bedding

Question
I am getting a baby rat soon. Looking for cool bedding for it. I found a shark head puppet. The inside of the puppet is soft and seems cozy. I was wondering if I could add that to the other hideaways I am collecting? I thought I'd keep an eye on it of course. Just want to make sure I am not missing anything that might be unsafe.
So, again, it's just a toy shark head puppet. lol. It sounds odd but it looks cool :)
Thanks for your time.


Answer
Anything that you use should have an entrance and an exit. Also, if its made of fabric, it may be chewed to bits in no time flat. If it has fibers that will fray, it can wrap around tiny limbs and cut off their circulation. You would be shocked how many people write to me saying their rat has a very swollen front paw and its turning blue.I I tell them to inspect the area closely with a magnifying lens if they use fabric in their cage.  Upon inspection, they usually find a tiny fiber wrapped tightly around the rats limb. Once, a baby rat had her owners long hair cutting off circulation around her paw.
Also, they urinate on fabric and it needs washed alot. If it cant be, it will be ruined and needs tossed.  If you like the puppet, I would let it on a shelf for display rather than give it to the rat.

Fleece or felt is safest for rats. I use plastic toys and soft white paper towels I change out daily for their bedding and they are litter box trained **see how to do it here

http://www.sandyscrittercity.com/litterboxtraining.htm