Feeder substrate

I have heard a lot of people using different substrates on their feeder mice/rats/ASFs/whatevers. I think I want to switch to pine/wood pellets to help control the odor until I get my ASF's. Is this a good idea, and if so, where can I get it. I was thinking places like farm and fleet, but let me know where you get yours, or good places to look. Also, I think I am going to switch Pandora to newspaper from Aspen, but maybe not if I can find wood pellets for the mice. If I do switch to newspaper, should I switch back to Aspen during shed for the texture? She has a driftwood log that seems to be working well. Her last shed was perfect with 75% humidity on Aspen with her log and no soaking.

Thanks

I use Equine Fresh for my feeders and it is awesome! It cleans very well and there is no sticky wet aspen to wipe out which saves me $$$ on papertowels...and....it is way cheaper than aspen. I buy a 4o lb bags of Equine Fresh for like $6.00 each. oh and I get it at the Tractor Supply store.

I don't have to change their bedding as often and the musky smell they put off is way reduced. I breed rats not asf's but i have always heard that asf's didn't smell as bad as rats so that may not be an issue for you.


As for my snakes, I use newsaper...no aspen unless it is a gravid female.


:)

I use Aspen for everyone: snakes and mice. Just easier for me and seems more comfortable for the snakes...especially the corns.

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Originally Posted by Argentra

I use Aspen for everyone: snakes and mice. Just easier for me and seems more comfortable for the snakes...especially the corns.

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I gues I could have put that in there too...

I have Corn's and an RTB and they get Aspen. Just not my ball pythons.

:oops:

I use Equine Fresh - I get it from Deborah! LOL

But you can also pick up (in a pinch) the same thing at Petsmart in the cat litter aisle.

It has NOT worked well for me with newborn rats. It seems when it breaks down into sawdust, it suffocates them. So - when I have females who are ready to pop - I put a thin layer of Equinefresh down, and then a thick layer of aspen and I've had no more losses. I lost an entire litter of rat newborn on straight pine pellets. Once they're about 2 weeks old, I can switch them back over to straight pine pellets.

Equine Fresh :gj: - $6.25 for a 40 lbs bag at the Tractor Supply.

I use Equine Fresh only for mice from breeding to weaning.

Rats I use it in the breeding tubs, once the females give birth I use a little Equine fresh + Wood shaving and do so for the first 2 weeks, once the pups are 2 weeks old I use Equine Fresh only.

So far the ASF are on Equine Fresh, I will have to wait and see how it goes with the babies when they breed.

Note:The snakes are on newspaper and I never had any issue with shedding!

oh...i do use aspen with my breeder rats. When I start seeing them get a bulge in their bellies I put them on aspen. My reason for it wasn't the suffocation but more so about comfortability. I just figured mom and the babies needed the softer subtrate. I am glad that you mentioned that Robin! That is good to know!

:gj:

I actually just started using Equine Fresh a month or so ago...I loaned some rats to Casey and she kept them on Equine Fresh and when I got them back from her she was nice enough to give me the rest of the bag to try and I was amazed at the difference in cleaning.

Been using equine fresh for a long time now, and won't look back. Have been toying with some locally made hardwood pellets.... still undetermined at the moment.

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Originally Posted by MeMe

I actually just started using Equine Fresh a month or so ago...I loaned some rats to Casey and she kept them on Equine Fresh and when I got them back from her she was nice enough to give me the rest of the bag to try and I was amazed at the difference in cleaning.

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MeMe, I'm glad the Equine Fresh worked out for you!

For the OP, I was impressed with the Equine Fresh, but I haven't used anything else as rodent bedding recently enough to be a fair comparison. I believe Woody Pet is a different brand name for the same product.

Ok, so I have been using a 50-50 mix of pine and aspen(to cut down on the dust from using straight pine) and I have not had a single problem. Those giant bags from petco usually last a few months and are only like $10. It expands alot when fluffed... It just seems that the pelleted stuff (like equine pine) would be so dense that a 40lb bag really wouldnt be too big. Do you change it less frequently, use less than if using aspen/pine, or a little of both? That is the only way that it would make sense as being cheaper to me. I definately want to try it out though, especially if it helps reduce the odor from the rats and is potentially cheaper.

Corrupter...

For me it is way better. I was using aspen for all of my rats. I would clan their tubs at least 2 times a week. Now I only have to change them once every 6-8 days. I also was using a bag of aspen a week...costing me $12.50. Now I use 1 bag of Equine Fresh every 6-8 days...costing me $6.00.

I have 80+ rats and most are on the Equine Fresh.

and as I have said before, the smell is greatly reduced.

Thanks for helping me realize the greatness that is equine pine :P So to stretch the bag enough to cover so much, I am guessing you only need enough to cover the bottom? I have been using like 2" of my aspen/pine combo in the tanks so far...

Went to tractor supply today. For 9.89 I got a ~140 L of Aspen, 6.02 for 40lbs of Equine fresh and 3.49 for a 16 oz water bottle. Not too bad, just got all the mice in the tubs, we had quite a few preg females straight from the store, so I gave everyone a equine/aspen mix + a little aspen pile in one corner for a nest.

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Originally Posted by Corrupter

I am guessing you only need enough to cover the bottom?

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:gj: