# Bedding help!



## Mama Rat (Jan 23, 2017)

I have a double critter nation cage with fleece/uhaul as bedding. The upkeep is annoying and my boys seem to be sneezing quite a bit, on top of constantly chewing holes to play underneath the liners. Should I switch to aspen? I had been considering the switch, but the only problem is how would I be able to have aspen in the critter nation? Also, what brand of aspen is best? How often does it need to be changed?


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## Asiposea (Dec 16, 2016)

This will be entirely your decision. Many people love fleece and many love wood bedding. If you're frustrated with what you have, give aspen a try, you can always switch back if you hate it.

If you decide to switch, there are a couple ways of doing this. 

1. Bass Equipment sells 3 inch high pans for the shelves and bottom and middle levels. They come in stainless steel or galvanized steel. Stainless is a great permanent option. Galvanized will need to be either powdercoated or painted (and then cured for two weeks before use). This is your most expensive option.
2. You can do a combination cage where the shelves have a plastic tub of aspen and the main levels are fleece or vice versa.
3. You can get a cement mixing tub for aspen on the bottom and line the shelves with fleece.
4. You can make 'guards' that border the existing plastic trays to contain bedding (I don't know how well this works but I've seen pictures of people doing this).
5. You can make your own trays out of coroplast and duct tape. If you do, consider at least 4 inches high. I use this method, but it will depend on if your rats are big chewers. It cost me $15 for an 8 x 4 piece of coroplast at home depot.

The amount of cleaning you do will be dependent on how many rats you have and the general set up (for instance, I don't have a middle level at all). My current boys mess more on certain levels- so I have to clean one shelf every week and another every two weeks. Cleaning is a breeze: toss, wipe, fill. I love wood chips and find that the smell is extremely minimal and only when I'm passing by the cage. I will never go back to anything else.

I don't think anybody has determined the best brand. You may have to try a couple. I get mine at Tractor Supply for about $10- it's the giant bag. 

Good luck!


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## Scorpiont23 (Jan 1, 2017)

I also have the DCN and I just switched to aspen yesterday (mostly). On my bottom level I ordered a tub on amazon that had to be cut a little bit but now fits perfectly. On the shelves I have 28 qt sterilite tubs that I got from walmart. Now I'm waiting on stainless steel middle shelf from Bass Equipment. 

They seem to really enjoy digging around in the aspen. But they also like to crawl in-between the sterilite tub and the cage and then go to sleep there >.>


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## rottengirl (Mar 16, 2016)

I have a DCN equivalent (all living things) and had used fleece for almost a year before switching to aspen (from 2 months to present). I prefer Aspen but there are days that I do sometimes want to switch back. 

I went on chinchilla.ca and found trays with a 3 inch ledge. worked wonders, keeps almost all the aspen in unless you have a crazy rat that likes to dump bedding outside the cage! also eliminates smell much better than fleece. lowered my rats uri issues. but my rats can stash food easily and its hard to find. and they've stopped using the litter box. and i noticed they get colder and snuggle together more, now that the fleece is all gone. and of course the amount of solid waste to throw away has risen. 

All in all i prefer aspen, i find myself not hating it as much as fleece! but i am very low maintenance so keep that in mind.


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## Okeedoke22 (Dec 31, 2016)

After doing some research I think Premier Pet aspen bedding is sold at the Tractor Supply Co. It's kiln dried all natural bedding. 3 times screened for less dust. I also found it on amazon. The price at tractor Supply co. is much cheaper. $11 compared to $28 so if you are near a Tractor supply store it's a steal. 

Another good brand I believe is Petspick Aspen bedding but I haven't found it any stores.


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## rattylily (Jan 26, 2017)

If there is a Home Depot near you or you have access to shipping from them, their large cement mixing tub is the perfect size for a critter nation, you just have to trim it very slightly. The Rat Guru on YouTube made a tutorial about it. It's worked extremely well for me, but if your rats don't have enough toys or are especially destructive, they could wreck it since it's plastic.

However it's only $13 and has very nice high sides, the area around the cage has never had such little bedding falling out before lol.


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## SoaringRat (Apr 18, 2016)

Personally, I use fleece and napkins (carefresh kicks up too much dust, I call bull on their dust free claims). I'll toss in old pj pants or old t-shirts occasionally.

My rats haven't had any issues with fleece + napkins in the almost 5yrs I've had them. They also use litterpans, so that makes clean up a LOT easier!


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## Mama Rat (Jan 23, 2017)

Thanks for all the replies! My boys aren't very good at using their litter boxes, So the fleece gets dirty quickly. I wish I could get a cement mixing tubs, but it looks like the ones that fit the critter nation aren't sold in Canadian Home Depot stores.... premier pet aspen isn't sold at the Canadian tractor supply either.... All they have is 113L "Easy Clean Aspen Bedding & Litter".Anyone heard of it or used it? Is it dusty? Also, I had considered the Flowertown chinchilla pans, but I've heard their coating wears out, unlike stainless steel, but bass pans would be very expensive to purchase and have shipped to Canada...


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