What do you recomend for breader rat beding? I hear ceder (sp?) chips are bad for snakes due to the oils in them.. but does that play a factor when your just feeding the rat pups to the snake? If it does play a factor.. what would you use? They stink like hell so i would like to use something more *pretty* smelling than news paper though. Right now im using lizard litter but that i $15 a bag on bigappleherp.com.
Rats.....
- Thread starter Whitdadie
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I've used pine for years for mice and rats. I recently changed to a new product this year. It is called Gentle Touch Aspen Pellets. The pellets are very absorbant and a little goes a long way compared to pine shavings. Bob Applegate of Applegate Reptiles actually recommended the product to me. I've tried it and don't plan on ever going back to pine. The odor does not build up quite as fast as it does with pine. Rats don't stink as bad as mice, but the smell still gets up there. Frequent litter changes are the only thing that has ever helped me out. I would never use cedar.
Check out the below link for their website. They have a, Where to Buy, link on their page. Good luck!
http://www.gentletouchproducts.com/products.html#Anchor-Aspen-47857
Check out the below link for their website. They have a, Where to Buy, link on their page. Good luck!
http://www.gentletouchproducts.com/products.html#Anchor-Aspen-47857
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I have bred rats for years........used to breed mice also, but IME rats are better parents and rarely cannibalize their young, also newborn mice are not much bigger than large crickets, newborn rats give more bang per feeder (you may need newborn mice depending on what you are using the feeders for). I use aspen shavings for bedding. you can get a big bale of aspen for around 10.00 at most chain pet stores. I use 66 qt. opaque sterilite containers. I cut the center of the tops out and pop rivet 1/4" hardware wire mesh in to cover the hole. I hang food and water containers from the mesh. I use one male to 3 females per bin.
I used to use lab rodent pellets but the stuff was too hard to find, had to order it from a local farmer's feed outfit. what I did was to find a dog food that was very close to the fat content, fiber, etc. that was on the lab rodent label. I have found that breeder rats production will slow down after around 8 months so I start holding back some of their young to start new breeders.
I use the aspen pellets for some of my reptiles, the stuff works great! absorbs liquids, absorbs smells. it is too costly for me to use for the rats though.
I used to use lab rodent pellets but the stuff was too hard to find, had to order it from a local farmer's feed outfit. what I did was to find a dog food that was very close to the fat content, fiber, etc. that was on the lab rodent label. I have found that breeder rats production will slow down after around 8 months so I start holding back some of their young to start new breeders.
I use the aspen pellets for some of my reptiles, the stuff works great! absorbs liquids, absorbs smells. it is too costly for me to use for the rats though.
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Cedar oils affect so many small animals that I would be hesitant to use it with rats.
For our hamsters we use a 50/50 mix of aspen shavings and carefresh. The aspen gives great odor control and the carefresh is made of recycled paper so it is cheap. By mixing the two we have found we get odor control and keep it more affordable. I have never kept rats, but I imagine that this mix would work with them as well.
For our hamsters we use a 50/50 mix of aspen shavings and carefresh. The aspen gives great odor control and the carefresh is made of recycled paper so it is cheap. By mixing the two we have found we get odor control and keep it more affordable. I have never kept rats, but I imagine that this mix would work with them as well.
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As an afterthought, if you are really cheap you can shred your own newspaper bedding. The drawback on that is that be sure the paper uses a vegtable dye based ink or it could cause problems if ingested.
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FWIW,MilkmanWes said:
I tried carefresh, too dusty and expensive for rodents. I tried it for reptiles and I did not care for the dust level. the pelleted aspen product has very low dust.
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ASPEN, completely safe, and toxin free! May be a bit more expensive, but worth it.
Also, ive heard of people using some sort of pellets as bedding, but im thinking those would just mold and fluff up when pee'd on, ewwww.
But anyway, id use Aspen. Pine is full of toxic oils that can be harmful to your rodents AND anything that injests them.
~Crystal
Also, ive heard of people using some sort of pellets as bedding, but im thinking those would just mold and fluff up when pee'd on, ewwww.
But anyway, id use Aspen. Pine is full of toxic oils that can be harmful to your rodents AND anything that injests them.
~Crystal
Sounds like Aspen is the top chocie... Now I just have to find a place that sells it.. I live in a small town with no chain pet stores around. Hmm.... there are a couple of places im guna try though.. Thanks!! BTW.. my ball p just licked my eye ball and now it's watering.. that sux.. haha