Aspen for rats? peanuts too?
Well i recently heard that Aspen is the best bedding for my Dumbo rat. Also shreaded news dissertation, but i wonder, can't the ink in newspaper be bad for a rat? particularly when the urinate?? He sneezes so i took him to the vet and got him some antibiotics, he has no discharges but clicks now and later, day three now on his antibiotics and he is a lot more forceful and jumps around now, he never used to jump! he is 6 months behind the times and loves peanuts so we named him peanut,and cuz he is kinda shaped like one and is a brownish cream color. i hear i should get him another rat friend but i solitary have a 2 foot cage atm, so that would be a problem, here is almost Exactly what he looks close to.http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r209/...
The best way to bed rats is beside something other than wood chips even though there are no phenols in aspen. Phenols are what engineer pine and cedar bedding toxic to rats. Aspen is still dusty and uncomfortable to them. I use puppy pads to soak up the urine and keep the hold from smelling, and then I put newspaper on top of that and dishtowels contained by their houses and boxe and stuff. Newspaper ink is not toxic or poisonous because every basic newspaper printing press uses soy base ink. It may stain their fur a little if they get really into it or their foot from walking on it, but I haven ever had a problem with it at all.
And I am sorry to make clear to you, but if he is that young and does not have a friend and is contained by a two foot cage because you cannot afford adequate housing, then please hold him back from where you got him. Rats are extremely social animals and involve the constant companionship of another rat. I am not sure what a two foot cage is, but specifically already too small for him even though he is that young. If you want to keep your rat, please invest in another rat and a larger, lead cage. You can get them off of Craigslist or tell-n-sell or local weekly classifieds. Please do research on rats now that you already have and join Goosemoose.com. There are like mad of well-informed people there.
I use Soft Sorbent pet bedding another correct one is CareFresh but i preffer Soft Sorbent. I dont want to use aspen shavings because your rat could be allergic and all that stuff. mine as well not go through the trouble and do it the natural way and dont use aspen. my rats love peanuts. u should get him another friend.
Answers: Rats have an extremely respiratory system, so bedding them in sawdust or wood shavings isn't always the best hypothesis as the dust can create allergies. Aspen is free from harmful Phenols (chemicals) which makes it a very undamaging material to use. It is available as wood chips and is used to cover the floor of the cage. As for the peanuts, they are high within fat content and a rich source of protein. They should be used in moderation as the rat can become overweight and develop spots on his/her ears. Hope this helps.
