Cleanliness and Odor

This is an open and honest informational page on the cleanliness and odor issues that come with pet rats. It is important to know what you are getting into before you get pet rats.

Odor:

Generally, pet rats do not have a strong odor. Now something like a ferret or male mouse will knock you right out lol but rats are comparable to that of a dog or cat odor IMO. It is an animal smell but not necessarily bad. Now, pee and poo do not smell good, no matter the animal. But the animals themselves have a generally mild/neutral smell. Yes, even males.

Now you may have read or heard that rats smell bad, so you may be confused by me saying the opposite! Sadly, this comes down to poor husbandry/care.

Odor is going to depend on many factors-

cage size
how many animals are in the cage
how often you clean
how well you clean
what type of bedding is used

Cage size and how many animals you have in said cage really matters. A smaller more cramped cage will smell worse quicker than a large spacious cage with few animals.

Generally, a good-sized cage that isn't cramped should be cleaned every 5-7 days. Adjust that for smaller cages or for more animals. Even a whole house-sized cage should be cleaned every 7 days, though, because we dont want urine and feces to sit around.

How you clean matters! Large cages get gunk and pee in between bars and in little crevices. Ideally, they should be taken apart and deep cleaned monthly! Dont forget to clean the walls and floor around the cage as pee can be passed right through the bars sometimes. And things like wooden shelves or houses can absorb urine and odor and need to be replaced often.

BEDDING MATTERS! Please see my page on bedding HERE. If you choose to use fleece or paper, well it has zero odor fighting qualities and needs to be changed DAILY for the health as well as odor of your animals.

Cleaniness:

Rats pee. I know its a huge surprise for you! They also mark. Even females (though generally, less so)! You are likely to get peed on and even pooped on at some point in owning rats. If you let them play outside the cage they are going to pee or mark on your bed or couch or floor.

Letting them play somewhere contained like a bathroom or playpen is a good idea. Putting down a "play" blanket is smart as well, though they might just crawl underneath it lol

Note- most people who are allergic to rats are actually allergic to their urine. They will develop a rash generally, on their arms after handling rats because rats will have trace amounts of urine on their feet and/or mark/pee on their owner. If this is the case, wearing long sleeved shirts and wiping off the rats feet first before handling can help.

Can you litter train rats? The truth is it is iffy. Id say its more you can direct them to choose a place to pee more often but it is not like a cat where they are going to be fully litter trained and never choose to pee anywhere but their box. Putting a large rock in their litter box can help as for some odd reason they will choose to pee on the rock often. But again it is not always and they will still mark.

Rats are going to pee outside of the bars of their cage, they will throw poop outside. Bedding is going to somehow get in every corner of your home. They are messy little critters! See my page on critternation pans for help containing bedding better.

They do groom themselves like cats though and generally do not need baths. I would not recommend bathing your rats unless they have gotten in something and are very dirty. Letting them play in shallow water during the hot summer can be fun though.

Fear Poops:

Rats have a strange little habit of when nervous, stressed, or fearful producing putrid, soft poop, and a whole lot of it at once. We call it fear poops. This can often be seen when first getting new rats and they aren't yet used to the environment and you. Or if something scary happened like a loud noise or a predator animal is nearby. If it continues, it could be a health issue and I'd seek out a vet but in a moment or while they are still new it may happen. You may find yourself covered in poop or their blanket or carrier. Like a poop explosion happened.

In conclusion:

I've owned almost every small pet there is and rats are in the middle of cleanliness, I would say.

Small pets that require hay are the bane of my existence, as hay is the messiest thing in the world! They don't have strong odor like with ferrets or male mice. They do pee and mark quite often though and it can be messy. Their poop isnt a hard pellet like with some small animals but it is generally going to be a firm stool but if fed too many treats or fresh foods it can be very soft and messy. And note the fear poops mentioned above.

Expect to get peed on but hopefully you won't often if at all. I've had some rats where everytime you touch them I swear they pee and others who never once peed on me. It just depends on the rat and the alignment of the stars that day!

Expect to spend time every week cleaning a large cage and deep cleaning atleast once a month. Daily spot cleaning can be ideal if you have the time/energy.