I make bedding and have been looking to expand me business to other critters since some of my buyers have more them just ferrets and sugar gliders. Alot of the ferret owners also have rats(some day I'll have some... :) ).

Anyways, I make a few things that are rat-sized, but alot of the stuff has batting, is that safe for rats?

What are some "rules" when making bedding for ratties? The "do"s and "don't"s?

If its digestable its fine :) they chew :)

I figured they'd chew, lol.

The fleece is fine though, right? Or can you only use "natural" stuff like cotton?

I hate using cotton batting because it's not "poofy" at all, I'd be better of adding an extra layer or 2 of fleece, lol.

fleece is fine :)

Woot! :D

Do you guys use shower hooks to hand bedding? That's what I use for my ferrets. The rats won't hurt their teeth on them or anything, right?

Also, do you use grommets or fabric tabs? I use both, but which is safer?

Ok, one other thing, so rats sleep in pouches, like gliders, or do they prefer sleepsacks, like ferrets?

All 3 are fine :) both are often used :)

Prety much anything you make for ferrets wil be fine for rats :)

Yippee! Now I've just got to shrink em all down to rattie size, lol. I did some MAJOR shrinking to get everything glider-sized, I guess rats would be right in-between. ;)

LOL you could keep it ferret sized. Give them extra lounging room :P lol

I'd keep it all ferret sized!! Honestly rats shouldn't be in a cage alone, and they always curl up together, so you need room for multiple rats in a hammock. Something that would be really nice is a ferret style triangle sack that hangs, but that is a big smaller on the bottom so it doesn't droop as much. That would be awesome. Another thing that would be super cool if someone made it is a hammock of some sort that fit a plastic water bottle with a piece of fleece between the hammock and the bottle so we can freeze our bottles in the summer and put it in the hammock to keep the rats cool. I'm sure ferrets would appreciate this also!

What do you mean by a freestyle hanging triangle sack? Do you have a pic of what you're describing? I could probably make something to fit your description or, if someone already DOES make it, then I could give you their info. ;)

As for the hammie with a bottle insert. That's a great idea! I don't make a hammock liek that, but I DO make a cube with a hidden bottom pocket for putting heating/cooling packets in. :)

It looks like a regular hanging cube in the front, but in the back it has a velcro-ed opening(so that the critters can't get inside). Here's a pic of the back with the pocket opened:

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u67/Tortiebaby/Ferret%20bedding/IM000054.jpg

There's a cotton and fleece layer between the pocket and the cube to keep it from getting too hot/cold. ;)

Is that something you think rattie owners(or should I say slaves? lol) would like?

That looks great! One issue tho - rats will chew through that faster than you could replace it, most likely. The simpler the better, for them. Serriously. Just two pieces of fleese stitched together, maybe with the velcro for your design, but simple since it won't stay put!

Most rattie hammocks and beds have to be replaced somewhat frequently because of teeth... More so with girls, though...

Hmmm...well, I make a special sugar glider hammock with a piece of thin, plastic cuttingboard in the bottom. Maybe if I sewed one of those in between the bottom of the cube then it would keep the rats from being able to eat through, or at least make it last a bit longer. ;)

yeah, that would absolutely help... at least until they figured out how to chew through that tooo. :wink: Good luck - I wish I had the time to make all that stuff right now, but... Soon... Soon.

So, how long does an average piece of bedding last?