I miss my rat.

[J.huff23]

I miss my pet rat. She was fun and a very smart pet. After some of my Ts mature and I get some space I want to get another. Only thing is that my last rat smelled no matter what I used for bedding. What do some of you guys use for bedding to absorb the smell to keep the smell very minimal?

 

[catfishrod69]

I understand what you mean. I miss alot of the rats i used to keep. The most rescent one passed from a inner ear infection. Awesome little critters. I always use care fresh bedding for my mammals. Right now i just have a couple whistle pigs, and a hampster. Its what ive always used. Works really good. I also use it for my snakes.

 

[nepenthes]

Second that, that stuff is great! Odor is best controlled with regular bedding changes. I used to buy bunchs of scrap fleece from craft stores and cut it up and what not, that helped allot if you had a bunch of it and changed the stuff out every few days. Cause their gonna move it anyways lol. During clean up I would just wipe down the cage. I miss my rats too, I just hate that they pee, EVERY where.

 

[SilverTycho]

I miss rats too. I used to be big into rat rescue. I'd rescue from rodent rescues I had contact with from different areas of the midwest and sometimes New England while doing some transports for other people. I actually have artistic (not realistic) tattoos of rats with butterfly wings on my back so I guess I'll never forget those critters :biggrin:. It just got to be too much so when I moved and my two last died, I never got more. My house is small so tarantulas take up less room than rats. Also, less vet bills. One of my rescues had an immune disorder. He lived pretty long, though, and never minded vet visits. Care fresh is a good bedding, but I liked Yesterday's News. It's paper pellets sold as ferret or cat litter. I used it since you can get huge bags. I agree, just make sure you clean the litter enough.

 

[Wadew]

Rats make great pets I can attest to that! The odor can be adjusted a bit depending on what you feed the rat. Diet plays a large role in the smell of what is being processed! Play around a little with the diet and you might find some things promote the foul odor more than others.

-Wade

 

[J.huff23]

Thanks guys. The tarantula and snake collections I have are taking up all the space right now but once some of my Ts mature and I get room I'd love to get another rat. A pure light brown one.

 

[gottarantulas]

I think I've tried every type of bedding and litter Petsmart. Petco and the local mom & pop pet store have to offer and the conclusion is that rat poop just straight stinks! The more you feed them, the more they poop. I second the recommendation of more frequent cleanings as the remedy. I recently moved my rat out of the house and into the garage with the other critters on the basis of the smell (albeit I didn't change his bedding for 2 weeks). Great pets nonetheless, especially my little guy...he could not get anymore friendlier or inquisitive.

 

[pouchedrat]

From all the different beddings I've used (including unconventional stuff like walnut litter), the one that held odor best for my rats was Yesterdays News. You can get unscented cat litter cheaper than the ones made for small animals.

Now, I don't use bedding at all, but I sew cage liners out of fleece and change them out frequently, and wash them all in the washing machine once or twice a week. I USED to have a mess of rats for years, but only have two girls now, so it isn't exactly a huge ordeal anymore like it used to be.

Also remember to wash the cage regularly. you can wash with spraying with vinegar, then spray with hydrogen peroxide afterwards and it'll eat away at the pee and makes it very easy to clean. I'll also throw the entire cage in the shower and run it on hot for a bit. Used to do that weekly when I had two RUUDs (very tall cages) but I can't now that I have a giant monstrosity of a ferret nation (three 142's connected into a 6 foot by 6 foot cage)

 

[nepenthes]

Your little furries have a mansion!