Can i use baking soda in their "litter box"

[Lake Gypsy]

These two little squirrels have potty trained themselves, which i find pretty awesome since no other squirrels I've raised have done this. One of them spontaneously started using their pan of dirt to eliminate in and after a day or two his litter mate followed suit. They even Will get out of their little nest to go potty and then go back to bed or call a time out while playing to use the box, both urine and feces. It makes clean up a lot easier. They don't really dig or hide stuff in the dirt, it's pretty much strictly used for elimination.

However, while I appreciate their cleanliness habits, it makes for a pretty stinky pan of dirt! I try to scoop out the worst of it and add more dirt as needed. But Could i mix a little baking soda in there to help with the odor? If there's a chance it could cause them problems I'm more than willing to deal with the stinky pan, but it i can make it a little less stinky i would be all for it!

Anyone tried this?

[Sottinger]

I’ve seen two of my three babies do this as well. They go to the bottom of the cage and squat towards the back of the cage. I think it’s awesome! No idea of baking soda though sorry. It’s used in cat litter so my guess would be it’s ok but I’d let a professional chime in first.

[Milo's Mom]

No baking soda if they have direct access with the litter. It's an irritant.

[island rehabber]

I've always found that leaves are a natural deodorizer for squirrel cages. When there are leaves at the bottom of my cages, from the kids playing with their fresh branches that I put in, the cage doesn't smell. It has a pleasant smell of leaves, or wet leaves, but it's MUCH nicer than the smell of wet dirt or....God forbid.....newspaper.

Another suggestion: use CareFresh bedding instead of dirt. It deodorizes and absorbs liquid. The only thing is it flies everywhere so get the vacuum out.

[Lake Gypsy]

Thank you for your input! I was wondering if care fresh bedding would work well for squirrels. I have used it previously with other small animals. Right now they have a blanket, which they love! And their roaster pan of baked dirt. Lol my family thought i was a lil nuts when they caught me baking dirt for the squirrels. But, i didn't want to chance parasites. Maybe I'll gather them up a bunch of leaves today. We had hurricane Michael come through yesterday so there's plenty of leaves to be had. Thanks again!

[Milo's Mom]

The problem with the CareFresh "deodorizing" bedding...it's baking soda! The Kaytee bedding that looks just like Carefresh without the deodorizing is fine if they have direct contact. I used to use Carefresh for my bunny's potty box and he started sneezing all the time so I looked into the "deodorizing" in the carefresh and immediately threw it away and bought the Kaytee. My bunny hasn't sneezed since.

If they don't have direct contact I don't think it's an issue, but my squirrels reach down through the grate and drag the Carefresh up into the cage...I stopped using it for squirrels all together.