# Bedding Help!



## Pan&Lou (Jun 14, 2013)

So my mom is deciding to think that my rats smell and are dirty all of a sudden even though I've had them since June .-.
So I need a little help, the bedding I'm currently using is Kaytee Clean & Cozy. I rather like this bedding, it has the same price as basic carefresh but it's not dusty at all and it expands a ridiculous amount so your getting more for your money. The bag I have now has given me three cleanings, and I'm halfway through almost.

On to my dilemma though. It's made of thin paper shreds so it's light and not super absorbent. But the real problem is that Pan has extreme nesting behaviors and in one hour dragged the majority of her bedding from the lower floor to the top floor, piling a ton of it in her sleeping corner with very little help from Lucy. 
After it's all piled up, she lays on it and it goes raining down the side of the cage and gets everywhere.

So I like carefresh as well, it's pretty absorbent, but it's so dusty and doesn't expand at all. 
What I'd be looking for is something that won't get tossed around as easily, is absorbent, not any more expensive then my current litters, and maybe a bit difficult for Pan to carry to try and stop that? XD

I'm also open to suggestions that involve no bedding. Just please, don't everyone say fleece as I already know that as a possibility. 

Thank you so much<3


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

What kind of CareFresh were you using? The wood kind is rubbish but Ultra I loved. I liked Kaytee but as you noticed it's very light. Ultra expand, is heavier paper, and I would think similarly absorbent. It got thrown around less. 


I would combine it with ferret descenting spray, as the paper absorbs it really well so it certainly perks the smell up. 


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## Gannyaan (Dec 7, 2012)

My rat cage doesn't smell at all- especially when my mom comes to visit, since she was a rat-phobe . I've been going more hardcore since my diagnosis of severe asthma, since rat urine is a trigger for it... Lately You wouldn't even know there's four rats living with me lol... 

-Hammocks/fleece and any material can smell after a day or two.... I now change their hammocks every day or every other day depending on the material. I have a rubbermaid bin that seals that I put the "rat laundry" in (so you can't smell it  shake out ahead of time to get poops/bedding off just in case!) and wash it weekly.. Before I put them in the bin, I put them in a plastic bag so that I cant smell it at all. (My apartment is extremely small and I have a very very strong sense of smell) 

-Wipe cage levels daily (i do it twice a day sometimes lol ) to get pee spots out (I use natures miracle spray and paper towels. The spray smells nice).

-change the bedding in the area they poop in every other day or every day (My babies prefer one corner in particular), and change the whole thing twice weekly. 

-once in a while while u wipe the levels, wipe the outside bars of the cage. Some rats launch pee outside the cage and it makes the bars stinky if it builds up. In this case, u need to find out where they launch and clean that often.

Once a week spray the cage down ( soak it !) with a cleaner (I use natures miracle, but I've used many different things if u need advice in that department lol), let it sit five minutes and wipe it down!!

Honestly it doesn't take long to swap out bedding quickly and stuff. The once a week heavy duty is what takes me more time, but with practice you get quick. Pop them in a travel cage if u need to do it without them interfering. 








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## Pan&Lou (Jun 14, 2013)

Thanks for the suggestions.
I was just using like basic, and then the natural stuff.
My rats launch their pee. It's awful, the corner right in the front of the cage and the table surrounding it.
I use only one hammock, I keep trying to get my sister to make them a new, bigger one since they've grown and I'm helpless with the sewing machine and hand sewing.
I only clean or change anything out in their rat cage once a week, as it can get expensive to buy them bedding and the only money I get it from pet sitting every now and then, and holidays. 

What would be some good house hold cleaning supplies to wipe the cage floors off with and such in-between cleanings? I have lysol wipes, but I don't want to use that on their cage. I just wipe the floor around them with it.


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## Pandandelion (Oct 20, 2013)

Are your rats litter trained? If not, I would try that while getting rid of the bedding entirely. What I do for my rat is give him a "bedding box" which is usually just a tissue box or good sized container willed with bedding and let him do whatever he wants with it, which is usually to kick out all the bedding and sleep on the floor..... but it might be worth a shot with your ratties!


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## littleames (Apr 29, 2013)

I use Aspen in the base..the woody smell is just kind of fresh..idk. I've used fleece in the bottom and they just rip holes and make a mess. Aspen is also super cheap most of the time. I actually got a HUGE back of Harland Teklad aspen for 8 bucks online....it is bit dusty though which sucks, but I haven't had problems with my rats or my gerbils.
I have fleece liners on the levels and I use a litter pan. You might need to change their hammocks regularly as some rats like to pee in them. I get a grocery bag and put the dirty liners(they pee on the corners) and hammocks in it until it's time to wash everything. Since you don't have a lot of hammocks, then you can just make some out of old jean legs, rags/dishtowels, shirts, old ugly pajamas you're too embarrassed to wear anymore etc. Mine LOVE jean legs lol!









I also wipe down the cage with vinegar and water(less vinegar than water) when I wash all of the fleece and hammocks. The smell doesn't bother me and it disappears anyways...again it's also cheap! And vinegar is an odor eliminator! 

I know what you mean about the Kaytee. I love Clean and Cozy..I used it with my gerbils for the longest time because petco aspen gave them red noses so I thought they were allergic. It was just petco aspen lol. Anyways, I put Kaytee in the rats litter pan when I was out of litter and Munro was hopping up and down putting it in the food bowl, the levels, the hammocks...just everywhere lol! It was a mess. And I personally hate Carefresh lol!


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## Pan&Lou (Jun 14, 2013)

My biggest concern with Aspen is that it would be messy, but I can't imagine its any lighter than the Kaytee stuff. 
I had a litter pan in there when I first got my rats, but I ran out of litter and never bought more.. A lot of times they do use the bathroom in the same area.
I actually think that they probably would barely smell at all if I took out the boxes in there, but they love them 
I'm considering removing the wheel from the cage, since besides sleeping on it I've only ever witnessed Pan very cautiously walking on it once. And then I'll have more space in there to put boxes on the side where people don't walk by. 

As for wiping down the cage in-between cleanings, would a vinegar solution be okay for that, or can I maybe just wipe it with a paper towel soaked in water. Since it's mostly just on corner.


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## littleames (Apr 29, 2013)

As far as mess, Aspen and Kaytee are about the same. Idk the cage you have, but my base is deep and they don't kick it out and they don't drag any of it around and stash it like they do with the Kaytee. I just put enough Aspen to cover the bottom completely. If it does get on the floor from my own doing, I have hardwood floors so I can sweep it up easily or just suck it up with the vacuum which I do weekly.

Vinegar solution is perfectly fine for in between cleanings. Sometimes my boys will pull up the liners and pee on the level so I'll just grab the spray bottle(a dollar at the dollar store or use an old spray bottle, just clean it really well) and wipe it down with a paper towel. If you don't have liners, then I would do this every time I seen a puddle of pee on the level.


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## Pan&Lou (Jun 14, 2013)

I have the Petco Rat Manor. It's got a pretty deep base from what I've seen of rat cages. The problem is mostly them dragging it around.

I don't have liners, so I'll have to try that vinegar solution, do you have a ratio for making it, like amount of water compared to amount of vinegar?


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## RattyDaddy (Dec 8, 2013)

Pan&Lou said:


> I have the Petco Rat Manor. It's got a pretty deep base from what I've seen of rat cages. The problem is mostly them dragging it around.
> 
> I don't have liners, so I'll have to try that vinegar solution, do you have a ratio for making it, like amount of water compared to amount of vinegar?


I have the same cage, and I just use a t-shirt spread out to cover the floor and I have a litter pan in the corner. I change the shirt every 2-3 days. Works great!

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## littleames (Apr 29, 2013)

Mine don't drag the Aspen at all. That doesn't mean yours won't, but they will be a lot less tempted to with aspen. Or you can use the shirt/towel/fabric method like Rat Daddy mentioned.
A ratio for the vinegar water is 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water.


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## Pan&Lou (Jun 14, 2013)

Maybe I'll try aspen when my bag of Kaytee runs out.. I'll do a bit of research into it asap.
Thank you all for your opinions<3


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