# Sleeping Rattie



## SiNi5T3R (Nov 5, 2010)

Here is one of my Ratties taking a nap. I thought this shot was especially funny....


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

Haha what a cutie!! I love the big white belly, what markings does she have? 

And I have to ask... is that pine bedding?


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## SiNi5T3R (Nov 5, 2010)

ema-leigh said:


> Haha what a cutie!! I love the big white belly, what markings does she have?
> 
> And I have to ask... is that pine bedding?


Ya its pine, I read online tho that if you bake it its better for them then tho so i gave that a try...also read it takes care of any parasites in the bedding aswell. and she is just a normal black and white hooded.


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

Does it still have that smell to it after baking? I've never heard one that before. 

She almost looks like a banded rat in the picture, must just be the way shes lying lol. Heres one of my sleeping babies:


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## SiNi5T3R (Nov 5, 2010)

Actually it took the smell away but since its baked of course its gonna have that baked smell to it but no where near when its in the bag when you first buy it. It also said you could wash it and let it dry but I would think it would get mold rightttt? 

and in the picture she does look like she has a huge band on her back but shes just got a few big black blotches on her. ^^


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

I'm not sure if it would mold, I imagine in kept in the right conditions it wouldn't - but I'm not sure if I would trust the method to make it completely safe. I just avoid pine in general, I find newspaper and kitchen towel to be the best option for my guys and most cost effective! 

How adorable, she has a wonderfully thick tail - I love it! How big is she?


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## SiNi5T3R (Nov 5, 2010)

I don't have a Scale which I would not mind getting cuz it would be fun Weighing them each week to see if they gained anything. She is on the Jumbo Side tho..big Female. she loves to be pet.

Kitchen Towls? do you just wash them? My rats would eat those up like nothing...and I used newspaper for a long time but I noticed with my bald rat that she would dig in it and she started getting ink from the paper all over her face. She is one of those rats that LOVES to nest...I have a funny video on my cell that i got of her doing some super jumps on the cage with news paper in her mouth. its so funny when they get a big piece of paper that covers there feet and when they go to jump they cant get the grip so they just fall LOL


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## SiNi5T3R (Nov 5, 2010)

here i just uploaded it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96wH8dbQG0U


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

Sorry I should of been more specific.. I use kitchen_ paper _towel, it makes a great bedding! I only use fleece for my hammocks as liners get destroyed so fast and I hated looking at the holes lol. I avoid towel as I don't entirely trust the loops of the material. 

How precious is that video  I love it when they try carry something so big like that haha.... today my girls got a hold of our new curtain and took out a good chunk haha they looked so pleased with themselves.


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## SiNi5T3R (Nov 5, 2010)

Yeah they def like to get stuff and rip it up. I made them some toys and instead of hiding in it like it was made for, they just chewed it to pieces lol. I put some balloons filled with air in there and they poped them, was SOOOOO Funny they would just pause like something was attacking them and if they moved it would get them...


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

you have heard of KILN baked pine, but you don't have a kiln to produce that high a temp, so really your pine is still in the dangerous bedding category. Instead of baking why not go buy a bale of aspen and freeze it to kill any stowaway parasites?


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## SiNi5T3R (Nov 5, 2010)

a bale of aspen? like a bag? or a actual bale like hey. 

is hey good for rats? there are HUGE Bales of it just laying around out in the desert where I am that people are planning on using lol, i could always take my golf cart out there and jack a bale or two...


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## blenderpie (Sep 10, 2009)

You would have to freeze it to make sure that all possible bugs are killed, but you would have to make sure that it is hay and NOT straw, which would be to rough and sharp for poor little ratties. I personally haven't used hay, I don't think it controls smell well at all (i feed timothy hay to my rabbits and if they pee in it, it's a disaster.

There are lots of cheap bedding alternatives, news paper is probably the least expensive, but I used carefresh and I love it. It's recycled paper that feels like a soft pulp. Very absorbent and keeps the smell down for a very long time. There's also yesterday's news, which I know that a lot of people use for their rat litter boxes (I use it for bunny litter boxes) and it can make a fine cage liner as long as other soft materials are offered for bedding like paper towels. Yesterday's news is technically a cat litter, bit it's recycled paper in a pellet form. It's like 20 dollars for a 20 lb bag, which isn't bad at all. 

Also, could I ask why she's kept in an aquarium? Pine + poor ventilation is not a very good idea for little rat lungs. 

BUT, all that being said, that picture is hilariously adorable!


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## SiNi5T3R (Nov 5, 2010)

blenderpie said:


> You would have to freeze it to make sure that all possible bugs are killed, but you would have to make sure that it is hay and NOT straw, which would be to rough and sharp for poor little ratties. I personally haven't used hay, I don't think it controls smell well at all (i feed timothy hay to my rabbits and if they pee in it, it's a disaster.
> 
> There are lots of cheap bedding alternatives, news paper is probably the least expensive, but I used carefresh and I love it. It's recycled paper that feels like a soft pulp. Very absorbent and keeps the smell down for a very long time. There's also yesterday's news, which I know that a lot of people use for their rat litter boxes (I use it for bunny litter boxes) and it can make a fine cage liner as long as other soft materials are offered for bedding like paper towels. Yesterday's news is technically a cat litter, bit it's recycled paper in a pellet form. It's like 20 dollars for a 20 lb bag, which isn't bad at all.
> 
> ...



Ya i was going to the local stores and just asking them for all there old papers from the day before and i would have huge bags of it but its such a pain cleanin shredded news paper haha...

also she is in a aquarium because she is currently feeding babys.


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## blenderpie (Sep 10, 2009)

babies! How adorable! And I hear you about the shredded papers, I give them as nest building materials (like I said, I use carefresh as bedding). They always make such intricate hide outs with them I feel bad destroying them when I clean their cage.


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