Cat litter? - Page 2

Linds · 12-18-03, 12:18 AM

Quote:

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 · 12-18-03, 09:18 PM

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 · 12-19-03, 08:47 PM

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 · 12-19-03, 08:49 PM

(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 · 12-20-03, 10:53 AM

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 · 12-22-03, 03:03 PM

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 · 12-22-03, 06:13 PM

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 · 12-22-03, 10:05 PM

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