Breeding vs Store bought feeders

[wilomn]

I used to breed fancy rats in addition to "regular" feeder rats, and Pine actually can trigger cancerous growths and severe respiratory problems in rodents kept on it for long periods of time. You won't notice it right away, and sometimes not for months, but pine does cause significant health problems in rodents you are keeping for prolonged periods of time.

A healthy breeder is a good breeder, so since you will be maintaining them for a longer period of time than most feeders, stands to reason to keep them on something other than pine - they'll struggle less with breathing problems (you notice a bit of smell - imagine a rodent with a sense of smell dozens, if not hundreds of times better than your own, living 1 - 2" away from the bedding!) and should live longer and produce more/stronger offspring.

I actually noticed that several rats I initially started my feeder colony with that were developing tumors as adults had them stop growing once I removed them from pine and put them on the same recycled newspaper bedding I was using for the 'fancy' rats. As I had a relatively large colony of rats (60 adults at one point), I did notice that there was a substantial decrease in respiratory issues once I eliminated pine - it may not be AS toxic as cedar, and is alright short term, but if you really want to maintain healthy rodents long term, I highly recommend a substrate other than pine. I used a relatively pricey bedding at the time (carefresh), but Gentle Touch is a pelleted aspen bedding that absorbs moisture and smell extremely well and is what we use in the stores. I wish I'd known of Gentle Touch when I was breeding rats, the stuff works wonders on odor and would have been a lifesaver for me back then!

Just my 2 cents!

-Jen

I'm on the other side of the fence on this one. I have never, ever heard of pine and tumors having anything to do with eachother. I keep a few dozen breeders on pine and have for many years. I think in the last 5 years I might have seen 3 tumors on what has to be several thousand rats that have passed through my hands. I don't think there's a pine tumor cause and effect, more a coincidence in Jen's instance.