Cat litter?

[Oliverian]

Is it safe and possible to use cat litter as rat bedding? It's hard to find cheap aspen around here (at least for me!) and everything else i've tried doesn't work very well. Would they eat it do you think? I want them to be happy and healthy. What do you think?
-TammyR

[Bartman]

Dont mean to take anything away from your post but since your on the topic :) i have to ask everyone if you can use cat litter for the actual reptile? Never thought about it

[Oliverian]

Does anyone know if this would work well?
-TammyR

[sapphire_moon]

well I don't know about the rats, but I would assume not, especially if they are breeding rats, they have to have something to nest on, and take off your shoes and walk around on a bunch of rocks all day, see how happy you are!

As for the reptiles, Since you can't use gravel on snakes because it scratches up their belly scales then I wouldn't use kitty litter. Plus most of it is usually scented, or dusty, no matter how non-dusty it says it is; it is still usually really dusty. So again I would say no for respertory (sp?) problems.

I'm no expert though, JMO's, maybe someone more knowledgeable with this would be able to help.

[Oliverian]

Yea, I knew it wouldn't be good for snakes. I was going to provide a seperate nesting material for the rats, but I too have heard that cat litter is dusty. I just wanted to know if anyone used it sucessfully. I'm guessing it's not too common. Its just such a pain to try and find aspen shavings around here that don't come from the petstore and cost $15 a bag. Is there some way to detoxify pine or cedar shavings?, like soaking them in hot salty water or something? Those are the only kinds i'm able to find at wal-mart. If there IS a way to detoxify pine and cedar, that would be awesome. Has anyone done THIS successfully?
-TammyR

[northernsnake]

I think cat litter would stick to the pinkys but maybe it would be good for males. I think I'give it a try.;)

[Syco]

I use wood shavings that I get from the local farm supply store, they are just labled as "wood shavings" ?? It's not cedar and it doesn't have that strong pine smell or oil like some pine shavings do. I've been using it for quite some time with my mice and my daughter's pet rat and have seen no problems. I don't know about your Wal-Mart, but the pine shavings that they sell here are *very* piney (sp?) smelling and have a lot of oil to them, smells like someone soaked them in Pine-sol ! LOL! They took my breath away, no way was I using them for my rodents. Look around and see if you can find just plain wood shavings and try that.

[northernsnake]

You get your moneys worth at a farm supply. $5 for a big bail you arent going to get wood shavings at that price at wal-Mart.

[JonD]

Be resourceful, there is always good deals to be found. Besides there is tons of logging up in BC. Wood products should be easy to come by......;)

[Linds]

I would definitely steer clear of cat litter. Particles will definitely be embedded in the rodents fur (especially problematic if it is clumping) and then ingested by whoever is eating it, which even if the animal isn't intended as a feeder, will still be a problem as rats are always cleaning themselves, not to mention their food always goes on the ground. Cat litter isn't strictly clay, it also has some undesirable additives, even the "clean" kinds.
Are these pet rats? I just keep my feeders on pine, well... "wood" shavings purchased from the co-op, but it is pine nonetheless, the degree of smell depends on the packaging, age, and storage conditions. My pet rats however are kept on Carefresh. It isn't super cheap ($23 for a big bag), but it lasts forever and is way better at controlling odours than wood is. I change my pet rats (all males) once a month usually, they are housed at the end of my bed and I don't smell a thing. I think most farm supplys also carry aspen as well. I noticed last time I was there they had hemp bedding for sale, and have been meaning to look in to it. It is a bit pricier ($12 3.5 compressed cubic feet), but was considering possibly mixing it in to the regular pine shavings.

[Oliverian]

I'm looking for something that is cheap, healthy for the rats, and healthy for the snakes. They are pet rats, but they are bred every once in a while to make snake food. I like the idea of buying wood shavings from a farm supply store, now I'll just have to find one in the area that sells wood. Does it come in a bag or a package or something, or is it just in a pile?

Also, do you think there would be a way to de-toxify pine or cedar, like soaking for a long time in a couple different batches of salt water and rinsing really well afterwards and then drying it in an oven for a short time or something? I'm probably not going to try it, I was just wondering.
-TammyR

[northernsnake]

The farm supply store call it a bail of wood(pine)shavings maybe becuse it is the same size and shape as a bail of hay it comes sealed in plastic looks like a bail of peat moss. Also you might want to check some of the mills in your area especially a mill that plane finished 2x4 you might get some for free if you ask the right person........little hint a case of beer could get you a life time of shaving from any mill.

[Lisa]

Cheep and heathy? go with news print. you don't even have to shred it for the rats (they will do it them selves).

Pine is bad for snakes and rats, as it is a soft wood.

[Linds]

If you are looking for healthy, then the shavings labelled as "wood" from the farm supply are the wrong place to go. They are pine shavings, and as I mentioned previously, it all depends on the storage conditions, age, and packaging on how much it smells. They come prepackaged, depending on the supplier, it will be either compressed or loose in plastic, or compressed in paper.

If you are looking for really cheap, but still healthy, then Lisa's suggestion of newspaper is probably your best bet.

[northernsnake]

I have used wood shavings for twenty years with no problems! do not use ceder and all will be fine........PS newspaper sucks!

[Linds]

Originally posted by northernsnake
I have used wood shavings for twenty years with no problems! do not use ceder and all will be fine........PS newspaper sucks!

I agree, newspaper sucks, but it is harmless and cheap. I use pine for my feeders, but don't use it for my pets. I find sometimes my feeders get a bit wheezy and sneezy on the stuff, but it doesn't concern me because they aren't destined for a long life anyways. I used to use pine for pets as well, but have switched in the past few years and have found much better results :) Many people (not myself yet, as my rodents are not in their "old age yet" as I have only been housing them on alternative substrates for about 3 years now) have found that since they switched, the animals they though were previously thriving on pine, were living much longer, improved lives on substrates that didn't contain phenols.

[Bighead]

The only kind of cat litter that would work would be "Yesterday's News" Which is recycled paper similar to Carefresh but in pellet form. It is a soft pellet and "dust-free" but not much if any cheaper than carefresh.

As far as soaking the pine and cedar goes, it may help a little, but it still probably won't be very safe, plus it would be a pain soaking it, rinsing it, and letting it dry every time.

Basically, there is no perfect solution. Whatever you choose, it's either going to cost more (carefresh or aspen) or be less than ideal for "pet" rats (woodshavings or pine).

[sapphire_moon]

Do not use pine or cedar. You can use anything that is dust free, as dust causes respirtory problems.
Just because they are feeder rats don't mean that they should have a lesser quality bedding.
I recently acquired a 1.1 pair and am currently waiting for them (and not so patiently) to breed. As this is our first pair they will be retired as pets. So they will get the best care they can get! They are currently on pine bedding, but since they are getting a larger cage will be on different bedding then (monday or tuesday!).

[sapphire_moon]

(double post)


Here is a website I found to be VERY informative. It is for fancy rats, but, rats are rats. You care for a fancy the same way you do a breeder/feeder.

http://www.fancy-rats.co.uk/information/habitat/

[northernsnake]

I'v been keeping rats as pets and feeders since 1981. keep them clean and well ventilated and they will live a full life and have know respitory problems.

[sapphire_moon]

well ventilated for a rat is a wire cage (not wire flooring) like the kind a hamster would go in, or rabbit (with smaller spacing bars. But since most of the people's rats in question are feeder rats, I doubt they are going to go out and buy a perfectly accustomed HUGE cage for their 1.3 rat's. Which can be expensive! But if you are keeping pet rats, or pet rats that you have breed everyonce in a while (and only that one pair) then that might be a good idea, again that website I posted earlier is great for info o pet rats...

Linds, do you have all your bucks in one cage?

[Linds]

My pet rats are in one cage, they are males. Down in the "meat farm", I have as many as 35 males per tub (I currently have 4 tubs dedicated to males being raised up).

[Oliverian]

Alright, thanks all. I went to the feed store and bought a HUGE bag of shavings. They have a bit of a pine smell, but not bad. The rats don't seem to mind. They are pet rats for the most part, but I will be breeding them occasionally for pinks to feed to the snakes. (I have 1.2, and they are about a week into pregnancy) I tried newspaper once.. I really didn't like the way it looked or smelled, and it was hard to clean up. But, if you're short on cash it works. I think the stuff I have now is great. It was about $9 and the bag is huge. It's all compacted so it will last a long time.

I wouldn't use yesterdays news, ect, because I just don't want to go out and spend more than I have to on bedding that will be short-lived anyways (they aren't litter trained yet...) The stuff I have now is working well, so I'm going to stick with it. Thanks linds and everyone else.
-TammyR