Cellsorb vs Yesterday's News...preferences, anyone, with male rats?

[Ratboys' Mum]

Hello. For those of you who have used Cellsorb and Yesterday's News for their male rats, what are your experiences and preferences? Thank you! I do not know which one to try...it must be dust free, though, if that is possible. Thank you!

[ILuvRats]

OK, I know I have females but I just started to use Yesterday's News. I get the unscented. I am very impressed with it. No dust and it does control odor very well.  I got a 30lb bag for $10.99. And another plus is that the girls can't kick it out as easy as aspen or hemp.   Therefore I don't have to be constantly sweeping.   It last longer too. I was using hemp before and it has no odor control at all. CellSorb here in Canada is a little pricey so I chose YN. Hope this helps.  

[Heather]

I have YN for my males. It starts to stink about day6 (this is with 8 big boys though) and I clean it after a week so it's not too bad.

[menagerie]

I use a combination of CelSorb Plus and Yesterday's News. I think the combination works better than either one separately.

[BabyBlue]

I've used both, liked Cell Sorb much better. I haven't tried the combo tho, so maybe that's even better.

[TheChicagoCrew]

I am using Yesterday's News and it is pretty good at odor control, actually. My cages don't start smelling until day 6 and I change it on day 7 or 8 (with 16 rats). Although I have noticed that the pellets break down after awhile and at the bottom of the pan there is powder instead of pellets. I thought "Oh great! That's going to be dusty!" But when I dumped it into the garbage bag there really wasn't much dust to get up in the air at all. So that was nice.

-Melina

[Ratboys' Mum]

Thank you for telling me that YN can break down; it is something to watch out for. One of my boys is very sensitive to dust and I do not want him to get sick again w/yet another respiratory infection.

[Publius]

my gf and I have tried both, and are equally satisfied with both of them. I think we may start leaning toward YN--it comes in bigger bags, it's easier to find, and our local Pet Valu (no live animal pet supplies store) carries it (the don't carry cell-sorb).

I've noticed dustiness in the pan for anything I use--and I think most if it is actually lab block crumbs. Really--it's very gritty.

EDIT to add: Rat cages are cleaned every Sunday.

[Tracy]

I've noticed all the pelleted bedding will crumble down if they've urinated or water falls on it.
It's a good indicator of when to change cages

[Bonnie]

I have males, (and female fosters) and I use Yesterday's News. I am very satisfied with it.

I have never tried Cell Sorb only because of the cost of the only bag I have seen... it's just not economical for the amount of cages I have. (I end up spending the amount I save to buy YN to buy them treats instead lol)