Fleece in Cages

[Slapdash]

Hi,

I know many of you use fleece in your cages and I really want to get a ferret nation cage but I have two concerns. There is no base so bedding will get kicked out all over the floor. So, I could use fleece but I tried that once before and they got stinky soooo fast. I would have to change them like every other day which if I needed to I was but I was wondering if there was an easier way. How do you deal with all the poop? Can you sprinkle baking soda on them perhaps and rub them in or do you think it would be easy to litter box train my two? Also, do your rats poop all over all levels or just one because if I had to change only one level every other day that wouldn't be so bad. Finally, if there is a similar cage out there that has a deep base that slides out that someone knows of or has can you let me know? Thanks!!!

 

[Callie<3]

have u tried littre training them ? i found my fleece in my cages got icky as well and fast would be great to no how everyone does this

 

[Maple]

I have a pan made out of corrugated plastic. Holds the carefresh nicely although I haven't figured out how to keep it on the shelves. I also have a litter pan on each level which is good for poop but my ratties pee everywhere. Reduces the smell un-believably.

 

[Moon]

There's no way to keep bedding in on the shelves. If you're not a fleece person you're looking at daily wipedowns.

 

[eagle]

I use fleece in all of my cages. For the shelves I use binder clips to hold it in place. Most of my cages now have litter boxes in them. Fleece gets changed every 2-3 days or sooner if needed..

 

[Debbie]

We use fleece in our cages (except the bottom level and use aspen there). We don't line the ramps with fleece, just the levels. But having the ratties litter trained is definitely a plus. If you are currently using litter and your rats go in that, it can be quite easy to litterbox train them if you go to fleece. Just put that same litter in their boxes, and put the litter box in the corners where they usually go.

Fleece ROCKS. Because we don't have to scrub down the whole cage each week. We just pull up the fleece (we use plastic carpet runner under the fleece), and only have to wipe down the ramps. The cage gets hauled outside for a good scrub, only once a month.

 

[Joanne]

I have a double Critter Nation, and use fleece. I also have 5 litter boxes, strategically placed around the cage. Set your cage up, and then see where they like to poop. Then place a litter pan in that spot and put the poop into the pan. Make sure the pan has sides approx 1 inch, so that it is easy for them to get in and out of it but it will still hold the litter. I use Yesterday's News, which is recycled newspaper. It's not very dusty, and is easy to clean up. Clean the litter out every few days, but leave some poop in there so it will help them to remember to poop in there. Other than that I have not done anything special to train them, but they use the litter pans a lot. Sure, there's the odd mess, but most of the messing is done in the pans. One spot they really love to poop is at the bottom of the ramp. So I made a larger pan, and the ramp actually ends inside the pan. They like to go in specific spots, so use that to your advantage.