Is using alfalfa a good choice for a rat cage?

Question

I have been pondering on what to use for the bottom of my rat cage - but I went on a site that showed all the negative things about the bedding most people choose. Like how wood chips and shaving are bad for their respiratory system. I automatically scratched that one out because I'd never put my pets at risk. I don't want to use any type of like clothing material right now because the 2 rats are only babies so they need litter trained. I wasn't fond of the whole just having newspaper idea, or ripped up paper. I'm all worked up in having the baby rats coming and I truly want the best for them, I think I worry to much.

So I've come to the conclusion to line the cage with newspaper so its easier to clean and using alfalfa on top. Is this a logical idea?

Answer 1

this is a very good link on rats

http://www.gomestic.com/Pets/Unusual-Pet...

alfalfa is hay.. it is food.. it is not as absorbant as straw...

I woudl say to line the cage with newspaper (not colored newspapers) and straw..

Answer 2

I've always used woodshavings (the soft-ish curly type, not the chips which look more like big splinters) and never had any breathing problems with my little pets.

Make sure that you choose 'dust extracted' ones though.  It will say that on the label and is important.

Alfalfa they will eat and it might not do them a lot of good (they're likely to get diarrhoea if they eat too much greenstuff).  Newspaper isn't really absorbent enough either and, as they're likely to nibble on it, the printing ink might not do them a lot of good (plus they'll probably end up with little black feet!).

You can buy 'paper' bedding or a kind of 'cotton wool' type material from pet shops to use in the bedding area.  Either of these would make a nice soft nest for your kits, but DON'T (sorry for shouting!) use ordinary cotton wool, as they are likely to nibble on it and this can bung up their insides and maybe even kill them.

Rats are naturally clean and should litter train themselves - they will almost always go as far away from their nest as they can in a cage, and use that as their toilet area although they will urinate everywhere.

Enjoy your new babies!

Answer 3

maybe but they will probably eat the alfalfa...and if they urinate that means they will be eating that as well...think about it. i have hamsters and  rabbit rodents and they both love alfalfa to EAT

Answer 4

Alfalfa is not very absorbent at all, nor is newspaper. It's safe, but it'll be hard to keep clean.

Not all wood shavings are bad - aspen is fine, since it's a hardwood. Pine and cedar are softwoods that contain harmful phenols, but aspen is perfectly safe.

You can also use paper-based beddings like Carefresh. They're very absorbent and don't cause any health problems. They're a little more expensive, but it's worth it.