Smelly rats!?

Question

my boys are really kicking up. probably something to do with the heat but it is bad!!! change them every 3 days and tidy cage daily. do not want them neutered. what bedding does every one use? i wonder if changing that may help? any advice on keeping them smelling reasonable??

Answer 1

I had 3 male rats and they stunk really bad. I use Care Fresh there is different kinds but they all work the same. Also you can give them baths, just make sure that you don't get the water in their ears.

Hope that helps

Answer 2

There's a few ways to cut back on the smell.  Many people use CareFresh or Yesterday's News, both which are reasonable at cutting back the smell.  Both are very absorbent.  You can also try using old towels as bedding and then wash them when they get soiled.  If you don't have old towels, the Salvation Army and other sort of second hand stores might.

You can also cut back on the smell by spot cleaning every morning.  Picking up p**p, soiled bedding, and any random pee puddle would help.  Then you can clean out all the bedding and the cage maybe ever week or so.

Another problem might be that your cage is too small.  Are you using an aquarium?  If you are, you should probably switch to a wire cage to allow for better air circulation.  You can find good cages at Martin's Cages.  Just put make sure you put linoleum tile on the floors of the cage.

You might want to try and potty train them.  You'll use less bedding and it will be easier to clean up after your rats.  There's some good sites online that can help you out.  http://www.fancy-rats.co.uk/information/...

There's also some pet odor killers that you might try like Nil-Odor.  I think the actual product smells to weird to me.  I've also dabbed a bit a vanilla around the cage to give a nice smell.  It's harmless to rats but smells good.

Hope that helps!

Answer 3

If I were you, I would experiment with different beddings. Try each one for a week, and see which smells least.

To give your rats something to do, you could also let them make their own bed by putting a few paper towels inside their cage. They are probably marking their territory, because the bedding is clean, so if they rip up paper towels with thier teeth, it will already smell of them so they will be less likely to mark thier territory.

I hope this helps.

Answer 4

I never use actual bedding for my rats because it makes it hard for them to find a cool place to lie down and it's expensive. I always use fleece blankets in part of the cage and leave part of the floor bare in the summer months. Blankets are more comfortable then bedding and are a heck of a lot easier to clean...just wash! And they are very cheap, maybe a $1 at your local dollar store. My rats really enjoy playing with a bowl of room temp. water and some pebbles and frozen peas and corn in the bottom, they have fun and take a bath at the same time!

Hope that helps, best of luck to you and your ratties!

Answer 5

Hi I use biocatolet in my litter trays and scoop out every morning, I use fabric, on shelves and floors, and pet blankets in beds, I  just have two lots of each and if I smell anything just whip it all out, wipe my trays, give fabric a shake in the bin and put in washer, each morning I sweep the fabric with a toy (childs dustpan and brush) to keep the bits down,  if its hot I just stick pieces of card, or anything I think is cool in to lie on, I bought an icepod you put it in freezer and then just pop it in cage it really cools it for them,  they lie around it,

Answer 6

Rats are known to be  smelly beasts lol!!! after you get used to it really

Answer 7

ewwwww.

Answer 8

i use bio-let cat litter. they dont smell 1 bit when i use that

Answer 9

I use Biocatolet in myboys litter tray, and Ecopetbed as the main substrate.  I find with daily spot cleaning, that my boys do not smell.