My Mattress

[Sam]

Hey everyone,

I did a full cleaning of my room and rat cages today :joy: Everything's so nice and clean now. Unfortunately, I found 3 huge holes in my mattress and a bunch of the cottony stuffing stuff pulled out. Apparently they've been nesting in there. I was just wondering if any of the materials they use for the insides of mattresses are harmful to rats. I am going to get a new mattress tomorrow and would also like to know if anyone has any advice on how to discourage them from eating my bed (or anything I could put over it maybe?) They just chew holes in the the sides of the mattress to get inside.

Oh! I also wanted to ask, are leaves from apple and pear trees okay for rats? I give them branches from these trees to chew on and usually pull all the leaves off. Today I was wondering, is this is necessary or are the leaves okay for them?

Thanks

 

[lansauce]

if they've been chewing the sides to get through to the mattress you could try putting coroplast against the sides to keep them from getting in. if they're chewing through the top, putting down a cover before letting them out to play might discourage them from chewing - some heavyweight vinyl should do the trick, as long as they cant move it or get underneath. if they're really determined they may try to chew though it, but that can be fixed with a chewing deterrent spray. grannick's bitter apple for small animals is really great for this. the best part is that your bed will stay nice and clean if you cover it up since vinyl is waterproof.

i'm not sure about the branches/leaves .. i know you can get apple wood for small animals from pet stores, so the apple tree branches should be okay, but i would make sure the branches you give them haven't been sprayed with pesticide. to be safe you can remove the bark (soaking the branches in water will make the bark peel right off). hope this helps

 

[Sam]

grannick's bitter apple for small animals is really great for this

I didn't realize that stuff like that was okay to use with rats. I'll go look for some tomorrow. Would you find it at pet stores?

The branches I use definitely don't have pesticides on them. We never use anything like that in our yard and our neighbors let us know when they're using any pesticides.

 

[lansauce]

you just have to make sure it's the kind that's made specifically for small pets, since the different kinds are specialized for the type of animal, it's not just the same product in differently labeled bottles (what tastes bad to dogs doesn't necessarily taste bad for rodents). you should be able to find it in pet stores, i'm not sure which chains specifically carry the bitter apple for small animals though - you might have to call around. if worst comes to worst you should be able to order it online from a canadian grannicks distributor.

it's great that you have your own fruit trees - the apple branches should be fine since you're pesticide free but i would rinse them off before giving them to your ratties regardless, since you can never be sure what the local wildlife has left on them :lol:

 

[jorats]

I would think the leaves are fine, I don't think they will eat it.
As for the mattress, I would think it should be safe the stuff inside, if it's safe around chidlren it should be safe for rats.

 

[CardboardCastles]

I haven't had good luck with bitter apple spray int he past, my girls LOVED it and it only made them chew more.

 

[jorats]

I haven't had good luck with bitter apple spray int he past, my girls LOVED it and it only made them chew more.

Ya, I think my mom tried that once and her rats loved it too. lol

 

[Sam]

I haven't had good luck with bitter apple spray int he past, my girls LOVED it and it only made them chew more.

hahhaha That's so funny :laugh4:

 

[Fidget]

It always warms my heart to hear someone talk about the destruction their kids have caused and not care for anything but the well-being of the kids.
I haven't heard of any kid getting sick from shredding a bed or a couch or a favorite shirt or the rent money (they don't swallow it, what they chew always comes out the side of their mouths) Hopefully that holds for yours!
Hugs to you Sam for making my day and their lives!

*giggling*
Oops, meant to hit 'submit' before that came out :cheeky:

 

[lansauce]

I haven't had good luck with bitter apple spray int he past, my girls LOVED it and it only made them chew more.

was it the small animal mix or just the one for dogs? i know that my boys go nuts to get their teeth on anything that has the bitter apple for dogs on it. but a cheap homemade alternative is lemon juice diluted with some water and a little bit of white vinegar - the combination is usually sour enough to make most chewers give up

i've also noticed that my boys aren't especially keen to chew anything that i've put baking soda on, not sure what the story is there but it saves my bedding so i'm not complaining :lol:


ETA: also providing something soft for them to shred for bedding up like toilet paper might keep them from trying to pull out your mattress' insides.

 

[Sam]

It always warms my heart to hear someone talk about the destruction their kids have caused and not care for anything but the well-being of the kids.
I haven't heard of any kid getting sick from shredding a bed or a couch or a favorite shirt or the rent money (they don't swallow it, what they chew always comes out the side of their mouths) Hopefully that holds for yours!
Hugs to you Sam for making my day and their lives!

*giggling*
Oops, meant to hit 'submit' before that came out :cheeky:

:giggle:

 

[Sam]

I haven't had good luck with bitter apple spray int he past, my girls LOVED it and it only made them chew more.

was it the small animal mix or just the one for dogs? i know that my boys go nuts to get their teeth on anything that has the bitter apple for dogs on it. but a cheap homemade alternative is lemon juice diluted with some water and a little bit of white vinegar - the combination is usually sour enough to make most chewers give up

i've also noticed that my boys aren't especially keen to chew anything that i've put baking soda on, not sure what the story is there but it saves my bedding so i'm not complaining :lol:


ETA: also providing something soft for them to shred for bedding up like toilet paper might keep them from trying to pull out your mattress' insides.

Does the lemon juice, water and vinegar solution work after it's dried on or only when wet?

Very interesting advice, thank you

(I give them lots of paper towels and stuff for them to shred, but it's just not enough :gaah: hahahah)