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Substrate for Rats

There are many different substrates that are aimed at rodent keepers, some are appropriate and some are not.

A note must be made to discourage the use of wood shavings that contains phenols. This includes pine shavings, which is a popular product sold in pet stores specifically for use as rodent bedding. The phenols (which is what gives pine shavings its distinctive smell) in the shavings cause irritation in the rats lungs, causing respiratory distress. The exception to this is kiln dried shavings, which after being dried do not contain phenols.

The table below gives a brief assessment of the most readily available substrates.

Substrate	Pros	Cons	General Rating
Breeders Choice™	Very good at absorbing odours and urine. Easy to remove soiled patches Provided it is spot cleaned regularly, it lasts well between cleans. Rats love to burrow in it	Can be expensive	9/10
Natty Cat Litter™	Rats love to burrow in it Easy to remove soiled patches Pellet have grassy aroma to them, although it wears. Very absorbant Is edible	Can be expensive Once the grassy aroma has gone from the litter, it does not absorb the smell of the urine well. Soiled patches can become dusty if not removed quickly	8/10
Back2Nature™ Litter	Very good at absorbing odours Easy to remove soiled patches Provided it is spot cleaned regularly, it lasts well between cleans. Rats love to burrow in it	Can be expensive Slightly dusty when soiled	8/10
Aspen shavings	Rats love to burrow in it Usually dust has been extracted No phenols, so no bad effect on your ratties lungs	Very expensive Not particularly good at absorbing odours	7/10
Ecopure™ Litter	Very good at absorbing odours and urine. Easy to remove soiled patches Provided it is spot cleaned regularly, it lasts well between cleans.	Can be expensive Is quite dusty, can cause sneezing.	6/10
Ozpet™ Litter	Quite absorbant Rats love to burrow in it	Pellets are quite large and solid, making it hard to move through and possibly a little harsh on the feet. Can be expensive Once soiled, the pellets turn to dust which causes respiritory irritation.	6/10
Wheaten chaff/Lucerne chaff	Cheap Natural material, so edible Rats love to burrow in it	Does not absorb odours or urine well Messy, easily kicked out of the cage Lucerne is soft, however wheaten chaff has sharp edges and can prick the skin causing irritation	3/10
Cedar shavings	None	Causes respiritory problems due to phenols in the shavings. Not suitable for use with rats. The only exception to this is shavings that are kiln dried which removes the phenols, but these are very hard to buy in Australia.	0/10
Pine shavings	None	Causes respiritory problems due to phenols in the shavings. Not suitable for use with rats. The only exception to this is shavings that are kiln dried which removes the phenols, but these are very hard to buy in Australia.	0/10