Towels or blanket...?

[Ratgirl98]

Hi everyone
I've decided to use fleece for my ratties' cage and I was wondering instead of using fleece could I just use a towel? Or a thin blanket?

Oh, and also, I know this is kinda random, but when a rat licks you what does that mean? I think I read somewhere that they are trying to groom you like they would do to other rats, so is that true?
Thanks!

[Cigar]

A friend of mine who is a Doula told me that they use towels instead of blankets because towels are warmer. Fleece tends to hold in the peepee smell so you'll have to remove your fleece more often.

I take licking as a sign of affection. They wouldn't groom you if they didn't love you.

[MiniMuffin]

Towels! I started using towels a few weeks ago and love it. Fleece smells so much, I was changing it every 3 days and my room always smelled like pee, now I can pretty much go a week and I'm fine (I have two males). I usually just fold the towels to fit the shelves and clip in place, but it's hard to clip them since they're thick, so eventually I'm going to get some bias tape and make "proper" liners.

I do use fleece on the very bottom of the cage, although it's more just out of habit, since I use it over a towel anyways...