Fleece/fabric in the bottom

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Synnøve

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2007
Messages
63
Location
Norway
I see that a lot of you guys, especially you with big FN/well decorated cages, have fleece or other fabrics at the bottom of the cage, and on the platforms.

I think this looks a LOT more nice, both in just the look of it, and it seems much more plesant for the rats. And you don't have to use that much money on bedding. Cause Gnavz, as I use, or YN is not very cheap here in Norway.
But does this work well? Do the rats understand that they should pee in the litterbox, when there are pellets/other toilet things :)P), and not the fleece? I guess rattypoo is OK, cause that's just to pick up. It's the pee i'm worried about :p

And where do you get these cool fabrics, and how do you make them fit in the cages? :)
 
The rats will pee on the fabric, which is sort of the point. It's much easier to toss fabric into the washing machine than to scrub a cage down. Most rats understand to poop in the litter boxes, though. You put the box in their favorite corners [where they do most of their peeing and pooping], and they'll get the hang of it. There will always be a few stray poops, and you may have a few that just don't get it, but it's much easier over all.

You'll need to change out the fabrics ever 2-4 days, so having several sets is a good thing. Most people buy cheap fleece fabric at the Dollar Stores, but anywhere you can buy fabric or fleece blankets would be fine, too. You just cut the fabric to fit the base, floors, and shelves. You may need to figure a way to attach the fabric to the shelves, to keep the rats from dragging it all over the cage, though.
 
It depends on how many rats you have in a cage, and how much space they have. I've got 3 girls in a large cage, so I can go about 4 days before I need to change their's. Within 4 days, though, it's fine, no smell.
 
I've just got two girls at the moment, and don't think there will be a lot more :p

The cage is pretty small now, but I'm gonna buy a new one as soon as I earn some money! It's not easy being a poor 15 year old ;)
 
You might have to change it every second day until you get a bigger cage. Also, watch where your rats go pee. Sometimes they pick a corner and you could stick a pan in that very corner.
 
Ok :) I'll see if I will manage to get it done before christmas. My mom and dad is asking to do all other stuff now, so :p

And just a quick question to all of you: If we just don't think about the cage calculator for a sec. If YOU were to buy a cage for two girls (maybe three in the future), how big would it be?
 
I wouldn't keep 2-3 girls in anything smaller than a 30" x 18" x 24" cage. Anything smaller than that will be entirely too cramped, and girls tend to be very active.

I generally agree with the numbers from the cage calculators, and sometimes I think less rats than what they suggest is a better number.
 
The smallest i would do for 2 or 3 rats is the furet PLUS. That is 80 x 50 x 70 cm.

EDIT; don't know if you use inches or cm, my calculater says 80x50x70 cm = 31,5x 19,7x27,5 inch.
 
I throw out my fleece, instead of washing it (we have shared washer/dryers). And it is still much cheaper than when I was using Yesterdays News in all of the pans!
 
Lise said:
I throw out my fleece, instead of washing it (we have shared washer/dryers). And it is still much cheaper than when I was using Yesterdays News in all of the pans!
Click to expand...

:shock: i use bedding, and it cost me around the 7 euro's (+ few euro to bring it to me) and i do like half a year with it... (maybe little more, little less there its a new bedding im using but i think half a year is quite correct)

No way that fleece and sorts are cheaper then that. :eek: Where do you get your fleece...
 
You throw your fleece out? Ouch!!! I never throw the stuff out! Running it through a load of laundry does wonders for dirty fleece and clothe bedding. Just need to make sure you shake the rat raisins out first :lol:
 
I am a recent convert from bedding and uncovered plastic shelves to fleece everywhere. WOW! What a huge difference in cleaning time! Fleece covered bottoms and shelves is definitely the way to go! (and my boys don't even use a litter box and its way easier)
 
Fabric on the shelves is not a common thing where I live, so I asked the people on the Norwegian forum if they though it sounded like a good idea. They didn't seem to be much excited for the idea, actually.. At least not with fleece. They said it does'n take in the pee, so it can make big urin stains on white fur, and so on..

Is this correct, you guys?
 
It's not entirely true. Fleece lets the pee puddle for a bit longer than another fabric, like cotton, would. So if a rat came by, peed, and then laid down in it it may be a problem. I don't know many rats who do that, though.

Each type of fabric has it's good things and bad things. Flannels will soak up the pee better, but you have to finish the edges so that it doesn't fray, and make sure that if your rats chew it, there aren't any strings that could cause injury to them.

Fleece doesn't soak up the pee immediately, but you can just cut the fabric to size and put it into the cage, no sewing needed. If your rats chew on it, it's still safe, and when they really chew it you can use it to pad their houses or baskets.

Cut up cotton t shirts, which don't fray, aren't that good at soaking up pee, in my experience. I used it to line hammocks and they were disgusting within a day, and the hammock was still getting wet besides. The girls also nibbled on it all day long until I had bits of white fabric all over the place.
 

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