This article is from the Spring 2002 AFRMA Rat & Mouse Tales news-magazine.

By Nichole Royer

This issue we will cover Miscellaneous Beddings and look into the New Paper Beddings being offered.

Rabbit Pellets

Rabbit Pellets.

Yes, we are talking about the stuff you feed to rabbits. Surprisingly, this makes a very acceptable bedding for rats and mice. It is inexpensive (if bought in bulk), pleasant smelling, and harmless if eaten. It doesn t eliminate odor like Gentle Touch™/Aspen Supreme™, but the small size of its pellets seems to be more comfortable than many other pelleted beddings. Most people use this in a pinch when their regular bedding is unavailable.

Corn Cob Bedding/Bed-o’ Cobs®

Bed-o’ Cobs®

Many laboratories use corn cob based bedding, as do many bird and reptile enthusiasts.

Ground corn cob is available at almost all pet shops, as well as Walmart and some grocery stores. It is simply dried corn cob which has been ground to various consistencies. It is very easily available, and very cheap. Though it is absorbent, corn cob does very little to control odor and tends to grow mold whenever it gets wet. This necessitates removing wet bedding daily. Also, corn cob is very coarse, and must be uncomfortable for our critters to stand on. (Think of it as standing on gravel in your bare feet all the time.)

Bed-o’ Cobs® brand corn cob bedding is manufactured by The Andersons, P.O. Box 119, Maumee, OH 43537, 1-866-234-0505 Fax: (419) 891-6655, e-mail: coborders@andersonsinc.com https://andersonsplantnutrient.com/engineered-products/lab-and-enrichment/products.

Other companies that have corn cob beddings are: Harlan Teklad (Harlan Teklad [now Envigo], P.O. Box 44220, Madison, Wisconsin 53744, 1-800-4-TEKLAD (483-5523), (608) 277-2070, Fax: (608) 277-2066, e-mail: tekladinfo@harlan.com, Harlan Bedding Products), Green Pet Products Inc. (the makers of Aspen Supreme™ [now from Kaytee] ), and Northeastern Products Corp. (P.O. Box 98, 115 Sweet Road, Warrensburg, NY 12885, 1-800-873-8233, (518) 623-3161, Fax: (518) 623-3803, www.nep-co.com or https://labbedding.com/laboratory-bedding/).

Clean-N-Comfy™

This product is simply corn cob with an added deodorizing ingredient. Unlike plain corn cob, it has a rather unique smell (I won’t even begin to describe it). Those people who have used it say that it does a good job controlling odor; however, the odd smell prevented many of us from trying it. Though not overly strong, the odor has a chemical “twang” to it that bothered many of us to the point that we didn’t want it near our animals. Others thought it smelled good, so this is one to try for yourselves. It has recently appeared in many Petco’s and is relatively inexpensive.

Manufactured by Green Pet Products Inc. (the makers of Aspen Supreme™), 410 West Center Street, Conrad, IA 50621, 1-800-405-NEST (6378), (515) 366-3148, Fax: (515) 366-2366, e-mail: sales@ greenpet.com, http://www.greenpetproducts.com/prodclean.htm.

Many of these new paper beddings have just recently been tried by Southern California fanciers. We will be running an article about them in a future issue of the newsletter. We’d love to hear from our members that have tried these new products and their results with them.

ECOfresh™

ECOfresh™

A new product from Absorption Corporation, this is 100% recycled paper that looks like an off-white CareFRESH™ rolled into little hard balls. ECOfresh™ is made by Absorption Corporation, 6960 Salashan Parkway, Ferndale, WA 98248, 1-800-242-2287, (360) 734-7415, Fax: (360) 671-1588, e-mail: absorbs@absorption-corp.com, Now Healthy Pet (3-23-16). [Product now used in the Puppy Go Potty™ system.]

Cell Sorb Plus™

Cell Sorb Plus™

This product is made with recycled paper (the ink in the paper is soybean based) and a non-toxic patented neutralizing mineral. It looks like pellets that went through a roller to make large crumbles. Manufactured by Fangman Specialties, Inc., 897 Ohio Pike, Cincinnati, OH 45245, (513) 752-4500, e-mail: AlFangman@Cell-Sorb-Plus.com, www.cell-sorb-plus.com.

Pet’s Preference

This is made from 100% recycled paper fiber. It comes in pellets or a soft texture that looks like finely ground CareFRESH™.

Pet’s Preference original texture.

Pet’s Preference soft texture.

Pet’s Preference Critter Litter & Bedding is manufactured by Stutzman Environmental Products. They also make Crown Animal Bedding – a pelletized recycled paper fiber, and Good Mews – recycled paper pellets, www.stutzman-environmental.com/goodmews.php. Contact Stutzman Environmental Products, P.O. Box 307, 9205 South Kraxberger Road, Canby, OR 97013, 1-888-877-7665, (503) 266-4610, Fax: (503) 266-8776, e-mail: goodmews@stutzman-environmental.com, www.stutzman-environmental.com/index.php.

Paperlet For Small Animals

Paperlet For Small Animals.

This is a recycled pulp rolled paper pellet that is good for nesting material.

Manufactured by Peparlet Co., Ltd., 422 Shimodoma, Fujieda-Shi Shizuoka-Ken 426-0003, Japan, Tel: 81-054-643-2943, Fax: 81-54-644-6513, e-mail: info@peparlet.com, www.peparlet.com.

TEK-FRESH

This comes in a gray or white form that is 100% reclaimed virgin wood pulp.

Available from Harlan Teklad [now Envigo], 1-800-4-TEKLAD (483-5523), https://www.envigo.com/p/teklad/bedding-and-environmental-enrichment/contact-bedding/7099-tek-fresh.aspx

Part 4: More New Beddings.

Part 1: Hardwood Beddings.
Part 2: Paper Beddings and Pelleted Beddings.

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