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View Full Version : Need a little advice about pet rats



Jeff Booth
12-25-2008, 9:13 PM
Now that I got everyone's attention, here is the question:

I am babysitting some pet rats for a colleague's daughter while they are away for Christmas. They left plenty of food and some litter, but the cage came over here freshly cleaned with wood shavings on the floor of the cage, they did not bring more shavings. I can get shavings, that part is easy, I have piles of wood all over the basement, but I do not want to make those poor guys sick. So ruling out cedar and walnut and all tropical woods, leaves me with doug fir, EW pine, butternut, apple, swiss pear, hard maple, box elder,cherry, red oak and ash. Anyone know for sure something that is safe in that list?

Thanks,

Jeff

Cary Falk
12-25-2008, 9:18 PM
The stuff we have for our snake is Aspen but that doesn't answer your question.

Joe Chritz
12-25-2008, 9:25 PM
I expect anything you have there is ok. I had a couple rats (and a host of other critters at some time) and I generally just used pine shavings.

Joe

David G Baker
12-25-2008, 11:29 PM
Visit Wally World's pet department or a pet store, they carry small bales of the correct shavings. If I remember correctly they are pine shavings. The bale is very cheap.

Mark Rios
12-26-2008, 12:35 AM
You can send the rats to me. My boa will take very good care of them.

Mike Cutler
12-26-2008, 6:22 AM
Jeff.

I wouldn't just sweep up shavings, and put them in. I would just go the pet shop and get some bedding. It's seems stupid with a shop full of wood shavings, I know, but.....
Pine is generally the shaving of choice for small rodents.

Phil Thien
12-26-2008, 8:39 AM
Boy, I don't think I'd mill any nice wood to get shavings for them. The pet shops/Wal-Marts sell bags for a few bucks.

glenn bradley
12-26-2008, 9:37 AM
LOML's daughter raises a lot of rats as a food source for her snakes. She just uses paper from the shredder in the office.

Joe Pelonio
12-26-2008, 11:57 AM
This sure brings back memories. I had as many as 40 rats while in college, I bred them for some studies in the Psychology department. Shredded paper works fine but has to be changed more often. You should actually avoid cedar, and pine may not be much better. Cherry, maple and aspen are much safer for them though they don't have the nice smell.

Justin Leiwig
12-26-2008, 8:50 PM
Rats live in poo infested sewers and eat garbage around here, and your worried about what shavings they are going to crap in?