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The Rat Kave

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Joined
Nov 27, 2020
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I love my ratties so much but there bedding ends up EVERYWHERE!! And as much as I love them I don't want to spend the rest of my life playing Cinderella and constantly cleaning it up. The cage I have right now is a Ferret/Midwest nation double, and am currently using carefresh/oxbow paper bedding. I tried to put plexiglas around the outside of the cage so when they burrow it wouldn't get pushed out that way, but there's still three other problems(ways it gets out and all over my room). They push it up against all the doors so when I inevitably have to open them it falls out, if I'm leaning in it gets stuck to me sleeves/shirt, and the tray doesn't fit all the way so it falls off the side, through the mesh and onto the floor. What ways could I prevent this, are there less messy beddings out there(can'tuse paper pellets that's in there litter box), I heard of people using fleece(I think that's what it was) any of you who have tried both what's your opinion on it?
 
Yup, lots of people use fleece! I personally don't use it, and never have, because I've heard (and read, lol) it needs to be switched every few days to prevent ammonia buildups- that wouldn't work for me, but still, it can be ideal for some people for whom bedding doesn't work!
I use bedding- I'm switching to hemp bedding soon. From what I've read, it's absorbent and extremely dust-free, plus it seems to hold its shape quite well so I'm not worried about it getting all over.
About the plexiglass, it just might not be built tall enough. I use a cement mixing tub from home depot- it may not look too nice, but it does the job keeping bedding in!

So yeah, it's your choice. Each bedding type has its problems- fleece users usually have to deal with rats chewing the fleece and burrowing under, and bedding users may deal with bedding getting all over- but each type has its advantages too!
 
White carefresh. You can turn off the lights and use a UV flashlight to see where they peed (it glows under UV) and then scoop out only the dirty parts.

I made barriers out of galvanized sheet metal- the kind you buy at home depot to make repairs to your HVAC ducts- to surround the cage where they liked to bury their food bowl and push the bedding out inadvertently. You can bend it to any shape you need. Have you thought about constructing something that prevents them from pushing the bedding against the door?
 
White carefresh. You can turn off the lights and use a UV flashlight to see where they peed (it glows under UV) and then scoop out only the dirty parts.

I made barriers out of galvanized sheet metal- the kind you buy at home depot to make repairs to your HVAC ducts- to surround the cage where they liked to bury their food bowl and push the bedding out inadvertently. You can bend it to any shape you need. Have you thought about constructing something that prevents them from pushing the bedding against the door?
I have, but I didn't want to spend a bunch more money since plexiglas isn't cheap and I just bought 60 dollars worth, the HVAC is that really thin and cheap? I could use that for the door if it is. Also the black light trick would work with any white bedding right, or just carefresh?
 
Yup, lots of people use fleece! I personally don't use it, and never have, because I've heard (and read, lol) it needs to be switched every few days to prevent ammonia buildups- that wouldn't work for me, but still, it can be ideal for some people for whom bedding doesn't work!
I use bedding- I'm switching to hemp bedding soon. From what I've read, it's absorbent and extremely dust-free, plus it seems to hold its shape quite well so I'm not worried about it getting all over.
About the plexiglass, it just might not be built tall enough. I use a cement mixing tub from home depot- it may not look too nice, but it does the job keeping bedding in!

So yeah, it's your choice. Each bedding type has its problems- fleece users usually have to deal with rats chewing the fleece and burrowing under, and bedding users may deal with bedding getting all over- but each type has its advantages too!
Thank you so much for your reply, if you wouldn't mind telling me how it goes with the hemp bedding and if it feels rough at all(my only concern with this one is switching them from something super soft to something possibly scratchy is that they'll get irritated, plus I tend to spoil them haha). Also thanks for the info on the fleece, I'm definitely too lazy to do laundry every other day.
 
Thank you so much for your reply, if you wouldn't mind telling me how it goes with the hemp bedding and if it feels rough at all(my only concern with this one is switching them from something super soft to something possibly scratchy is that they'll get irritated, plus I tend to spoil them haha). Also thanks for the info on the fleece, I'm definitely too lazy to do laundry every other day.

Definitely! LOL
 
I started using like 3 inch or more cardboard strips, my rats kept throwing things overboard, I added it to the spots where they would make the most mess. I would just use an exacto knife to cut the pieces, I'll take a picture later.
 
The males are a lot less lazy than the females and they never chew on the cardboard and by the time the females destroy the cardboard I have to change the cage anyways, this is my males cage
 

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