Rat owners, chewing rat problems?!?

the idea about having cut up fleece for chewing is good.

I find that my females are VERY fleece destructive, which means they get through a lot of hammocks.

you don't NEED a fleece liner though. I haven't considered them with my girls, because they would destroy them so fast it's not funny. however I do only have litter in the litter tray, and wipe down shelves and floors daily.

this avoids the extra dust through having a full substrate, but also avoids the chewing.

it just occurred to me one day that they're perfectly happy to curl up and sleep on a bare plastic shelf, so they don't need the plastic covered for comfort. and they have lots of hammocks and cubes when they want something softer.

so I did away with substrate altogether.

and why get a rat when you can get a hamster?

here's why

rats are

more docile

more affectionate

smell less

cleaner in their habits

less likely to bite

more intelligent and trainable

form stronger bonds with you

more interactive

not nocturnal (they are crepuscular)

more entertaining

enjoy human company more

tamer

more amenable to handliing.

more agile

more playful.

more social

much cuter

I think you are going to have to buy a LOT of fleece. The people I know who use fleece as bedding keep tons of it around, so they can change it out and wash it as often as they want. Some people keep the fleece in place by using clips - clipping it to the outside of the cage. I'm not sure exactly how that works, or even IF it keeps the rats from getting under the fleece.

Since it seems to work for you, I suggest you just buy fleece every chance you get. Some people find baby blankets of fleece at dollar stores or Goodwill, places like that.

Please DON'T spray the fleece!

Good luck!

Well in that case I would try to give them a lot of fleece specially for chewing cut into smaller sizes. Also if you have a lot of things thay can chew on, try taking them out of the cage more to keep them entertained. This rat chewing problem could be hard to solve though... but i would keep them entertained or try to anyway and maybe get more chews.

Do you have girls? My boys almost never chewed the fleece, unless it was a blanket I gave them FOR nesting purposes.

I have four girls now, litter trained, lots chew toys, lots of places to sleep, I even give them the extra blanket for nesting.

They still chew holes in my fleece covers.

I also wouldn't get the icky spray unless you know exactly what its made from. Check on the Rat Shack Forum and ask them if it's safe to use. They may even have a solution for you.

I get my fleece stuff from a Value Village (thrifted) so I have no qualms with replacing my fleece supply every few weeks, personally.

What worked for me when my rats were destroying their fleece was one of those pet store giant edible houses and a separate piece of fleece they can chew! They will always want to chew fabric, might as well give them some! (Or a home-made stuffed toy works too)

What kind of food do they have? Getting oxbow lab blocks are really good for their teeth, which means that they won't have to chew other things as much.

get A LOT of big chews. the little chews arent enough to keep them busy. hope i helped =)

your rat might really think the fleece is a toy and make a hole out of it.try something else and why get a rat when you could get a hamster?

you can get bitter sprays for small animals to prevent them from chewing things they are not supposed to, it works realii well.....

get something like this:http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Grannicks-Bitter-Apple-S...

it can be a little costly for a small bottle but it dose the trick!!!

hope this information helped xxx