# Opinions on these beddings?



## thepumpkinrat (Oct 30, 2016)

I'm trying to decide between Ecobedding, Yesterday's News and the Vitakraft Fresh World and wanted your opinions! (Sorry if this is a redundant question, I couldn't find anything comparing all 3 and I'm genuinely curious)Which one of these is the least dusty?


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## Shadow <3 (Jan 25, 2017)

You wanted the unscented yesterdays news for your base bedding. The reason is because the fresh world bedding has baking soda (dangerous to rats if ingested) and the eco bedding is just crinkled paper (no odor control and minimal absorption)

Now what you can do is use the pelleted yesterdays news in the cage pans and make a dig box with eco paper bedding - that's what I do and my cage goes a good 2 weeks between cleaning without any odor issues! I have 8 rats in my cage (a DCN) as well and they almost always sleep in their 20 gallon long eco paper bedding filled dig tank but never pee/poop in it so I only have to change it when I change the rest of the bedding. And the yesterdays news keeps things nice and odorless and does a great job absorbing their urine. Just the perfect combo IMO and wish I started out using it instead of trying things like carefresh (dusty and no odor control ugh)


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## CorbinDallasMyMan (Feb 24, 2017)

I'm gonna have to disagree with Shadow on one point. I don't believe Fresh World contains baking soda anymore but even if it did, baking soda in small amounts isn't at all harmful to rats in any way. There are plenty of studies showing positive effects of baking soda in rats. Baking soda can be used as a DIY rat "poison" but it requires rats to eat a large quantity of baking soda (like, half a teaspoon) all at once. The baking soda reacts to the rat's stomach acids and creates gas that will kill the rat because they can't burp. This would be the equivalent of us trying to eat a cup and a half of baking soda. It would have some pretty negative effects on us, too, but in normal, small amounts, it's just fine. Even the AFRMA recommends a homemade pedialyte recipe for baby mice and rats that includes baking soda as one of the ingredients. If a bedding substrate contained baking soda, there would be absolutely no way that a rat would be able to consume enough of it to have a bad reaction to the baking soda. They would die from ingesting the large amount of paper long before the baking soda ever became a problem. 

Personally, I think baking soda is a good ingredient when it's contained within a substrate. Baking soda is fantastic for controlling odors/ammonia. As long as it isn't loose, creating a dust issue, I believe it's just fine.

*Eco-Bedding:* I think of Eco-Bedding as more of a nesting material than a full cage substrate. It's one of the lower dust options but it doesn't do much of anything for odors. It also doesn't provide good floor coverage. It kinda loosely sits on the floor of the cage without actually creating a solid layer. Pools of urine can form underneath it. I tried it for a while and I would have to put flat sheets of paper down underneath the Eco-Bedding. It's also stupidly expensive for what it is. It's just crinkled paper. You can order a giant 10 lb. box of crinkle-cut kraft paper from Staples for under $20.

*Yesterday's News:* I use other paper pellet litters but I haven't specifically tried Yesterday's News because I'm a little turned off by the fact that it's made from 30 - 40% soft and hardwood sawdust. It probably doesn't cause any issues (?) but I find it easy to use other pellets like Exquisicat and So Phresh (they're cheaper anyway). Pellet litters are nice and heavy so they don't get kicked out of the cage as easily as some other loose substrates. They're fairly low-dust. Coverage and absorbency are good. I use paper pellets in the litter boxes but I think they're also a good option as a full-cage substrate.

*Vitakraft Fresh World:* I believe Fresh World is just the pellet litter ground up (crumbled) a little bit. There are a number of brands similar to this. It has the same properties as the paper pellets but it's a little denser and a little softer than the full pellets. It's also a little dustier. I don't think it's a bad choice at all, though


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