# Memory foam bath mats as rat substrate



## Sanerba (Sep 22, 2016)

Hi everyone,

I happened to see $2 memory foam bath mats at the 99cents store and have really been loving them since they fit really well in a critter nation! I need 2 to cover a full level but they are like fleece and an absorbent layer all in one! Easy to wash but drying takes a few hours in the sun.

Has anyone else tried this? I've only had them for a few days and can't see any downsides. My rats can't really get under them and they haven't chewed them. Plus they're cheap and reusable.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

At least the rats can't go sleep under them as easily and I believe it wouldn't be comfortable. Fleece as liners are the worst in my opinion because 1) urine crystals cling to the the fleece fiber really strongly and without enzymes to break that bond, washing fleece will get poor results. 2) rats will go sleep under the fleece and breath the ammonia for hours, no wonder so many rats get respiratory infections. I use Aspen, and so far it is the best bedding I ever tried. I still use fleece for hammocks but I prewash them with some extra scent free enzymes I add to the detergent. Your mats absorb better urine than fleece too. Make sure you wash them on the sanatize cycle, and if you notice even the smallest scent of pee after washing them stop using them because it means that urine is still on them and pee/ammonia is building up in your mats.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

I didn't mean to imply that fleece liners will cause respiratory infections in rats, or that using another bedding can prevent them. I meant to say that fleece liners are very difficult to properly clean and that rats will sleep under them making them MORE LIKELY to get respiratory infections. Sorry for the bad wording in my post above


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## Sanerba (Sep 22, 2016)

Yeah, I'm worried about the ammonia as well! But since I have them in my bedroom I clean the cage daily. I usually wash their fabrics with vinegar to neutralize the ammonia and use hot water. I also got several mats so I can swap them every day. I tried paper substrate but I wasn't a fan of the smell  I was just keeping their cage bare and wiping it down 2x a day.


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## Asteria (Jul 6, 2016)

> they are like fleece and an absorbent layer all in one!


Fleece is not meant to be absorbent. The idea of fleece is to have urine pass through the layer of fleece onto a completely different layer underneath which is meant to be absorbent. This makes it so the top layer of fleece is dry. 
Fleece also doesn't fray, this means it isn't likely to cause blockage or digestion issues when consumed. This may not be the case with the bath mat.


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## Sanerba (Sep 22, 2016)

I understood that about fleece, I was just hoping the mat would wick urine the same way. I've now found that the urine doesn't really get pulled down to the bottom of the mat, so I'm just going to use it as an absorbent layer. Now I've got fleece on top (which I already had) and I am really liking the combination since I had a hard time finding anything that they wouldn't chew but was absorbent. Plus it's super soft.


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

Memory foam is polyurethane foam. I wouldn't want my rats chewing on it, personally. It's also not very absorbent, so I wonder if it's not actually memory foam.

I'd use something like cotton filled crib pads if you don't have chewers.


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