Naked Mole Rats' Bedding

Observant staff and visitors have noticed that the bedding for the Naked Mole Rats has changed. The former medium, Aspen shavings, has been replaced with bedding made from the recycled cellulose pulp fiber CareFRESH®. Why? Well, like all scientists, we’re experimenting in search for the best setup for our colony. Our new bedding is produced in a cleaner, more controlled environment and is purpose-made as rodent bedding. What we did not know is whether it would work for our unique situation.

According to Life Science Department manager, Sarah Moore, “CareFRESH® bedding is working OK except that it is drier than the wood shavings. When we first introduced it to our Naked Mole Rats, their skin became flaky and dry. Now we’re tossing a small amount of filtered water in with the bedding to cut its moisture-wicking properties. Doing this has helped with the skin problems and it keeps their food from drying out too fast. Also, this new bedding does not absorb odor as much as the wood chips. But that is probably desirable in the case of mole rats, because they use odor as a marker.”

As caretakers of an animal with a complex social behavior, we’re trying to balance the mole rat’s physical husbandry needs (for a clean habitat with a stable temperature and humidity) with their social needs to be together and have minimum handling in an environment that smells like home.