I've taken rescue rats and can't stand the smell

[bemorebernard]

I love rats and used to have 9 , I had 6 girls and 3 boys and they never smelt

I've taken 5 rescue girls and everything came with them including an amazing large taller than me "critter nation " cage

All their toys and bowls etc came with them

The first day I left everything as is as I thought they might need their own smells to adjust to the new surroundings

By day 2 I couldn't abide the smell , took the cage apart, washed everything, and threw all the accessories in the bath with hot water for a scrub as it was clear nothing had been washed in forever , I threw anything away like fleeces and cardboard , washed all plastic and wooden toys, ,most of the wooden stuff is fine anything where the smell lingered I've chucked

I've put everything back together, took a full day.

And still they smell terrible .

They're in their own bedroom and I've kept the window open . They're quite skittish and obviously haven't been handled much but they're getting used to me and now coming for a scritch and taking treats out of my hands

They're very gentle but nervous.

How do I get rid of the smell tho ? They actually smell , their fur smells , it seems while their owner loved them and gave them lots of toys and stimulation handling and cleaning wasnt their forte , and I've never owned rats that smelled this bad . I really don't want the smell pervading through my house . It's awful . Rats get a bad press and my dd was moaning they'd smell , I kept saying rats actually don't smell they're really clean etc but oh my god these do 🤢

What can I do ? I've even thought about bathing them but I dont want to traumatise them .

[RichardArmitagesWife]

Bathe them. They need it.

[bemorebernard]

Can you bath rats ? They're such nervy little things I'm scared of traumatising them but god they whiff and it's putting me off handling them.

[JamieJ93]

Please don't bath them.
Also, (I'm sure you're aware) but cleaning them constantly, to get rid of the smell, can stress them out massively and inturn - make them smell worse.
I'd work towards outside time to get used to you, I would sit in the bath (empty obviously) and let them climb all over you etc to get them used to you.
Then I would get some rattie/pet friendly "cleaning wipes" and gently start cleaning them that way.
Eventually (hopefully) the smell will be less in time.
Good luck :-)

[SirenSays]

Yeah rats smell, especially the boys. I'd do a bit of trial and error with their diet and their bedding/litter. Fabric type can also make a difference, I think fleece can get a bit smelly quite fast.
I wouldn't attempt a full bath but a wipe down with a warm damp cloth might help a bit.

Most rat owners I know keep a window open and use air purifiers tbh.

[bemorebernard]

I've just googled and yes seems you can as long as you use gentle dog shampoo and don't get water on their face

Right littlle ladies .......bath time ! God they've got to smell better after that surely


They aren't massively used to,handling so maybe now while we have trust issues is a good time 😂

[bemorebernard]

I might just try a sponge wash then rather than a full on bath

But mine never smelled this bad . And I had 9 . I had photos of the cage in situ and they were kept in squalor

Nothing g had ever been washed

They seem quite chilled at moment and are coming up,to the doors to,say hi and aren't running away as ,I h if I speak or put my hands in

I've had them out on the landing for free run time but the smell just permeates the house and honestly I can't stand it

[plumtreebroke]

I thought rats like water, sewer rats and all that. We had pet rats years ago and they didn't smell. I would guess they've been kept in dirty conditions for a while and they probably need a wash, they may be happy to get in water if offered the chance.

Bowl of water in the bath and see if they want to play?

[CinnamonBear]

All the rats I've been around have enjoyed swimming. Maybe let them swim in the bath?

[MariePaperRoses]

'Rats are in fact incredibly clean animals. They frequently groom themselves and should not smell.
Smelly rats are most often caused, unintentionally by insufficient care and cleaning. The so called smell is usually ammonia from their urine which can be quite pungent when left for long periods.'

I wonder if they are soiling in areas that they sleep and the urine is on them?

[bemorebernard]

I might just get a shallow bowl of warm water in the bath and see if they'd like to have some playtime

(Pleas god let them enjoy water because they're bringing tears to my eyes they hum that badly )

That will be a job for this evening

I might throw some peas in and see if they like pea dipping

[RichardArmitagesWife]

@JamieJ93

Please don't bath them.
Also, (I'm sure you're aware) but cleaning them constantly, to get rid of the smell, can stress them out massively and inturn - make them smell worse.
I'd work towards outside time to get used to you, I would sit in the bath (empty obviously) and let them climb all over you etc to get them used to you.
Then I would get some rattie/pet friendly "cleaning wipes" and gently start cleaning them that way.
Eventually (hopefully) the smell will be less in time.
Good luck :-)

Ours loved water play and we washed them with a hamster soap.

[HashBrownandBeans]

Mine are litter tray trained and they still stink! I have to clean them out every second day

[bemorebernard]

They definitely smell better today after the clean out - but I've bought some ultra gentle baby wipes so might try and stroke them with a wipe later - just taken them some tomatoes and corn on the cob in

[stealthninjamum]

Op I was in pets at home earlier and I saw this. I’ve never bought it because my ratties don’t smell much.

[Cookerhood]

If there is anything wooden in the cage it will have absorbed the urine. We inherited a rat cage & I had to get rid of anything wooden. Different substrates smell worse too, & fleece definitely pongs. Enjoy your rats, they are such lovely creatures.
We did try bathing our but it terrified them. Maybe try wiping them over first?

[bemorebernard]

I really think they smell
Because they were left in squalor. Their toys were sticky and greasy , there's lots of them but the state of the water and the bath after I washed everything was absolutely disgusting.


The smell isn't as pungent today . I tried not to wash everything straight away but honestly they'd have ended up in the shed - the smell was so bad it was through the house even thought they're in an upstairs bedroom

[bemorebernard]

@Cookerhood

If there is anything wooden in the cage it will have absorbed the urine. We inherited a rat cage & I had to get rid of anything wooden. Different substrates smell worse too, & fleece definitely pongs. Enjoy your rats, they are such lovely creatures.
We did try bathing our but it terrified them. Maybe try wiping them over first?

Yeah I'm going to just try and stroke with a sensitive baby wipe

[bemorebernard]

There were wooden perches but after a wash and air they don't smell - the coconut shells do so they're going

I think payday I'll buy new and just replace everything but a day at a time so it's not a massive change

[HocasPocas]

@HashBrownandBeans

Mine are litter tray trained and they still stink! I have to clean them out every second day

You should only clean them out once a week (the cage not the litter tray)

If you clean the general cage too much you make them over mark it, they try and make it smell like themselves because it's being changed too frequently for them to be comfortable.

[HocasPocas]

I miss my rats so much. They're such lovely animals.

[bemorebernard]

I've had rats before - are t intending to clean the cage more than once a week as it's a full days job - but I don't believe anything in the cage or the cage itself had been washed ever .

[BloodandGlitter]

@stealthninjamum

Op I was in pets at home earlier and I saw this. I’ve never bought it because my ratties don’t smell much.

I'm horrified by that small animal shampoo don't ever ever ever bathe rabbits! That could easily kill them. It's really irresponsible of PAH to be selling that with the risk.

Don't bathe the rats either you'll lose the hard earned trust you've got and they'll hate it. Let them be for a little while they needed to re scent their cage because it stopped smelling safe and they need time to clean themselves now they're in a cleaner enviroment.

[bemorebernard]

@HocasPocas

I miss my rats so much. They're such lovely animals.

I love them but definitely prefer boys . These rescues are all girls .

Boys just seem more affectionate, lazy and cuddly . These girls are nervy but getting better every day

[bemorebernard]

As I said no plans to bathe - they're trusting me more each day so no don't want to ruin that

I'll get them out for free roam time later and just see if I can gently stroke with a baby wipe that's ultra sensitive. They've started comping out a d their small clean out / transport cage for free roam and do come up to me now , though they skittle back to the safety of their small transport / clean out cage often and always as a group . Two are really brave , the rest are getting better but I'm not pushing them

[ArcticBells]

I'm terrified of rats. Don't they bite you?