Mary Allen
Litter is part of the basic equipment of a small animal shelter and should be tailored to the animal living in it and its specific characteristics and preferences. But what types of litter are there and what are the advantages and disadvantages? Find out here what you should pay attention to on this topic.
General
If you haven’t really dealt with the topic before, you might think that there is only a small selection of different types of bedding available. In fact, there is a large selection of types of litter, ranging from “100% natural” to “completely synthetic”. Basically, you should tend towards the natural variants, as these not only act as a “pad”, but can also be used for playing, cuddling, and eating without any problems.
When choosing the right litter, you should keep the characteristics of your animal in mind: for example, hamsters digging in corridors need a different litter than rats or rabbits. Here, not only the type but also the fineness of the bedding is decisive. Of course, you should also weigh up the individual advantages and disadvantages and possibly consider a combination of different types of litter.
Many small animals suffer from allergies and cannot tolerate their litter; Only going to the vet due to eye infections or breathing problems often creates clarity. The formation of dust is often problematic with some types of litter: If you discover such symptoms in your animals, you should change the manufacturer and see whether the problem persists with other brands. If nothing changes in the state of health, you should switch to a different type of bedding.
The Classic Litter
First of all, we want to deal with the most popular and widespread litter: the small animal litter made from softwood chips. The chips come from different trees, but generally from those that have little resin; In addition, the coarseness of the individual chips changes – sometimes fine, sometimes quite coarse. Here you should be guided by the size of the animal and its preferences: For example, if you own an animal that digs a hall, such as gerbils, the granulate must not be too fine, otherwise, the structures will not hold up.
Incidentally, the small animal litter owes its popularity primarily to its suction power and the low occurrence of dust. When buying, you should be careful not to catch any products with artificial odorous substances, as they may smell good, but unnecessarily irritate the animals’ respiratory tract and eyes. In addition to the litter for small animals, straw is also often and gladly used: What is particularly impressive here is that it is available in different hardnesses and degrees of chop and can be gnawed well – the high proportion of crude fiber supports digestion.
Most of the time, however, straw is not used alone, but as a cover material over another layer of bedding. This has a number of advantages: The individual stalks do not absorb manure and moisture themselves, but instead guide them down to the litter, which means that the straw remains clean for longer. In addition, it prevents finer types of bedding from settling in the fur of the animals, which are then distributed everywhere. Last but not least, many animals love to rummage through the straw and use it to upholster their houses – after all, they sleep well on straw.
Vegetable Litter Types
Hemp litter is made from shredded hemp plants and is becoming increasingly popular over time. Due to the soft structure, it is not suitable for building corridors but is very paw-friendly, ideal for cuddling up, and does not get stuck in the fur. Another advantage of this litter is that it is much less dusty than other products, and it is also very absorbent. Since hemp litter is a purely natural product and is particularly gentle, it is also ideal for small allergic animals.
Another type of plant-based litter is linen litter, which is also often used in horse keeping. It is very fine, low in dust, and ideally wicks away moisture downwards – so everything is always clean and dry upstairs. For this reason, however, it is not suitable for digging animals, as they would otherwise rummage around in their own rubbish. Linen litter is particularly pleasant for more sensitive noses, as it has virtually no odor of its own. Incidentally, it can also be mixed well with other types of litter.
Cotton litter, on the other hand, consists of pure cotton fibers, which have a soft texture and are therefore preferably used by small animals for building nests. This is mainly due to the fact that it protects against the cold, provides cozy warmth, and is both low-odor and highly moisture-absorbent. In contrast to the other vegetable species, cotton litter should not be used as the only litter: It is ideal if it is distributed as “comfort litter” over, for example, normal small animal litter.
“Back to Nature”
In the last place, we want to deal with the supposedly most natural litter, after all, animals in nature also walk on earth and dig their passage systems here. In the range of soil suitable for small animal homes, there are some types that should not be used as sole bedding. Often the problem here is that it is too damp: Hamsters, for example, naturally live in very dry soils and develop skin problems if the moisture is too high. A good alternative to complete littering is, for example, using it in sandboxes or spouts. With small animal peat, for example, it is important to ensure that it is always kept slightly moist: If you fail to do this, it becomes a real dust collector; on the other hand, if the peat is too moist, mold can form.
Another alternative is garden soil, but you have to do certain preparatory work here: On the one hand, when buying, you have to make sure that the soil is not fertilized, on the other hand, it has to be baked in the oven at 100 ° C for about an hour to avoid any Kill germs and thus prevent diseases. The range of different types of litter is long. Which bedding is best for your animal friend depends on your animal. There may be a few strains you need to try out before you find the right one. But it’s worth it, after all, your animal roommate should feel comfortable in their rodent home.