My rats stink!! Help!!?

Question

My husbands rats smell, I like them and all but the smell so bad I've tried using oder reducing litter and they still smell ever right after I clean the cage really well.

Answer 1

Rats should NOT smell bad, so there is clearly something wrong here.

Rats actually have a gland which secretes a sweet-smelling oil that smells pleasantly of popcorn! Males can become smellier than females when not looked after properly as they tend to scent mark more and so there is more ammonia.

The first problem here is that they're in an aquarium - rats should always be kept in wire cages as a glass tank has no ventilation meaning ammonia builds up quickly (and if you can smell it, imagine the damage it must be doing to the poor rats who have much more sensitive noses). The lack of ventilation can also inflame respiratory problems which rats are highly susceptible to and that's why they're not recommended. There may also not be enough room for them, meaning the amount of waste produced is too concentrated in a small environment. You do not say how many rats you have, but you need to buy a good quality wire cage, with a plastic base, with at least TWO CUBIC FEET PER RAT. Otherwise it is too small. You can use this website - http://www.rattycorner.com/odds/calc.sht... to check the suitability of a new cage.

To stop your rats from smelling, the cage should be throughly cleaned every week and any wet patches and p**p must be removed every morning and evening. Your rats should be on a complete, vegetarian cereal diet (I recommend Reggie Rat) with only a few treats and fresh vegetables every other day - any more often and their poo will be very runny and they will smell.

In a good quality cage, with regular cleaning, and a good diet even male rats should not smell at all. I never bathe my rats, as they keep themselves very clean, constantly washing, and I provide a very sanitary home for them (carefresh is a great bedding product to use as it is highly absorbent and neutralizes ammonia). However, if rats do need to bathed it shouldn't be anymore than once a month or you'll dry out their skin and strip the coat of it's natural deodorizers - this could be a key reason why they smell so bad. Stop bathing them, and they may smell bad for a while, but it will soon go away as they start producing oils and deodorizers again.

If after getting a suitable cage, putting them on a good diet and cleaning them out regularly, the rats still smell then they may have some kind of gland block or infection making them ill that should be immediately checked out by a vet.

Answer 2

my friend had two male rats who stunk really bad, even right after she cleaned the cage... and she did have a wire cage. but in your case... you have females, so i'm guessing it's the aquarium you're keeping them in. definintely get a wire cage as soon as you can. carefresh bedding is really nice stuff that absorbs well and doesn't have the harmful odor like pine and cedar bedding. (even though those types of cage bedding smell great to us, they're extremely damaging to your rats.)

but yes.. try a wire cage. i think that would help a great deal. good luck!

Answer 3

good! it is probably the cage. i can't think of what else it would be. i have four girls and they don't start to stink until about a week after i cleaned their house.... or if their shelves and hammocks were dirty... so the wire cage might help... do they, themselves, stink....? what kind of bedding do you use... i find the best type to use is carefresh bedding... or shredded paper.

good luck!!

Answer 4

yupp i think trying to get a wired cage will definatly help!

Answer 5

First thing you need to do, like others suggested, is get them out of the aquarium. It clogs up the ammonia and if you can smell it, imagine how bad it must be for the rats who are living in it?

The other thing I would wonder is what their diet is? Rats on a healthy diet tend to smell less. Almost every pet store/commercial mix is unsuitable for rats and it's best to make your own rat mix. I would suggest Suebees Diet:

http://www.ratsrule.com/diet.html

Answer 6

WAHAHA LOL

thats the worst problem with RATS  they smell so bad ><

i think its natural with them to be stinky

its so hard to solve that problem

hmm well let see they are same with iranian people

THEY SMELL LIKE h**l ><  

one day me and my friends was at the elevator and suddenly an iranian join us there and WTF its like where tortured its like an antraks virus infected us just imagine that LMAO....

worst exp ever ><

Answer 7

well - that is the problem. rats need ventilation.

They should not be smelling terribly,. I am also thinking perhaps they have infections in their scent glands - my rats never smelt, and i bathed them about once every two months!!

Answer 8

Are they male rats? Males tend to stink more than females.

They live in an aquarium? That is definitely the main source of the problem. Please get them a good wire cage. For boys, I DEFINITELY recommend the Ferret Nation. The bars are 1", but your boys(I am assuming they are boys) will not slip out. The ferret nation is extremely easy to clean, and it is very easy to decorate. The 142 Model is big enough to hold 12 rats, but the 141 model can very comfortably accommodate around 5 male rats. Plus, you can add more later if you get more rats! =]

I don't have any experience with this, but there is a waste deorderizer on the market for ferrets called Bi-Odor or something. I guess some ferret owners swear by that, but I highly recommend you change your cage. It is WELL worth the investment. The Ferret Nation will last through many many generations of rats. :]

Answer 9

You can give it a bath.  Go to your local pet store and look for small animal shampoo.  You'll find a couple of them.

Answer 10

An aquarium could be it, but also there is a distinct potent smell they let off in general, whether you bath them or not,

there is a powdered based substance that isn't that expensive in Pet Shops, they use it on all types of rodents.

I used it on my chinchillas and it even keeped them from being stinky. I used to work in a pet shop but forgot the name of the powder, But it's there and very sufficient! The oils on a Rat is different from even a mouses fur. very harsh, but try a different cage too, the skin on them need open air, or try to keep the top off, if you haven't already, Good Luck on the solution.

Answer 11

Your pet rats should be living in an open air cage not an aquarium.  Additionally, unless you have a huge one, it's probably not going to be big enough for your rats, which is probably adding to the smell.  

A place to check out is Martin's Cages.  http://www.martinscages.com/products/cag...  I got the Rat Tower, powder coated, for my two girls.  Even though it can be a little expensive, rats really enjoy being able to climb around and be up high.  If you do choose to get a wired cage, make sure you go out and buy some cheap linoleum tiles from a hardware store and cover the floors.  Walking on wires all the time can hurt your rats' feet.  It also makes it a lot easier to wipe down messes.

This should cut back a bit on the smell.  Additionally, people have said they really like Yesterday's News for odor reducing.  I use CareFresh, but I spot clean every morning before I feed them, and then scrub down the cage every weekend.

You can also try Nil Odor, but frankly the smell of Nil Odor was pretty nasty...  I sometimes dab vanilla extract in the cage.  It's safe for rats and has a pleasant smell.

Hope that helps!