium liner. It was very expensive ($12.99 + tax for 2 that fit a 15 gallon). I could only cut it once to fit one of my levels. I put fleece on top and clipped it down. And... my girls got under the fleece and chewed it. I haven't used it too much to comment on if I noticed a difference.

On the bottom, I find using tea towels (dish towels) work best. They are very inexpensive at the Dollar Store and they are denser than towels. When they are chewed, they don't fray as much. I bought some Velcro to try to hold the tea towels to the tray. It works extremely well. My girls didn't chew the towel or get underneath it. But... the self-adhesive Velco I picked up does not stick very well. It comes off the tray and off the towels. My girls took a lose corner, pulled it into their bed and chewed the heck out of it.

I find the towels and the fleece smells... so I replace some of the levels or the whole cage every couple of days or so. It seems like my rats are smellier than other people's though! Or maybe I am more sensitive to the smell.

Bedding isn't an option for me unless I buy a new cage. The tray is very shallow.

I did pick up an enzyme spay at the pet store that is supposed to be small animal safe. I find it really cuts back on the smell. It has a slight grape-like smell. I have been using it to clean the cage when I replace the liners. I can even use it to clean my girls according to the bottle.
http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j...6IGYAg&usg=AFQjCNHKBUac6g40NiL9PCsZu86giJFQZw If anyone has any comments on the product, lemme know. According to the MSDS, it's safe: http://www.regulatory-info-hsx.com/pdf/english/MSDS-H30-H31.pdf


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## McWhat (Oct 15, 2012)

Thanks everyone! I think I'm going to try the pet pee pee pads


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## pocketmouse (Jun 13, 2012)

I buy baby blankets from thrift stores/garage sales (some larger ones with multiple layers of fabric and some smaller ones that you would like wrap a newborn in) they're really absorbent and don't fray or get toes caught in them, and they work really really well, and they're really cheap & there's a wide variety of patterns so I really enjoy that. I obviously wash them regularly, and do daily spot checks, but the smell doesn't get bad as long as I make sure to change the fabrics out every other day or two, and I just make sure to have enough extra fabrics so that I can just fill up a bag with the dirty blankets and hammocks and wash all of it together at the end of the week, so that I'm not like doing laundry every other day.


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