Bedding??

I have been using shredded news paper because I get it for free from everyone I know BUT I am getting tired of shredding it all the time. LOL

What are ya'll using from say Lowes/Home Depot that can be bought in MAJOR bulk and on the cheap??

I use kiln dried pine from TSC, can't get much cheaper than that.

I'm using lab grade shredded Aspen. I went from Aspen chips to shreds and am loving how soft and fluffy it is! It fluffs up a lot so I think I'm going to get more use out of the same cubic feet.

Regards,

B

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Originally Posted by llovelace

I use kiln dried pine from TSC, can't get much cheaper than that.

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didt think pine was good for them

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Originally Posted by Simple Man

I'm using lab grade shredded Aspen. I went from Aspen chips to shreds and am loving how soft and fluffy it is! It fluffs up a lot so I think I'm going to get more use out of the same cubic feet.

Regards,

B

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where you getting it from, I know a couple pet shops here carry fine shred but they dont carry large bags.

It's kiln dried, no problems with it, TSC has also started carrying the shredded type also, which I will get when I go through my last 2 bags of this.

sorry, didnt notice the kd on your first post:oops:

I'm pretty sure I use the same stuff Simple Man does. It's lab grade shredded aspen and works great. I use it for my snakes and rats. So when I need to clean the snakes that aspen goes to the rats and I end up saving alot of bedding. We get it from someone in Phoenix for $20 a large bag.

Wow all those beddings sound really uncomfortable. I personally prefer to sleep in cotton sheets this time of year, and maybe flannel or fleece in the winter.:P

of course for the snakes i use shredded aspen. here i can get it for about $20 for a large bail. in fact if the bail were any bigger i would have a bit of trouble getting it in my trunk.

Rat breeding forum ;)

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Pelleted pine bedding is cheap and comes in large bulks. Try a search for Guardian Horse Pellets or walk into a feed store.

I second going to a feed store. They'll have the best prices. Check out a few, because prices can vary a lot. Some stores around me will price bedding at twice what others do.

I use GEM White shavings for my rats and ASF, at $7 per 10 cu ft from a feed store, and aspen flakes for my mice, I think something along the lines of $20 per 40 lbs at a local pet store.

The only bedding you'll find at Home Depot or Lowes is gonna be wood stove pellets, and even those are cheaper at feed stores.

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Originally Posted by Jessica Loesch

Rat breeding forum ;)

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your right my mistake.:oops: i keep all my rats on ice if that helps:rolleyes:

I use kiln dried pine here. Works well for me.

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Originally Posted by jason_ladouceur

your right my mistake.:oops: i keep all my rats on ice if that helps:rolleyes:

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I only feed live, so much easier because everyone eats every week;):gj:

I use Pine Pellets, the untreated, no fumes kind. It works just like cat litter, and is super easy to clean. I used to use shredded pine, and did for over 2 years before I switched, now I'll never go back!

Trey

Pine is bad for rodents in the long run yes, idk if kiln dried is. I'm sure the argument goes both ways but if your using it to breed rats for food you probably won't keep the old ones around long enough for it to matter. I keep all my breeders on pine shavings but I move my mothers and babies to aspen and paper for at least a week or two before feeding because of paranoia lol. I also cull my breeders around 18 months of age or if liters get small

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Pit Pine is fine i use the kiln stuff and never have issues you can go to McCoys that we have down here in Texas and they have big pressed bags for $5 bucks...

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Originally Posted by krmn22

Pine is bad for rodents in the long run yes, idk if kiln dried is.

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kiln dried pine is perfectly safe for rats short term or long term.

So how often do yall change the bedding? It's been about a week now with 3 rats and the bedding looks hardly spoiled, and no smell.

Usually 3 adult rats will need changing once a week, but if they don't smell bad yet then you might get a few more days.

I do mine once a week

Yeah we do ours once a week aswell, But we have a bnch of racks for rats and mice. The reason i stay away from petts is if you don't get the pinkies out fast enough and those pellets get wet. They will stick to the pickies nose and block its airways or get stuck in there mouth. Plus the Pine i get is a mix between the larger chips and smaller chips. I keep 4 girls and 1 male per mortar tub and leave the female in there so they can take each take turns taking care of the young. I have never had any issues where the males eat the young only in mice and even that has been rare.

I use crushed corn cob as a base layer, and kiln dried pine.
It works great for me, and it's cheap. :snake:

Assuming one needs to change bedding weekly why would adding corncob help?

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Originally Posted by snakesRkewl

Assuming one needs to change bedding weekly why would adding corncob help?

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It's absorbent, it doesn't cake up like shavings alone, and it's cheaper than shavings . I only need to change mine out bi weekly, and it still doesn't smell. A trick I learned from from one of the biggest rat breeders in Missouri.

If you happen to know any wood workers, friends or family friends maybe, talk to them. We have a wood shop at my house and I have about four garbage bags of shavings waiting to get thrown away here because I just can't use that much. If we knew someone who wanted them we'd give them away . We seperate our clean shavings from "the bad ones" that may have metal peices or something.

i get a 50 lb bale for 6.50 from the feed store of shredded pine and my rats do fine on it

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Originally Posted by punyhuman07

Pit Pine is fine i use the kiln stuff and never have issues you can go to McCoys that we have down here in Texas and they have big pressed bags for $5 bucks...

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SUPER THANKS!!!!!!!!!!
Had a service call off of 1604 and Kitty Hawk, there is a McCoys there!!!:D:D
That customer also gave me a $20 tip:O:O
3 bags of 5.5 cubic feet kiln pine shavings total with tax $16.85 :banana::banana:
1 20oz soda from them $2.16:confused::confused:

found a bag of kiln dryed pine for 10 dollars (12 cu.ft uncompressed) at locke heed feed

the stuff is called drynest apparently really good

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Originally Posted by Abaddon91

found a bag of kiln dryed pine for 10 dollars (12 cu.ft uncompressed) at locke heed feed

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So I take it you went and got some lab blocks too