Everything I use for our two male rats makes their cage stink in like three days. I want something that I can use that will make it smell a little more fresh. Does anyone know if any cat litter is o.k. to use? Thanks!
2007-02-24 21:41:39 · 11 answers · asked by emsauce 2 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
There are a number of beddings that are available to be used for pet rodents but a lot of them are not safe for rats. Like all rodents, rats are oral and they like to chew on their bedding.
Rats produce more urine then other rodents, rats drink up to one ounce of water a day, and male rats do more scent marking around the cage with that urine. Male rats need their bedding changed more often then every three days. I remove soiled bedding every day.
Rats have delicate lungs and very easily get respiratory infections because of Mycoplasmosis. The healthier we can keep their lungs the longer lives they have. The wrong litter can exacerbate existing lung problems. It helps to keep the dust down.
The low-down on beddings,
Cat litter like clay, clumping, silica: Very unsafe for rats and very dusty.
Pine, Cedar, Spruce: The phenols released from this bedding is harmful to rats
Aspen: Safe bedding for rats
CareFresh: Though I have used it on occasion, it's not my favorite bedding because of the expense. Reported more often then not to cause sneezing in rats. There are similar products that do not cause the sneezing
Yesterdays News: Safe bedding for rats
I use this myself, I have up to 6 males per cage. I think it is the best bedding going and suitable for your needs
Corn cob: Mold spores grow in the damp corn cob, dangerous to rats
Rabbit food: Rats cannot digest the ingredients is those alfalfa pellets and will leave them alone. I've used them and the alfalfa smell is great, but I find they go soggy, and fall apart, too fast.
Newspaper: Safe only if you are guaranteed that the printing ink is soy-based
Paper Towel: Safe bedding fo rats. I use this especially when moms are delivering babies
Bathroom tissue: Sticky when wet, unsafe
Shredded office paper: Unless it is made into "confetti", shredded paper has sharp edges.
Rags: Bedsheets, pillow cases, t-shirt, etc. This is what I use full time for my rats, and when changed every day, they are convenient and safe for rats
Do not use baking soda, baby powder, and the like. Even though they do make things smell nice, they are dust and not safe for rats.
Safe bedding for rats
http://search.yahoo.com/search?search=Safe+bedding+for+rats&ei=UTF-8&fr=ks-ans&ico-yahoo-search-value=http%3A%2F%2Frds.yahoo.com%2F_ylt%3DAscYqL80.x8jy71l3_Mj6BgazKIX%2FSIG%3D111gjvvgj%2F*-http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2Fsearch&ico-wikipedia-search-value=http%3A%2F%2Frds.yahoo.com%2F_ylt%3DAsuRZXHyX3jz_HHQlFel4xgazKIX%2FSIG%3D11ia1qo58%2F**http%253a%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FSpecial%253aSearch&p=Safe+bedding+for+rats
Phenols harmful to rats
http://search.yahoo.com/search?search=Phenols+harmful+to+rats&ei=UTF-8&fr=ks-ans&ico-yahoo-search-value=http%3A%2F%2Frds.yahoo.com%2F_ylt%3DAscYqL80.x8jy71l3_Mj6BgazKIX%2FSIG%3D111gjvvgj%2F*-http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2Fsearch&ico-wikipedia-search-value=http%3A%2F%2Frds.yahoo.com%2F_ylt%3DAsuRZXHyX3jz_HHQlFel4xgazKIX%2FSIG%3D11ia1qo58%2F**http%253a%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FSpecial%253aSearch&p=Phenols+harmful+to+rats
mommycale....I've been trying unsuccessfully to find an internet source for, "no it's not if they ate even a little bit of it, it would cause dehydration". Could you please provide your source as I have never heard of this before. Thank you.
Sandra Beasley and the Spaz Rats
(Rattery, Rescue, and Rat-care Expert)
http://spazrats.tripod.com
"my life has gone to the rats"
2007-02-25 17:53:29 · answer #1 · answered by spazrats 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Regular clay and/or clumping cat litter cannot be used in your rat cage as your rats will eat it and/or will inhale a lot of the dust that this type of litter creates. However, Purina makes a cat litter product called "Yesterday's News" that is basically a pelleted paper litter. It is not dusty, it's safe if the rats eat, and you can get it in scented or unscented. This is what I use in my rat cage, and it does a much better job controlling the smell than any of the other beddings I have used.
2007-02-25 01:10:57 · answer #2 · answered by wamathews 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The pelleted newspaper cat litter is ok, but not the clay. The clay litter can cause respritory problems in rats from the dust, and if they eat it they can die from an obstruction. I use Yesterday's News (Purina company) cat or rabbit litter and it seems to help with the smell quite a bit. I've also found that Carefresh bedding does the best for odor also.
2007-02-25 03:45:40 · answer #3 · answered by blue_angel_1400 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Rats have severe respiratory problems, the dust will cause later troubles and heart ache. Use Carefresh pet Bedding, Its made of paper material. Its whats used in most all pet stores. Stay away from dust and wood.
2016-03-28 23:37:49 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
no. cat litter, while stony, also contains a lot of fine dust. your rats will breathe this in & will most likely contract pnuemonia( which they are prone to anyway). wood-shaving is best for flooring & tissue paper + straw for bedding is the best you can do for them. as for freshness, the best/only thing to do is clean their tank/cage regularly. i cleaned my rats' cage & tank out twice or three times per week.
2007-02-24 23:18:53 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
of course it is why wouldn't it be? You could also try sprinkling bicarbonate of soda in the bottom before pouring in the cat litter this will help absorb odors as well.
2007-02-24 22:01:05 · answer #6 · answered by kawasakigpx 1 · 0⤊ 2⤋
As long as they don't eat it, there shouldn't be any problems. Sadly, I seriously doubt cat little with have great effect on smell reduction. No matter what, rats will stink.
I still love them though.
2007-02-24 21:51:31 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
i wouldnt suggest it your best bet is to buy a bag of shredded wood chips walmart sells a really big bag of it for like 7 dollars and it smells good to they love this stuff
2007-02-25 03:03:00 · answer #8 · answered by acstevey1 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Get a cat!
2007-02-24 21:51:17 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
no, do not use it. if they eat the litter, which they will, it will get clogged up in em and they die fast.
2007-02-24 21:55:44 · answer #10 · answered by chris 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋