# Do I actually need bedding?



## Ellavedder (Feb 19, 2013)

I have a plastic tray bottom of my rat cage and I used to use bedding at the start but it was a pain to change it and costly too. Then I thought.. What's the point? Now they just run on the plastic and have a potty tray. I wipe the plastic down twice a day. So whose benefit is the bedding for? They are only at the bottom of the cage when they want to use potty aswell so comfort doesn't seem to be an issue..


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## alexn (Sep 30, 2012)

The bedding and litter that I put in mine is less for cleanliness etc, more for entertainment. Mine love shifting it all around, burying things, and Toki likes to build a nest in the corner whenever she gets broody 

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## Ellavedder (Feb 19, 2013)

It just feels like I have to clean more when there is bedding. But they do love to build nests, unfortunately they pee all over it and I chuck it out. All four of them get sick maybe once a month so I have to keep their cage as clean as possible which doesn't make it that fun for them  does your cage smell out the room? Mine is atm, I'm wondering if there is some hypoallergen candle or spray out there to cover the smell..


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## alexn (Sep 30, 2012)

nope, doesn't smell much at all, tbh. It does depend a lot on your choice of litter I think. 

Some weeks I don't even do a complete clean, just replace half of the litter or so, leaving their nest corner alone. All depends on how dirty they've been. 

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## Hephaestion (Jan 27, 2013)

Is it easier without litter? I just picture pools of pee and without due diligence an ammonia swimming pool. Do you have boys or girls? I used to use hemp and it was great for odour control. Now I use fleece but have only been doing so for two days. It doesn't stink yet! I have noticed that hammocks can become quite smelly. I alternate mine every three to four days (with five rats, there is a lot of pee). Also, plastic nest houses for some reason become smelly. I rub these down with odourless baby wipes daily. I give them tissue paper as a nesting material. Knowing that they are only going to pee on it and then marinate, I dump the old stuff and give them a fresh supply to shred and wee on daily. 

Regarding products, there is one called nil-odour for which the reviews are good. Dab a few drops on a tissue and leave by the cage. There are "cage fresh" products where you sprinkle a layer under the litter. I don't know how safe or good these are.


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## Jokerfest (Sep 25, 2012)

Not using bedding and allowing them to constantly walk in their urine can cause bumble foot.


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

Jokerfest said:


> Not using bedding and allowing them to constantly walk in their urine can cause bumble foot.


you beat me too it Joker. But yes, build up of Urine and feeces can cause Bumble foot.

In terms of bedding, you can use Fleece only. I've seen many people do it. I recently ran out of Aspen shavings so right now my boys are on fleece only (poor boys, they keep trying to figure out where they can poop at since they are litter box trained. Oh well, they've decided that their tiles are their litter boxes right now). It makes it smell quicker, but it saves money. you only need to buy replacement fleece which maybe be every few months or so.

I've found Aspen helps with the smell better, but hemp works as well. Surprisingly Kaytee Clean and Comfy (Cozy?) Also keeps smell down quite well. I use to mix it in with my Aspen before I did litter box training to make their bedding softer.

If moneys an issue you can do 1 of 3 things, or combine them. 1. Litter box train, it keeps down the amount of bedding you need but you need to buy fleece to cover solid surfaces to prevent bumble foot, which does mean you have to do laundry more often.
2. Order in Bulk. Kaytee Aspen Shavings you can order up to 8 cubic feet for under $30, I think their 8 cubic feet is actually 22 dollars (extremely cheap). Though with bulk ordering you aren't getting in it a "pretty package". often it's just a brown bag with a label on it.
3. This depends on if you can do this, but shred your own paper. Old papers you don't need you can shred and use as rat bedding, when you order stuff if it has shredded paper in it you can use that as well, or if it's just regular boxing paper you can shred that up. Or ask neighbors if you live in an area where you get the paper if you can have their newspapers if they don't need them. I wouldn't recommend this as their only bedding but combine this with their current bedding can help make it last longer.

Hope those help you. As for smell, there isn't much you can do. I think a bit of baking soda in the bedding can help (There's been some controversy over this though) or a bit of vanilla in their water.


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## Hero-wuff (Sep 27, 2012)

I put a bag of this cat litter i buy on the bottom of the cage. It's only £1.30 a bag~
It's wood based and i know it's safe for them. Plus with it being cat litter, it absorbs the smell. I don't start smelling my rats until about a week after a fresh cage because of it. I throw in nesting material too though and that stinks up quickly but all in all the litter works great.


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## EndlessDream (Jul 9, 2012)

Maybe you could line the bottom with fleece or newspaper if you are doing it that way. Also if your rats miss nesting and burrowing, my boys love to nest with strips of newspaper. I tear it up, toss it in, (or hand it in; they love pulling it through the bars) and luckily with big strips they're super easy to clean up.


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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

Asside from the bumble foot issues bedding is also there to absorb away urine, making the cage smell less (if you pickonewith good absorbancy) a d also keeping the amonia build up down which helps prevent resp issues.. its also massively useful for enrichment, digging shifting it around and such is very important in keeping your rats happy and entertained. Unless you have a decent digging box I dont think fleece or newspaper (which is rubbish absorbancy) is fair on the . To me the happyness of my rats is more important than the asthetics. Saying thag it can be expensive, but here in tbe uk its common to use horse bedding (some is brill, low dust etc like card and hemp bedding).becuase its sold in large blaes it is very cost effective.for example tbe hemp bedding I sometimes use comes in at around £8 from a local equine store. It last me months and I provide a deep layer to give them lots of digging opertunitys in a big cage. Becuase its such a deep layer it doesnt smell qui kly at all. I can easily leave it 3 weeks with changing litter trays and spot cleaning and its still not smelling.


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## Booder81 (Mar 4, 2013)

I line my cages with fleece and give them scraps of fleece to nest with. Their litter boxes are filled with 1/2 corn cob 1/2 recycle paper litter. I wash all the fleece once a week and change the litter out then as well. These pics were taken yesterday after a cage cleaning.















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## Ellavedder (Feb 19, 2013)

Sorry guys I haven't worked out how to get notified when I have a response. Money isn't the problem I guess I'm just overwhelmed with all the facts and such about what's good what's unhealthy rah rah and nah there isn't ever pee on the bottom as they either only do that in their potty or where they sleep. And since I made them around three different hammocks to kick back in they hvent been nesting so shredded paper is just sitting there... Maybe they like my job at a nest better..? Or they are sick of me throwing it out because its drenched in pee. I just want them to be healthy and happy. I can't do newspaper bedding on its own though because they'll tear that up pronto.


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## Ellavedder (Feb 19, 2013)

So I went to spot light and purchased some fleece. I thought no bedding would be a cleaner environment but my rats respitory has cleared up a bit since I've been using the fleece and it's a lot easier for me to clean. Thanks everyone for your advice!!


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## maychu365 (Apr 5, 2013)

I put a bag of this cat litter i buy on the bottom of the cage. It's only £1.30 a bag~
It's wood based and i know it's safe for them. Plus with it being cat litter, it absorbs the smell. I don't start smelling my rats until about a week after a fresh cage because of it. I throw in nesting material too though and that stinks up quickly but all in all the litter works great.


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