Litter and Bedding
It is important never to use Cedar or Pine shavings for litter or bedding. These litters contain TOXIC hydrocarbons. You see, these woods are called “softwoods”. The oils that give these woods their scent is what causes the problem. When inhaled, the chemicals change the amount of enzymes the liver produces. Long term exposure to these chemicals actually causes damage to the liver and immunesystem, making the animal more susceptible to respiratory diseases such as Mycoplasma. These toxins may also cause cancer. Clay cat litters are too dusty for rats. No matter what the box says (like 99.9% dust free), stay away from them.
Safe Litters
- Eco-Bedding–Fiber Core. Thin crinkled strips of craft paper (brown paper one grade below grocery bags). Recyclable even with animal waste.
- CareFRESH–Absorption Corporation
Wood pulp fibers too short to make paper processed to the appearance and texture of shredded egg cartons. Doesn’t keep odor down for very long. - Bio-Flush–Ampro Industries Inc.
- Cell Sorb Plus–Fangman Specialties
Soft pellets of recycled newspaper containing a non-toxic patented neutralizing mineral for excellent odor control. - FLUSH-It–XORB Corporation
Short paper fiber pellets with odor control compound added. - Aspen shavings
- Good Mews–Stutzman Environmental Products
Recycled newspaper pellets. - Kozy Korner Ferret Litter–Sheppard & Greene
These pellets, made from recycled newspaper are treated with natural enzymes to help prevent odors. - Yesterday’s News–Canbrands International Ltd.
Pellets made from recycled newspaper with an odor absorbing ingredient. Comes in regular pellets, and softer texture pellets. - Accu-Zorb–Brisky Pet Products
Pellets or granules of cherry and maple wood. - Alfalfa Pellets or Rabbit Food–Readily available and inexpensive.
- CatWorks–Absorption Corporation
Pellets of grain by-products. Nice smell, controls odors quite well. - Country Fresh Cat Litter–SSM Environmental Technologies
Pellets of grain by-products. Very pleasant smell, controls odors very well. - Critter Country–Mountain Meadow Pet Products, Inc.
The company claims that these pellets made from wheat grass actually prevent the formation of ammonia. - Critter Litter (Dan-Mar Equipment Co.)
Pelleted oat hulls. - Gentle Touch Litter–Gentle Touch Corporation
These pellets made from aspen wood are very absorbent and excellent at controlling odor. - Litter Love–The Barnaby Co.
Aspen bark pellets. - Natural Animal Premium Litter Plus (Natural Animal, Inc.)
Small brown crumbles made from peanut shell meal, yucca shidigera, and citrus extract. - All God’s Creatures Litter–Northeastern Products Corp.
Small chips of a hardwood. Messy, but “softer” than pellets. Doesn’t work as well as others.
If you use one of these litters, and the rat cage stinks badly after the first few days, try this the next time: Sprinkle baking soda on the tray, then put the litter on top. The smell will, most likely, subside.
For more information about why Cedar and Pine are dangerous, see the links section under “the Basics.”
on April 11th, 2006 at 7:55 am
Hi there just wanted to say i liked your website i think it helps alot.One thing i noticed though in the pictures the rats in the cages have woodshavings on the floor an this is bad for them makes it hard to breeth an clogs them up n sneeze alot.You are never meant to use it,just thought id say .
on August 4th, 2006 at 3:27 pm
Dear Palma,
The reason there are woodshavings is that they are not pine or cedar. This is the reason people use them and they also might be useing Eco Bedding ranapak corperation (this may sometimes look like woodshavings.)
on September 1st, 2006 at 8:29 pm
I found this website doing a search for litter. You might want to check it out.
http://www.rabbit.org/chapters/san-diego/health/vet-talk/zinc.html
Thanks
on September 8th, 2006 at 4:30 am
Hi, I really love your web. It is awesome and interesting. Keep up the awesome work. And, keep smilin, playin & carin wif those ratties of yours
Nina
on September 30th, 2006 at 11:47 am
Could any one tell me how i can teach my rats to wee in there tolet corner, at the moment we have taught them to use the tolet corner for pooing in but they wee on there shelfs alot
on November 8th, 2006 at 7:42 am
hey i was just wondering if hemp bedding was safe to use?
on January 27th, 2007 at 5:01 pm
Hi, I have recently gotten 2 rats. The pet store was going out of biz and the people were clueless. I have taken them to the vet they are healthy boys.I got instructions on how to litter train them like cats but so far have been unsuccessful. Any Tips?
on January 27th, 2007 at 5:06 pm
Matt, the vet told me they would pee on things as a way to mark territory. It will go away as they get more comfortable at the home. Also, He said that if you keep just a few pieces of the dirty litter when changing the cage to sprinkle with the clean it should cut down on this.
on February 1st, 2007 at 8:00 pm
excellent website. have just bought first rat. did it for my kids to learn responsibility re care and searching knowledge, etc. have found i have fallen for the little thing though.good things about my rat:
no school fees
no paranoia re drug experimenting
doesn’t want to wn a car, let alone drive a car
can elaborate, but think the message is sent.
on July 23rd, 2007 at 6:13 pm
hi.. i just got 2 female rats.. like a week ago.. i have no idea what should they eat Or not.. i asked the owner who had them before me.. she told me some things they can’t eat.. but i wanna know more about them.. & i know it explains that pine/cedar bedding is not good.. which im using now.. i wanna know should i keep using it Or use something else? answer back ASAP & give me more details whats good for them & stuff..
on August 2nd, 2007 at 1:27 pm
Hi, my son just brought home a small rat from work. a coworker used it to scare another employee and was just going to let it go. So now we have it living in our living room. I decided to get some info on nutricianal needs since we once had guinie pigs and I know they couldn’t retain vitamin c and thought maybe he would need something special also. After reading some info on a couple of sites now I have figured out that we really don’t know what we are doing. Pine is not good can I use clumping cat liter? and shredded news paper for bedding? I have already called and our local paper uses a soy based ink so its nontoxic. also, how can I tell if its a stewart or stewartess? should we get him a pal? I read they are social critters. Please any advice would be great. Thanks Mary
on September 21st, 2007 at 1:58 am
Dear Mary. You can easily tell if its male or female. My guess is female, for if it was male, you would have definitely seen the testicles. (kinda like a great dane, way-over sized.) Many will recommend getting them a buddy of the same sex. Me and my fiance have just one little girl, Dorina. She is more than content on her own. We give her plenty of love and attention, shes spoiled, and she knows it. I would recommend cellsorb plus. I used to own ferrets, and it worked magic for them. For Dorina? works like a charm, cheap for a big bag, and will last a while. Rats can honestly be very fun. Hope you learn to love your son’s (aka. your) pet.
on September 22nd, 2007 at 9:22 am
Sometimes I use Charf (horse feed) as bedding. I don’t think my rat eats it. She makes little holes in it to sleep, its so cute. But is it good for them?
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on December 2nd, 2007 at 6:02 pm
Hi,
Im hoping to get 2 female rats soon and have found some wood shavings in a local pet shop. It says they are suitable for all rodents and they are ceadar. is this ok?
the brand is allspan animal bedding and the web site is www.allspan.nl
on December 2nd, 2007 at 6:05 pm
Hi,
oops sorry allspan bedding is spruce! is that ok or still bad?
on December 14th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
I would just like to recomend cat litter by Breeders Celect. It is made from recycled paper(it is pellets). Hope this info helps.
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on July 15th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
is they like a season for rats to breed because my female rat fights with my male rat
on August 4th, 2008 at 9:41 am
him geting 2 female rats is it ok if i cut up paper for wood shaveings plz help and thank you #^_^#
on August 4th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
sorry the first word is im
on August 19th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Braxton,
Not sure I should be the one to answer…I just learned that I need to get rid of the cedar bedding I was using to control the odor…it helps explain why my girls were sneezing so much, I think.
Still, I know that one of my girls, Apples, loves to tear up newspaper and use it to create a nest for herself. Of course, my other girls, Meg and Rose, have never been into tearing up newspaper. It doesn’t do much to control odor, you need to get one of the store-bought litters for that. I would recommend changing the bedding a bit more often if you use the newspaper.
You could also consider potty-training the rats. We’ve had some success with Apples, it just takes some time and effort on your part, and it could help you have to do less cleaning overall.
Hope any of that helps…
Kate
on September 27th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
Doe anyone have any tried and tested ideas for making rat litter from news paper ie; yesterdays news ( it costs so much )