Small animal litter is essential for small animals or rabbits. The absorbent material is used as a substrate and cage litter as well as a filling for the small animal toilet. It binds urine and moisture and keeps the small animal home hygienic. Small animals such as hamsters and mice also use high bedding for digging and hiding. You can get different types of small animal litter from manufacturers such as JR Farm, MulitFit and many more.

Litter for small animals is made of various substances. It is important that the litter is made of organic material and does not pose any danger to the animals. It is best to test different varieties: You will quickly find out which product your small animal likes.

• Wood bedding: softwood bedding is the most common form of small animal bedding. In smaller animals such as hamsters this can sometimes trigger irritation of the airways due to the dust.
• Straw litter: This is available in granules and in pellet form. Straw pellets consist of crushed and pressed straw fibres. A great advantage is its high absorbency, as the individual pellets swell a lot. However, straw litter is only suitable for a base layer and must be padded with a thick layer (e.g. straw). Digging is not possible.
• Hemp straw is a bit woody, but has very good moisture-binding properties and hardly has any dust. It is made from scrapings from commercial hemp stems.
• Corn straw is particularly suitable for use as a bedding for the toilet corner, but should not be the sole bedding material for small animals as it is quite hard on tiny small animals’ paws.
• Paper flakes or cellulose flakes: paper flakes are particularly interesting for mice and hamsters as they are added to other litter such as straw pellets, as they stabilise the substrate so are practical for digging tunnels.
• Linen or cotton fibres: linen bedding is dust-free, it consists of the crushed flat stems. Both types are absorbent and very soft.

Occasionally there are silicate litter variants that are certified for both cats and small animals. However, to be on the safe side, such litter should only be used in the small animal toilet and not as cage litter.

Unlike mineral cat litter, plant-based litter such as wood, straw or paper is biodegradable. However, only uncontaminated litter is allowed in the organic waste bin. The solid parts of the excrement, droppings and urine clumps, should not be disposed of in the organic waste but in the non-recyclable waste bin. A litter scoop helps to sift out the droppings during cage cleaning.