[RenishaS]

I posted this in the general rodents section and while I did get one helpful response I'm looking for multiple opinions so i'm going to re post it here...


I've owned my rats for almost two years now and I've always used Carefresh for their bedding but since joining Paw-Talk I've heard a lot of rodent owners saying they use Yesterday's News.

I looked for it last time I was at Petsmart and I couldn't find it in the small animal's section. I assume it's used primarily for something else but I didn't have time to ask anyone about it before they closed.

My question is this: What is Yesterdays News? Where do I find it? How well does it work for odor control and does it make good bedding? (My rats are not litter trained so it would have to go all over the bottom of their cage.)

My biggest problem is that the bedding under their water bottle gets matted and sticks to the bottom of the cage and it's hard to clean out, does Yesterday's News have the same problem?

 

[Jennicat]

Yesterday's News is sold as a cat litter. It's over in the litter section in a big green bag. It works well for odor control, but I personally don't like it for bedding except in litterboxes. It's gray pellets of recycled newspaper, so I imagine it has to be rather rough on the feet. I typically use fleece and then a small litterbox in the corner with Yesterday's News in it. I have seen people that do use it for all over bedding, but my personal preference in not.

For all over the floor, I'd recommend a similar product called Fresh World Bedding by Sunseed: http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3058629

It's pelleted paper like YN, but it isn't as tightly packed, and is softer and slightly fluffy. I use it for my hamster cages, and it controls odor really well.

 

[lilspaz68]

I use a generic brand in Canada called Mews Print, in my litter boxes. But when I had/have a very nasty dirty group of rats, I have put it down in the base of the cage and it was amazing for smells and lasted a long time. The Mews Print is also softer than the YN.

 

[laydeerodentzz]

Oh my gosh, I thought when you all said yesterdays news, you meant yesterdays newsPAPER LOL
xxxx

 

[geegeorge]

I use the Mews print too. It covers the entire bottom of the cage, and it's great for odor control, and seems to be fine on their feet although they don't really spend much time down there anyway. I had no idea it was softer then YN just got it cause my nearest pet store had it. I like it because it's cleaner then aspen, which tended to get quite dusty and spread everywhere. I think it's a great product!

 

[RenishaS]

Oh my gosh, I thought when you all said yesterdays news, you meant yesterdays newsPAPER LOL
xxxx

That's actually what I though at first but then I noticed so many people talking about and it was always capitalized so if figured out it had to be a product of some kind but then I couldn't find it. in the rodent section.

I never go into the cat section, so that explains why I couldn't find it. Would it be ok to put the litter on the bottom of their cage and then put a little of the bedding on top? For the most part my rats stick to the hammock in their cage but they like to pull some bedding into their nests (one is a wicker ball, the other is whatever large cardboard box I happen to have on hand when I clean)

 

[CapriceCritters]

I didn't like Yesterday's news at all. As they walked on wet pellets where they had just urinated, their paws and bellies (if they had white bellies) would get blackened from the ink. Their tails got gross, too... It didn't control odor notably well, and is a bit pricy for as many cages as I had. Fleece simply stinks, IMO.

 

[Jennicat]

Fleece is higher maintenance and does need to be cleaned out every 3-4 days if you're using it, but we keep rats in our living room and never notice an odor on our fleece/YN unless we've been bad

 

[pseudorocknroll]

Kaytee: Clean and Cozy

I'm 100% Care Fresh. Recently I tried a new type of bedding: Kaytee "Clean and Cozy"

....IT WAS TERRIBLE. WITHIN A DAY IT WAS COMPLETELY SOAKED AND SMELLED TERRIBLE! WORST BEDDING I'VE EVER TRIED!

 

[Vladina]

Hey all, how do I get Mr. Crocs shoeware spammer reported to Dragonrain?

 

[breyer08]

This morning I reported that post by clicking on the caution triangle in the upper right corner. Not sure if they got my report yet, though. You should do it, too, because I bet the more people the faster they'll ban.

 

[Dragonrain]

There should be a button with an "!" on it on the top of each post. You click that to report a post.

I took care of the spammer who posted in this thread. Thanks

 

[Vladina]

Ah, thank you Dragonrain and Breyer! You learn something new every day on this forum!

 

[Blacksheep]

Yeah its cat litter. Even if you do find it in the small animal section (often as ferret litter) its cheaper if you buy the cat one.

IF you like the type of bedding carefresh is, Cell-sorb is very similar but cheaper and worked a heck of a lot better lol.

 

[Critter Colony]

I never had the blacking problem with my guys,, and I have berkshire rats on it,, I do like it in some cages..

 

[pseudorocknroll]

has anyone else tried Kaytee "Clean and Cozy"?