Rats spend a lot of time in their cage, so it’s important to choose a bedding that will keep them safe and comfy.
Wood shavings are some of the best for absorbing ammonia smells, but it’s extremely important to choose shavings that have been kiln dried to remove the natural oils from the wood. Raw shavings – and sawdust – are highly scented and will irritate rats’ delicate lungs.
The best rat bedding for you can also depend on where you live, as the options vary from one country to another. Look for a bedding that’s low on dust and high in absorbency to protect your rats’ respiratory system and minimize smells in between cage cleanings.
Substrate vs. litter vs. nesting materials
There’s some confusion around the words bedding, substrate and litter. Often the three words are used interchangeably, but they mean slightly different things.
The substrate is the material used on the bottom and sometimes shelves of their cage (if the shelves are deep enough to keep it inside). This is mainly meant to collect their waste and keep it from smelling too much, but rats also love to dig and play in the substrate if it’s deep enough! Depending on the material you use, they’ll sometimes collect bigger pieces of it for their nesting boxes as well.
Litter is mainly used for litter boxes if your rats are litter trained. Ideally, it’s something different enough from the rest of the substrate that your rats understand what to use it for. If you do plan to litter train, your rat cages need bedding and litter.
Nesting materials for rats are things like fleece or paper towel that they love to shred, collect, and stuff into their hammocks and houses for extra warmth and comfort.
For the sake of simplicity, we will cover all three of these in this article as “bedding”. Using a variety of different rat bedding options – particularly extra nesting materials – to “decorate” their cage with can actually help with their enrichment and keep them occupied.
What makes a good bedding for rats?
Look for a bedding that is:
Non-scented and dust free
Rats have delicate respiratory systems and are already prone to respiratory problems before considering their bedding. They can start to show signs of respiratory issues, like sneezing, after only a few weeks on a highly scented or dusty bedding.
Minimizing dust is also important for you. Rats love to play, wrestle, and zoom around, so they’ll definitely scatter their bedding around. Ideally, you don’t want to breathe in the dust this creates either.
It’s hard to find a 100% dust-free bedding, but some options are less dusty than others.
Rats sometimes have allergies to different materials as well. If you do find your rat(s) sneezing a lot, try switching their bedding.
Absorbent
Rats can’t help but pee in their cage, so ideally their bedding will soak up the smell of ammonia and keep it from irritating their sensitive lungs (and your nose!)
Keep in mind that any bedding will get smelly if you go too long in between cage cleanings. But being able to clean their cage once a week, as opposed to every couple of days, makes a big difference.
Rats scent mark their cage, even when litter trained. If you have to clean their cage too often, they may go overboard with the scent marking to compensate.
Spot cleaning the cage in between deep cleans can really help keep the ammonia in check and odors down. Just remove any gross clumps of bedding and uneaten food, and give surfaces a quick wipe down with hot water.
Comfortable for rats
Bedding shouldn’t have any sharp edges or pieces sticking out that could damage rats’ eyes. Rats very often sleep, dig and play in their cage bedding. Another concern is any loose threads that could get wrapped around their neck or feet.
Promotes their natural behaviors
Rats love to dig, climb, nest, and rearrange their enclosures. A good bedding will cushion their fall if they slip from higher up in their cage. A deep enough layer that they can dig through is even better! Rats are burrowing animals and will actually build tunnels, treat stashes and nests under the substrate, like hamsters or gerbils.
Baking soda free
Baking soda is dangerous to pet rats and can make them sick. Some small animal bedding does contain baking soda, so check the label.
Inedible
Normally rats wont eat their bedding, but if you ever do notice your rats eating it, consider switching to a different one they don’t think is edible. Nearly all bedding types can be harmful to rats if ingested. (If your rat regularly eats things that aren’t food, consider taking them to the vet! This can be a sign of pain or other underlying problems.)
Best Substrate for Rats
There are definitely lots of choices when it comes to lining your rats’ cages. We’ll cover the pros and cons of some of the most popular ones.
Wood Shavings (Aspen, Pine, Cedar)
Wood shavings are highly absorbent, comfortable for rats to sleep on, and inexpensive to buy in bulk. They have been shown in studies to be one of the best beddings for minimizing ammonia.
❗ Make sure you’re buying actual wood shavings, rather than shredded wood or sawdust. Also be very cautious to make sure your wood shavings are kiln dried.
Untreated softwoods like pine and cedar contain oils that can damage rats’ respiratory systems (and can even cause asthma in people who work in lumber mills!) Kiln drying heats the wood to extreme temperatures, removing nearly all of the oils and making the shavings safe for rat cages.
You can do a “sniff test” yourself to see if it smells strongly or makes you sneeze. If it makes you sneeze, it will definitely irritate your rats’ lungs.
Living World Kiln Dried Aspen Shavings
Linen
Linen bedding is on the expensive side, but it’s dust-free, extra soft, and absorbent. (It’s made from the plant fibers, not the fabric!) Some rat fanciers mix this with a less expensive bedding so that the bag lasts longer.
Hemp
Hemp bedding is highly absorbent and comfortable for rats to live on. It’s biodegradable and sustainable, and you can buy it in bulk. Hemp is great for rats to dig and tunnel in, but it can be messy when it ends up on your floor. Hemp can also be one of the more expensive beddings, depending on where you live. Some brands are better than others in terms of dust, so you may have to shop around a little.
Auboise Dust Free Hemp is a good brand to look into.
Paper-based bedding
Paper beddings have been falling out of favor with most rat fanciers. They can be on the dustier side, and aren’t as absorbent as wood shavings. Ideally, paper beddings have to be replaced every 2-3 days, because the ammonia builds up so quickly when compared to wood shavings. Some brands have also been found to contain little pieces of plastic that rats may consume.
CareFresh Bedding
CareFresh bedding is made from a combination of paper and wood pulp. It’s soft and comfortable for them to sleep on and dig through.
Some rat owners have criticized CareFresh for being one of the dustier beddings, and not as absorbent as wood shavings. It can also be on the expensive side if you use it for the entire cage.
CareFresh can work for inside litter boxes. Especially if you have the type of litter box with a grate over top to keep your rats from stirring up the bedding (and dust), and you change the litter boxes daily.
If you only use it in your litter boxes, a large bag could last 3 – 6 months.
Paper Pellets
These absorb moisture well, and are not messy or dusty. But they don’t allow rats to dig or burrow very much. Paper pellets work great inside of a litter box to distinguish it from the rest of the cage.
Paper towels or toilet paper
This is a decent option for soaking up rat pee. It works great in a pinch if you run out of your usual bedding. You can shred it into pieces or just lay sheets in flat layers.
The trouble is that they need to be replaced daily, or every second day, because they get saturated quickly with waste. Rats also love to chew up and shred tissue and paper towel, so it will probably end up in their nesting boxes!
Cardboard
Cardboard is safe for pet rats, and they love to stuff it in their nesting boxes. It isn’t super dusty, and it’s fun for them to dig through. The downside to cardboard is that it gets soggy, and needs to be changed often.
Several brands of cardboard substrate are available specifically for pet use, including Finacard (UK) and Eco-Nest (UK and North America).
Shredded paper
If you’re having a lot of trouble finding a decent bedding where you live, I’ve heard of some people shredding paper themselves for their pet rats! You can find ink-free newspaper from office supply stores, or order it online. Newspaper works well because it’s not too expensive, somewhat absorbent, and it’s softer than printer paper. It’s not ideal because you have to change it pretty often, but it works in a pinch.
Fleece
Fleece looks pretty, is soft and comfy, and can be purchased inexpensively from the dollar store or Walmart. You can keep pieces secure with clothes pins or binder clips. It makes a great nesting material for rats!
Fleece beats other types of fabrics because it doesn’t fray, so the loose threads aren’t as much of a hazard. It’s also stretchy, so rats wont get their heads stuck in the holes they chew!
Years ago, it was super popular to line rats’ entire cages with fleece! Thankfully it seems like that trend has passed, because fleece has quite a few downsides as well.
Fleece isn’t very absorbent and doesn’t do much for odor control. It needs to be switched out every 2 – 3 days. You can just shake it off and wash it in your washing machine with an unscented laundry detergent.
The other issue with fleece is that it doesn’t allow rats to dig or forage the way a loose bedding would. It works a lot better for hammocks and tubes than for a general cage liner.
While perhaps not the best option for younger, more active rats, fleece can be a great option for elderly rats with mobility troubles.
Other Fabrics
Many rat owners offer whatever scrap fabrics they have around the house. Like fleece, most fabrics don’t do much to neutralize smells, so they need to be changed out every 2 – 3 days. If you litter train your rats, this can help keep their fabrics a little fresher longer.
You can use scraps to create hammocks and tubes. Little strips of scrap can be braided together to make ropes and climbing nets.
Just be mindful of any chemicals, oils or dyes that might linger on scrap fabric.
Rats will continually chew and shred fabric to make nests out of it. Check every day for any loose threads that could get wrapped around their feet, or holes they could potentially get their heads stuck in.
Threads can very easily wrap around little ratty feet and cut off circulation! This happened to one of my girls and it was horrible! Her foot swelled up and turned bright red and purple. Thankfully, the swelling went down after a few days and she recovered, but it was terrifying. After that I checked their towels for loose threads daily!
Corn Cob Litter
Corn cob litter is commonly used in lab rat cages and works well for some rats. It’s on the heavier side, so it’s less likely to get kicked out of their cage. The downside is that it’s not as comfortable for rats to sleep and dig in. Given the choice, rats actually showed a preference against it!
Cat Litter
Clay cat litter is not recommended for pet rat cages. The clay is hazardous to rats if they ingest it. Clumping cat litter can get stuck inside their digestive system and cause an obstruction, requiring surgery.
Many cat litters are highly scented and dusty, contributing to respiratory problems in rats. Some of them also contain baking soda, another hazard.
The exception that some rat owners use is fully paper-based cat litter. Just check the ingredients list for any added chemicals. Bio-Catolet and Papelit are two brands that work well for pet rats.
Puppy pads
Some rat owners swear by puppy pads to line their cage. The pads can also go underneath your rats’ regular bedding for extra absorbency. As long as your rats never chew the puppy pads, they may be okay. Personally I find puppy pads a bit sketchy though.
The chemicals that make puppy pads so absorbent can be hazardous to rats if ingested. Puppy pads are often scented and can even contain pheromones to make dogs want to use them. Personally, these are on my “avoid” list.
FAQ
Do rats need bedding?
Ideally yes – your rat cage should always have bedding of some sort. Rats need something soft to sleep and play in, as well as something to soak up their waste. If not, their enclosure can become smelly (and dangerous for your rats to live in) very quickly.
How often does bedding need to be changed in a rat cage?
It depends on what type of bedding you use and how many rats you have. Once a week is ideal for a pair of rats, unless they’re starting to get really smelly. Ideally, you should switch out the bedding any time it starts to get saturated with pee and wipe down any plastic surfaces daily.
It’s possible to clean your rats’ cages too often. Males especially will want to mark their cage more if it smells too squeaky clean! So cleaning the cage every single day can backfire (and isn’t much fun to keep up with.) That’s why it’s important to choose a bedding that’s absorbent and minimizes ammonia.
Some rat owners will leave a little dirty bedding (like the litter box) in the fresh cage after a full clean. That way your rats remember where their litter box is, and don’t have to mark their cage excessively to make it smell like them.
For some more tips on managing rat cage smells, see this article.
Conclusion
We covered the good, the bad and the ugly of bedding for pet rats! Kiln-dried wood shavings are some of the absolute best beddings for rats, with linen and hemp also topping the list.
Did this give you some good bedding ideas? What do you use in your rat cages?