Towels VS Fleece

[OldsGal]

OK so the old debate is coming back. LOL

I have tried both in my cages. I have lined my FN pans with fleece, towels, bathroom rugs, and I just can't seem to be content with anything I use. But I am thinking I might have to settle with towels.

I find that my bunch seem to chew up the fleece way to quickly for my liking. I mean I know I can typically buy fleece blankets for $2-3 and cut them in half and get two pans out of one blanket. But is it really cheaper to do that if I am having to replace them every two to three cage cleanings.

I find that towels seem to soak up the pee better and since they are thicker my rats don't seem to tatter them as quickly. Most of the time towels are more expensive but I can typically get more uses out of them then I can the fleece.

Bathroom rugs are expensive for me as I don't like the ones that have the rubber back to them. And trying to find ones that don't have that are really hard. Plus I don't like the higher pile carpety ones. I like the ones that are more like Hotel style which brings me right back to towels as really that is all those bath mats are is glorified towels.

For those that use towels where do you buy yours at for the best price? I want to find ones that are the perfect size for the FN pans.

Staci

 

[Shelley]

I'm still on the quest for the perfect bedding. I've tried fleece, towels, aspen, YN, and other fabrics, but have not been happy with anything in particular. My girls just destroy everything so fast, and the fabrics smell too quickly in my opinion.

This week I gave up and put nothing to line the pans. They just have litter boxes with YN, and I'm going to try just wiping down the shelves this week. My girls make such huge messes all the time, and it seems no matter what I put down they find a way to throw it into one big pile. They tear up fleece as a group effort within hours then drag it into their hammock or igloo.

Yep, I'm at a loss now. :lol:

 

[jorats]

In the past I used towels but I find they really stink after just one day with my large colony.
I had tried to buy the really low quality towels from the bargain store but it didn't work out, very low quality, then I bought some of the nicer stuff from Walmart.
How about checking out your second hand stores?

 

[lindsayfawn]

I like the fleece for my FN, I find that the only time the girls will pull at it is if I didn't have it secured down enough with the velcro. Ang and I found some fleece blankets at the dollar store and they are perfect size for the bottom large pan and I am able to just tuck in under the pan and the girls don't tear at it at all! I give them lots of little cut up pieces of fabric too for blankies so that keeps them busy stealing them from one another to put in their fav house lol

 

[OldsGal]

You are lucky Lindsay....Mine started out this way with their fleece. The worst they would do is pile it up into a nice snuggly pile but they wouldn't chew it. Well that changed recently for some unknown reason and now they like to put holes all over in it. If I tuck it under so that they can't get it up they chew around whatever is holding it down. I too provide them with all kinds of other loose fabric to do with what they want but that doesn't deter them.

 

[KristyR]

At the moment I have cheap walmart towels with fleece on top, tucked under the pans. It doesn't matter. The girls destroy whatever it is. The last time I put brand new fleece in the girls' cage, and there were holes in a matter of minutes. They like to tunnel in it.

The boys don't chew the fleece as much, but they still like to get under it.

 

[lindsayfawn]

lol little buggers chewing around the fleece, that sucks oldsgal. Hard to get them to stop when they set their mind to something.

 

[Moon]

Do you give them any other suitable fabric to chow down on? My fleece stays untouched if there is denim in there to destroy.

 

[Shelley]

I've tried that, they just take turns chewing whatever fabric is in sight. So either way both are destroyed. :roll: It's really amazing how much they can chew in one night!

 

[Ktina]

I go to like thrift stores and pick up cheap baby blankets they have there, and even though my rats do occasionally chew them to pieces, I still like doing this. I have towels, too, but I just don't like how when they chew them they get them little strings and frilled pieces all over. Maybe it's just the big towels I've been getting, but it drives me nuts. :gaah:

If you put a towel on the bottom and fleece over it it's supposed to help with absorbing the urine and smell, I do that occasionally.

 

[user 78]

The deal with the towels is that once they've been chewed up, that's pretty much it. Atleast with the fleece you can repurpose it and use it for other things, even if it's just scraps in a basket or something. Even getting the cheaper towels at Walmart, it's alot more expensive than just fleece. Plus, *everything* sticks to the towels. The bits of plastic and wood from their toys sticks like aspen to fleece. I also get really concerned about threads that appear even when they haven't been chewing them that much.

You may want to try cleaning the cage more often, though. When I leave the liners in the cage past their usual cleaning day [2nd to 3rd day], they start to demolish them. You could try to figure what day they start to really rip into everything, and take it out on or before that day. Could mean alot of cleaning, but you do what works best for you.

 

[cass~o~rat]

thrift stores are the best to find towels and the Dollar tree is the best to get fleece its all cheaper than bedding i buy it all in large amounts so i never run out i got a big bottle of unscented detergent so they dont sneeze no more so i like em both

 

[jujubeespmud]

If you decide you will continue to use fleece, Joanne's Fabrics in Baltimore MD sells a large bolt of fleece for a very inexpensive price..like $20 bucks. It woud be less epensive buying it in bulk. Jus an idea.

 

[Fidget]

If I had an always accessible washer I might ask that too but I only have 3 designated laundry times a week. I spread out sheets of newspaper in the cage and their other space. It's free, it recyles. It absorbs not only pee but odor too. Doesn't matter if they chew it. Worst that's going to happen is the kids have some ink on their tails and their hidey-houses. But I phoned my paper and it's non-toxic. Needs changing every 2-3 days with just 4 kids and they spend more time in the drawer where I have to change the paper every day or 2.
So you might ask Towels, fleece or newspaper? anic:

 

[OldsGal]

You may want to try cleaning the cage more often, though. When I leave the liners in the cage past their usual cleaning day [2nd to 3rd day], they start to demolish them. You could try to figure what day they start to really rip into everything, and take it out on or before that day. Could mean alot of cleaning, but you do what works best for you.

I so wish this was the solution to the problem. It would be much easier. But for example last night I put in brand new everything and did a complete scrub down of the cage. By the time I went to bed last night I checked on them on last time and they had already pulled up and chewed three spots around binder clips and had a nice size hole in the middle of it all. This is with putting lots of loose scraps of fleece and other fabrics in their cage so they can nest with those and move those around where they want to. But for some reason they have to destroy the fleece that is meant to stay put.

Staci

 

[jujubeespmud]

Any chance that you give your ratties nyla bones to chew on? My girls love them and I found they chew less on the things they shouldn't be chewing on when I have the bones in their cage.

 

[mamarat]

I put newspaper under my fleece and the ratties are going underneath the fleece to get at the paper, most of the time anyway.

 

[mamarat2]

Hey Staci, do you have any of javakitties liners? Wasn't sure if they were the ones the kids were chewing on. I've found that her flannel cage liners for the actual levels works extremely well, but it HAS to be flannel. Seems like the fleece does not absorb. Dearpie actually told me a while back that if you don't use fabric softener sheets the fleece will absorb much better, but then I have static rats! :gaah:

For the bottom of my cages I always rely on towels. I go hit Penneys when they are having a sale and buy a few very well made towels, yes they chew them but they last for a while. I also do towel maintenance - go ahead laugh - I check the towels when they come out of the dryer and any that have holes or strings hanging get trimmed a bit, but we still reuse the towel!! Just take the dangerous strings and junk off!

I also covet my old socks that have holes in them. About once a year or so I go through our sock drawer and anything that has holes gets washed and passed on to the rats. We cut the socks open so it makes a decent sized rat rag.

I also use old flannel sheets. If the rats have put a hole or two in our sheets, they get washed an passed on to the rats. I usually cut a queen size flat flannel sheet in half and that then makes for two good 695 liners.

Mind you, I ask my mother for a sheet set at least once a year as a Christmas present or anniversary present as we like new sheet sets :happydance:

 

[OldsGal]

I got a few sets of cage liners from Kat for my Martins and my beasts destroyed them within days. I love Kats mats but I just can't see myself splurging for them for them to only be destroyed the next day. I am talking beyond use destroyed.

For my FN shelves I just use flannel baby blankets that I get at the dollar store folded in half and those last awhile. For some reason they don't care about those being on the shelf. It is the fabric that I line the pans with that they freak out over.

I use any old fabric around here too for loose fabric in their cages for them to do as they please with blankets dish towels t shirts jeans. The only thing I don't use is socks and that is because I have a sock / foot phobia (yes I am completely weird) and I just can't bring myself to put old socks in the cage. If I see a sock that has a tiny hole or is the slightest bit grungy it has to be thrown away or I just might puke looking at it. But that is a whole different odd topic! LOL

Staci