Rats. i cleaned and washed them out recently. but they still smell?

Question

and im kinda out of ideas on what to do to stop/get rid of the smell.

they are in a cage with shredded paper and cat litter. which is what the rescue i got them from said to do.

but the smell is really quite yeek.

- my rats are female -

Answer 1

Don't rats normally smell?  There's always a smell coming from rodent cages.

Answer 2

go to the pet store and buy some cedar chips, they should asorb the smell....

Answer 3

Get a safe deodorizer for rodents. They sell them at pet stores. Also get a rodent spray shampoo. It makes them smell good and its safe

Answer 4

get rid of them completely

Answer 5

I would try using a mix of hamster wood shaving and cat litter. Hamster shavings has a smell that usually over powers the smell of rodent's for the first few weeks. Just clean it out every two weeks.

Answer 6

That bedding could be the problem. Doesn't the shredded paper get soaked and icky? And is the cat litter scented? That can hurt their lungs.

If I were you, I'd buy Yesterday's News bedding. It absorbs odors well, and is safe on their lungs.

Do NOT get cedar or pine bedding. It absorbs smell, but the phenols in the wood will hurt your rats' lungs.

Answer 7

i guess the smell wld never go away

Answer 8

Hi Newspaper is terrible at keeping the smell down, it reaally makes them smell more, I have fleece on my shelves, then all I do is shake the bits off and put in washing machine I usually do a last rinse with a bit of Milton Baby sterilizing fluid, I also wash my cage with it, sometimes its a certain small area witholding the smell that you haven't thought of, feel for stickiness this is a good indicator of a build up of urine thats getting missed,

Answer 9

The smell wont go away cause rats pee is what smells discusting

Answer 10

well, it's just their natural smell; you can't get rid of it. no offense, but rats and mice are sort of dirty creatures. they smell no matter what.

Answer 11

I'm looking into buying a rat myself, and I'll tell you right now that I'm no expert, but for all of you who have said that rats are disgusting and smelly, that is a complete and utter MYTH.  Rats are some of the cleanest pets you can get, simply because they are constantly washing themselves; they don't like to be dirty.  

Make sure you're cleaning their cage out and taking out a few pieces of wet newspaper/litter a day, to minimalize on the smell and to make your weekly big clean-up less of a hastle.  I wouldn't use any type of wood bedding for them, from what I've read on random websites, the type of wood you're talking about can end up hurting them.  I believe someone earlier mentioned deodorizers for rodents, which is an excellent idea, and also getting rat-safe shampoo.  They like to swim, generally, or at least after a few baths they get used to it, so take them in the bath or shower (with or without you) and let them swim around and shampoo them, hopefully it well help with the smell plus you'll possibly find an activity your rats will enjoy.  

If it persists, I would take them to the vet, it could be a skin problem..??

I added a good site for you to look at, hope it helps.

^_^

Answer 12

They might be in heat. Some animals get a smell during that time. Also you might want to try cleaning the cage really good. I washed my rats in baby shampoo and they didn't smell.

Answer 13

I wouldn't use paper and cat litter.  Pee on paper usually smells quite nasty.  Do they have any cloth toys or beds?  You should probably wash those too if you didn't.  My girls sleep in a hammock and it can start smelling meh.

Besides using Yesterday's News, you can also try using old cloth.  Cut up some old shirts and then you just throw them in the wash when they get dirty.

After spraying down their whole cage, I usually dab some vanilla extract around the cage.  Makes it smell good and it's not dangerous for the rats.

Ideally, once you get them used to a new bedding, you can try to use just a bid of it and potty train them.  Then they'll mostly go in that area, and the smell might be easier to take care off (plus you'll use less bedding).

Answer 14

Hi I use a little bit of lavender scented sawdust. Luckily this doesn't affect my rats but you need to be very careful. Another option is to "toilet train" them. I put a rabbit toilet in the corner of their cage and put some cage pellets in to absorb the pee. Newspaper...or any paper can be a pain because rat pee is so strong.  I used to put a little bot of tap-adrop on a cotton pad near their cage and that neutralised the smell.

Answer 15

maybe you should change their diets, like crackers or carrots once a day.use  recycled newspaper type bedding about an inch deep on the

bottom of the cage and feeding them kaytee forti-diet rat/mouse.

Answer 16

theres only one solution!!!!    They're.....pregnant! AGHHH

get rid!