Ways to stop rats chewing through cage lining?

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alienpmk

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Hiya,
We are using fleece and towel to line the bottom of the cage for our rats. The fleece is trapped between the top of the tray and the bottom of the wire for the cage, and also clipped down using file clips. Despite this, the rats are still chewing through the fabric, running around under it and sleeping there. Is there anything I can do to discourage this behaviour? They have plenty of other things to chew on, and chew on other things all the time, and I am providing more and more things for them to hide under that aren't the fleece. Is there anything else I could be doing?
 
I think this is the age old question and I don't think anyone has the answer. Rats like to burrow so you could try not clipping down the fleece so they can rearrange it as they please but then the shelves won't be covered so it isn't much of a cage liner. I struggled with this for a long time until I finally gave up and switched back to carefresh bedding.
 
I buy large fleece blankets, cut them in half, remove my CN pans, and then place the blanket on the ground. Upside down, I place the pan on the blanket and fold the liner over the bottom of the pan, then tape it down with tape.
 
I sew an edge on mine to make it harder. They still chew some though. I put lots of pieces of scrap fabric in there too and they are usually satisfied rearranging that instead.

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Can't help with the not chewing, but I would suggest you not use towels. The stringy fibers can get wrapped around them and cause circulation to get cut off or even amputate a limb.

It didn't happen to me but I heard of one story where a persons rat had been caught in some towel thread for over an hour, wrapped around its abdomen, by the time the owner found it, it was close to being bifurcated (cut in half)

Just due to that I avoid anything stringy or towel like and just use fleece.
 
I have found that if you fasten it down, they will chew to get under it. If you lay it down they can crawl under it so they may leave it alone from chewing.
 
another option is to give them a second layer of fleece, doesnt' have to be a big as the liners, or a fleece pad, for them to climb under and play with. My boys will leave the liners alone but ONLY if they have lots of other fleece to play wiht, chew holes in and re arrange. I had no idea before getting boys that they were going to be just as much the Little Suzy Homemakers that my girls always were LOL
 
Can't help with the not chewing, but I would suggest you not use towels. The stringy fibers can get wrapped around them and cause circulation to get cut off or even amputate a limb.

It didn't happen to me but I heard of one story where a persons rat had been caught in some towel thread for over an hour, wrapped around its abdomen, by the time the owner found it, it was close to being bifurcated (cut in half)

Just due to that I avoid anything stringy or towel like and just use fleece.


Oh my god, this has terrified me. I was told that it was a great way to keep the fleece dry, but now I'm going to freak out all day at work until I can get home and sort the cage out. Going to make my partner watch them all day...:(
 
Oh test link my god, this has terrified me. I was told that it was a great way to keep the fleece dry, but now I'm going to freak out all day at work until I can get home and sort the cage out. Going to make my partner watch them all day...:(

Damn, that's a scary thought. I will definitely take the towel out now. I'm glad I read this before something bad happened.
 
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