A Change In Bedding...

The bedding I was using for my ratties in the past was not working well. It would get stinky very fast! So, as usual, I did a little research. Guess what I discovered? You can use cat litter as rat bedding!
At first, I was concerned that it would be too dusty for my ratties. I read this is not a problem, so I decided to give it a try. I am so glad I did; it works great (I use clumping cat litter). It does not bother my ratties and cleaning their cages is much easier now! Also, the smell has gone way down. Rats are naturally clean animals, but when you own so many there is a stinky smell!
If you ever decide to use litter as your rats' main bedding, be sure to have lots of comfortable sleeping areas around the cage. And do not be surprised if you wake up in the morning and find little 'litter mountains' around their cage! They love to play in it. ;-)
As I transitioned over to litter, I also trained my rats to use pans to do their business in. I did not put any sort of bedding/litter in the pans; I simply left them empty. I figured they would get confused if their pans were filled with something similar to the bedding used in their cages. As they learned this new concept, I made sure any droppings found around the cages were put into the pans. It did not take them long to catch on!