Best Bedding & Substrate for Small Animals of 2025

* We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation.
Small animals such as rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, and rats require comfortable and safe bedding to thrive. Bedding & Substrate for Small Animals is an essential product for pet owners who want to provide a healthy and hygienic living environment for their pets. This product is designed to provide a soft and absorbent surface for small animals to rest and play on. It also helps to control odours and maintain a clean living space. With a range of options available, pet owners can choose the best bedding and substrate to suit their pet's needs and preferences.
At a Glance: Our Top Picks
Top 10 Bedding & Substrate for Small Animals
Back-2-Nature Small Animal Bedding, 30 L
Back-2-Nature Bedding is an excellent choice for small animal owners. It offers natural odour control, helping to keep your pet's living space fresh and pleasant. The bedding is highly absorbent, which means it effectively soaks up moisture and reduces mess. Made from 99% recycled paper, this product is not only eco-friendly but also soft on your pet's delicate feet. Furthermore, it contains no nasty chemicals or additives, ensuring a safe environment for your furry friend.
Kaytee Clean & Cozy Bedding for Small Pets
Kaytee Clean & Cozy is a super absorbent paper bedding designed for small animals like hamsters, gerbils, and guinea pigs. Its soft texture ensures a comfortable environment for your pets, allowing them to burrow in peace. With an impressive ability to absorb six times its weight in liquid, it keeps cages drier and fresher for longer. The bedding is also 99.9% dust-free, which helps maintain a healthier living space and reduces the risk of respiratory issues for your furry friends. Additionally, it expands from a compact 28.3 litres to a generous 85 litres for easy storage.
Supreme Petfoods Science Selective Bathing Sand for Small Pets
The Supreme Petfoods Bathing Sand is designed for small pets like chinchillas, hamsters, gerbils, and degus. Its optimum particle size ensures a premium coat condition, helping your pet look and feel their best. This bathing sand is particularly beneficial for pets with sensitive skin, providing a gentle touch that is super soft on their skin and paws. Additionally, it is naturally hygienic and absorbent, making it easy for you to maintain a clean and comfortable environment for your furry friends.
Pillow Wad Large Biodegradable Straw Bedding
Pillow Wad Straw is an excellent bedding option for small animals. It is dust extracted, ensuring a cleaner environment for your pets and reducing respiratory issues. The un-chopped feature means that it retains its natural structure, providing comfort and a familiar habitat for your furry friends. Additionally, being biodegradable makes it an eco-friendly choice, allowing you to care for your pets while being kind to the planet. This makes it a practical and responsible bedding solution for any small animal owner.
Snowflake Natural Pet Bedding for Small Animals
Snowflake Pet Bedding is crafted from premium, natural wood, ensuring a soft and absorbent surface for your small pets. The dust extraction process reduces fine particles, promoting a healthier environment and preventing respiratory issues. With its effective odour control, this bedding helps neutralise unpleasant smells, keeping your pet's habitat fresh for longer. Additionally, being FSC certified, you can feel good about supporting sustainable forestry while providing a safe space for your pets.
Pettex Small Animal Wood Pellet Bedding 5L
Pettex Wood Pellet Bedding offers a range of benefits for small animal owners. Its dust-extracted formula helps to reduce allergens, making it safer for both you and your pets. With natural odour control, you can enjoy a fresher environment, eliminating unpleasant smells. The bedding is highly absorbent, ensuring that moisture is efficiently managed, which keeps your pet's living space comfortable. Being harmless and biodegradable, it provides peace of mind knowing that you are using a product that is safe for your furry friends and the planet.
Warma 140L Premium Chicken Wood Chips
The Warma Chicken Wood Chips are an excellent choice for bedding and ground covering in your chicken run. Made from sterilised virgin hardwood, they provide a clean and environmentally friendly option that is highly absorbent. The kiln-drying process ensures that the wood remains dry, offering superior moisture absorption compared to other mulches. With robust pieces measuring approximately 4-39mm, these chips withstand wear and tear, making them ideal for long-lasting use in your poultry coop.
KEXMY Aubiose Highly Absorbent Hemp Bedding
KEXMY Aubiose Hemp Bedding is likely the most absorbent bedding you can find, making it perfect for keeping your animals dry and comfortable. Made from 100% natural, organically cultivated hemp, it ensures a safe environment for your pets. This bedding is especially beneficial for horses prone to laminitis, as it helps manage their condition. Additionally, it is dust-free, which is essential for maintaining a healthy respiratory system in animals like horses, hens, and rabbits.
Caliko 2kg Kiln Dried Wood Shavings Bedding
Caliko Wood Shavings Bedding is a premium choice for your small pets, made from sustainable softwood sourced from well-managed forests. This eco-friendly bedding is odour-free and kiln-dried, ensuring a clean and safe environment for your pets. The dust-extracted feature enhances respiratory health, making it suitable for pets sensitive to dust. Additionally, its soft and absorbent nature keeps your pets comfortable and dry, providing a hygienic living space that promotes their overall well-being.
Croci Wood Litter - Natural Rodent Bedding
Croci Wood Litter is an excellent choice for your small animals. Made from fir shavings, it offers natural and compostable bedding that is free from chemical products. This super absorbent litter helps to keep your pet's living area dry and comfortable. Additionally, its anti-odour properties ensure that unpleasant smells are minimised, providing a fresher environment for both you and your pet. With Croci Wood Litter, you can create a safe and pleasant habitat for your furry friends.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is a substrate for animals?
'Substrate' is the technical name for what you use the line the bottom of your pet's cage or enclosure. Substrate soaks everything up when your pet goes to the toilet, as well as any spilt food and water. This helps keep their cage dry and comfortable.
2. What is small animal bedding made of?
Paper-based Bedding Paper-based small animal bedding is made from recycled paper or cardboard boxes. Paper-based bedding contains no oils and little dust. Therefore, it shouldn't cause any allergic reactions in your pet or you. And, your small pet won't experience any adverse effects if they eat it.
3. What bedding do you use for hamsters?
Litter made from paper products, wood, vegetables or grain is absorbent and generally considered the safest type of bedding for your hamster. Shredded paper (such as paper towels and plain paper) is okay if you're in a pinch.
During our bedding & substrate for small animals research, we found 303 bedding & substrate for small animals products and shortlisted 10 quality products. We collected and analyzed 245,829 customer reviews through our big data system to write the bedding & substrate for small animals list. We found that most customers choose bedding & substrate for small animals with an average price of £11.55.
The bedding & substrate for small animals are available for purchase. We have researched hundreds of brands and picked the top brands of bedding & substrate for small animals, including Back-2-Nature, Kaytee, Supreme Petfoods, Pillow Wad, Dihl.

Happy Pet Happy Owner by Chloe Foster sold over 100 thousand copies in the UK. Chloe worked as a veterinarian in The Veterinary Medicines Directorate, Woodham. She stayed for seven years before coming home to set up her pet store in Swansea. Chloe is an experienced veterinarian with a flair for literature. Chloe is vast in the knowledge of animals, animal nutrition, medication, and care.