Skip to Content

Is Bedmax Safe To Use As Rat Bedding!

With the popularity of keeping rats as pets steadily increasing with each year that goes by, we have noticed more and more questions from people who are either considering a pet rat or already have a pet rat and are looking for advice on giving them the best possible care.

One of the more controversial topics about keeping pet rats has always been around the bedding or substrate that you use for them due to their sensitive respiratory systems.

There is constant debate online regarding what rat bedding options are the best and if you should use one product over another.

Over the last few weeks, we have been seeing a huge spike in the number of questions relating to using Bedmax for rats as a form of bedding and substrate due to a popular YouTuber confirming that they use it for their rats.

As we have seen a number of people reaching out to ask about using Bedmax as rat bedding as well as it being a controversial option, we wanted to publish our own article on the topic.

Our hope is that we will be able to help as many of our readers as possible while also going into detail on our thoughts on using Bedmax for rats as well as some great alternatives.

Is Bedmax Safe For Rats?

Although Bedmax is technically classed as a safe product for rats due to the heat treating system it goes through during production, many rat owners are skeptical about using it.

A number of rat owners do use Bedmax for their pet rats as a bedding and substrate option though with many of them not having any problems at all.

Now, you may be wondering why some people may be choosing to take a risk by using a product like Bedmax for their pet rat’s bedding when it is so controversial.

The simple answer is the price as you can get large packs of Bedmax online much cheaper than you can get any other suitable rat bedding material.

Due to so many people already safely using Bedmax as a bedding option for their pet rats, more and more people are starting to make the switch to keep their costs as low as possible and we can defiantly see why.

We defiantly understand why there is a clear split within the rat owning community about using Bedmax for pet rats though and can definitely see the situation from both points of view.

Should You Use Bedmax For Rat Bedding?

Although a large number of rat owners do use Bedmax as a bedding and substrate for their pet rats, we would usually recommend that you go with any of the other options on the market.

Hemp, cardboard, and paper pellets all make for great rat bedding options while also having a low price tag.

If you pet rat does have even mild respiratory problems then you should definitely be going with an alternative product to keep the potential dust levels as low as possible.

We are fully aware of the processes that Bedmax goes through to keep their product as free from dust as possible and although they do a great job, it is not as good as some other materials.

This is partly due to Bedmax having been designed for use for horses rather than rats and horse being a lot more tolerant of dust in their bedding.

On top of that, the actual materials of Bedmax are very hard to keep totally dust free too making it a pain to ensure that there is absolutely no risk to your pet rats if you do choose to use it.

What Are Better Alternatives To Bedmax For Rats?

Hemp, cardboard, paper pellets, and even cloth bedding are usually considered better bedding options for rats than Bedmax.

Although a large number of rats are living with Bedmax in their cages without having any problems, some rat owners will simply not risk the dust issue with their pets.

This is why the traditional dust-free bedding options for rats are so popular with more and more people using them as a way to keep their rat’s cages as free from dust as possible. We have seen some people say the spray

Bedmax with water or try to shake any remaining dust out of it to ensure that it is as safe as possible for any rats who may have respiratory problems but this defeats the purpose of using it in our opinion.

If the prices of hemp keep falling then the prices for the various hemp bedding options for rats will be in line with the savings offered from Bedmax within a year or two anyway.

We will now be taking a quick look at some of the better alternative bedding options to Bedmax for your pet rats.

Hemp

There has been a huge spike in the number of people using hemp bedding for rats over the last few years due to it being a great low dust option with its prices constantly falling.

We have a dedicated article going over using hemp bedding for rats that may be helpful but the short version is that it’s an excellent option and is usually our default recommended rat bedding option to our readers.

Paper Pellets

The modern paper pellet rodent bedding options have seen a huge spike in their popularity over the last decade and we only expect them to continue to become more popular as time goes on.

The modern pelleting systems ensure that the paper pellets are 99% dust-free and with recycled paper being the main ingredient in most of these products, they are environmentally friendly while also being cheaper than they used to be.

Cardboard

Cardboard bedding options for rats is the traditional favourite and although it is still an excellent option, they are going out of favour due to the prices of hemp and paper pellets falling while the prices of the cardboard bedding options increase.

A huge number of people do still use cardboard bedding for their pet rats though and we still think that it will be a dominant option for many decades to come yet.

Conclusion

That brings our article going over using Bedmax for rats to an end. Although you are able to use Bedmax as a bedding or substrate option for your pet rats with many rat owners doing so, it is more popular to use hemp, paper pellets or cardboard due to the potential dust issue for the more sensitive respiratory system of rats.