# Female rat suddenly peeing, everywhere



## Andyurgay (Jun 10, 2013)

I've had my two girls since they were just about 4-5 weeks old. They have always peed and pooped in one corner of the cage and never outside it. Now they are almost 5 months old and only one, Rascal has been peeing ALL OVER. She will run up my arm to sit on my hand, but pee all the way up so it literally runs down my arm. I was reading up stairs for a couple hours with them and had to change my shirt and sheets 6 times because she left huge pee marks all over the place. Tonight was the most I have noticed she has peed.
I've read that some rats just pee a lot or do it when they are in heat. Do rats go into heat regularly like cats and dogs? They are my first rats and the girl I got them from said they should be fine since they were never with or even near a male in their life except as tiny pups. I'm just wondering if rats will still go into heat even if they have never been near another male rat?
Does her increase in peeing mean she is in heat? She has been making more noises and wrestling/getting hyper with me in the last week as well. 

The other girl has never peed on me or the bed and will wrestle a bit but prefers not to and her noises and behavior have not changed at all.
Can someone explain this to me? Because my boyfriend loves playing with them but gets repulsed when she pees on him or the bed. (even though I don't mind unless it's a lot or soaking into my clothes). And I noticed my room is smelling noticeably more like rat in the last couple days, maybe from her peeing outside the cage more? I clean their cage at least once a week and spot clean their pee corner every other day.
I just don't want to make my boyfriend feel disgusted by my rats, since I love them so much and the one peeing is "his" rat, or the one he is trying to bond with most. 

and if it is her being in heat, how long does that last? While her peeing slow down a bit after? How often can I expect her to be in heat?


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## Andyurgay (Jun 10, 2013)

Finally found a good site on rats in heat. Although it does not really explain her over peeing or noises and extra energy. Could the peeing be from a UTI?


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## dashielle89 (Apr 24, 2012)

Rats can have a change in behavior when they're in heat, which is every 4-5 days. They may seem more skittish/jumpy/playful and they may chase and mount each other more often. But I've never had a rat pee because of it. I suppose its possible for them to urine mark (territory) more often since hormones could effect it, though I've never noticed it, but actual peeing entire puddles shouldn't happen.

I have been marked on a ton by my rats, but getting peed on is pretty rare, even with new scared rats, they're more likely to poop on you. I think I've only been peed on maybe 5 times ever (in many years) and all of those times the rats had just got out of bed so they hadn't went yet and I think they got a little spooked and peed.

A UTI is possible. What do you mean by making more noises? Like is she squeaking more when you give treats and play with her, or is she just making noise? Rats do squeak from time to time, but if it is frequent she could be sick.
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Okay actually I just read your other post, and I'm surprised nobody said anything to you. The rat in the video posted definitely has a respiratory infection, a pretty noticeable one. That is not chatty rat noise, it is not normal. Bruxing is fine and some rats do it all the time, but that isn't what it sounds like.

The bacteria that causes the infection can spread to other parts of the body pretty easily when they're sick, so it wouldn't be surprising if she did have a UTI as well. Though it really doesn't matter yet since there won't be any sure way to tell except for giving antibiotics and looking for improvement, and it seems she needs them anyway. 

I'd get her to the vet as soon as you can before it gets worse. Doxy/Baytril combo is best, that's what the vet should give.

But I'm a little confused as to how old they are. In your other thread it says they are 2 months old, and here you say they are 5 months- which is it?. It is recommended that rats under 3 months not be given baytril, I guess it can affect development. Now that isn't to say definitely don't ever use it, it is much better to give baytril and have the URI get better, just know it isn't very good for rats so young, but many people use it on rats with bad infections or ones that don't respond to other antibiotics without ever having a problem. But if possible have the vet give something else and if it doesn't work you can switch.


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## Phantom (Apr 4, 2012)

My rat Molly had the same issue, but about half a year ago I switched her to Oxbow and I've never had any marking troubles since. I think her previous food may have caused her excessive urination. She was on Kaytee blocks before she as on Oxbow.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Fuzzy Rat has had a bladder problem since she was a pup. As a shoulder rat she had done lots of traveling with our family.

Whenever she swam in the lake or got a cold chill she peed profusely and everywhere for at least 3 days afterwards and sometimes up to a week. Then it went away and she was normal again. Since she's been incapacitated by massive tumors she can't get to her cage to pee and I have to try to predict when she has to go or she has accidents. The later issue is due to her failing health. But the former issue is due to some genetic defect or susceptibility she came with.

Unless your rat was swimming outdoors, or got a nasty chill lately (cage too close to the AC unit), you most likely want to get her to a vet.

Best wishes on your rat's speedy recovery.


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## Andyurgay (Jun 10, 2013)

dashielle89-
Sorry, the age was a typo. I got them in early april from the same girl. But I was told different ages both times I went to her. I got my first rat about 4 days before the second from the same girl. They are roughly 3 months old, give or take a few weeks. The girl had a female rat and "found" the father wondering around her yard but he was a fancy rat with a bulging eye and was blind in both eyes. So their age and breeding is suspect. As for age, I was told about 2 weeks to about 4 when I got them. So I suspect them to be able 2 to 3 months old. I can try to email the girl about their exact date.
I have a vet appointment set this week because I have noticed that rascal's noises are going with her breathing. My boyfriend pointed out a new sound she is making and I held her to my ear. She has developed a new noise every time she breathes and I'm really worried about it and her foot. (which I asked about before.) I refuse to let her suffer with a broken toe and let it heal crooked if that is what it is. and I'm really worried about her breathing and constant peeing. Thank you for all your help. I'll have her in soon.


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## Andyurgay (Jun 10, 2013)

So maybe her diet is the problem? They have been on Reggie rat dry mix since I got them. I don't know what they were fed before I got them. All I know is they were fed lots of candy and sweets which I have tried to supplement with healthier sweets like yogurt and granola bars.
I'll have them in soon for a check up but for now, I don't know what is causing it. It's only since Rascal got her paw stuck that I have witnessed the peeing. And now Valencia is also peeing a lot.
They were both basically litter trained when I got them but slowly they have fallen out of it.


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## dashielle89 (Apr 24, 2012)

Well, there's no doubt that Reggie rat food is bad (as most of the store mixes are) you should focus on getting your rats sickness taken care of first. Any rat mixes with the corn or seeds should be avoided, but I doubt it has anything to do with the peeing, and she wasn't doing it before.

If she's still making that noise, she is starting to get sick, and the peeing could very well be caused by that if she doesn't have a UTI as well, which she could. Preventing that from getting worse should take priority. Switching food is also a good idea, you can look into better lab blocks like oxbow or harlan teklad, or you can research about making your own dry mix for them.

The other rat may be peeing outside of the cage because the first is. If their play area starts to have a lot of their smell in it and there is pee around, they will be more likely to continue. And they learn behaviors from each other. To keep them litter trained you have to continue keeping their pee/poo in their litter box and keeping the rest of their cage/area clean to reinforce it. The paw incident was most likely a coincidence.


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## Andyurgay (Jun 10, 2013)

Update, Rascal has not made that noise since the night I started this thread. Although she does make some offhand noises here and there, the vet said they seemed healthy. Granted it was a regular vet specializing in dogs, cats and such. I have to make a long delayed appointment with an exotic vet miles from here for a second opinion since I don't have my own car anymore and have to base their appointments on when I can get a ride to it. They are back to their normal behaviors except for the peeing. Which is less but still more than when they were babies. I'm having them looked at by a rat specified vet pretty soon for a more though exam and will step up on retraining them in litter training. Hopefully I can have them running about without tracking pee up and down all my friends arms and in my blankets.

Also, as far as the lab blocks go, where do I find those? I cannot find them around where I live. The only pet stores here are petsmart and a couple small, locally owned ones, mostly specializing in birds or reptiles.


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## Prezli (Sep 7, 2021)

Andyurgay said:


> So maybe her diet is the problem? They have been on Reggie rat dry mix since I got them. I don't know what they were fed before I got them. All I know is they were fed lots of candy and sweets which I have tried to supplement with healthier sweets like yogurt and granola bars.
> I'll have them in soon for a check up but for now, I don't know what is causing it. It's only since Rascal got her paw stuck that I have witnessed the peeing. And now Valencia is also peeing a lot.
> They were both basically litter trained when I got them but slowly they have fallen out of it.


Do you give them a bowl of water to bathe/play/poo in? I give my girl a med-large size bowl & fill it up measuring with my fingers to about 1-1.5 finger/s of artisan water. At first she drinks out of it then rinses her face/body a bit, usually I put 2 ice cubes in for her to chew on/play with & afterwards she poops in it so I check it several times throughout the day to clean/change the water whenever I see any turds. This is the only place she regularly does her business so I tend to consider her potty trained instead of litter trained. Maybe if they took interest in the bowl of water they would get back into the routine of using the potty like they did with the litter only they may not fall out of the habit. It couldn't hurt to try but I use a shorter, wider glass pyrex cuz it's heavy enough that it won't tip over & spill.


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## Enne (Dec 12, 2020)

Prezli said:


> Do you give them a bowl of water to bathe/play/poo in? I give my girl a med-large size bowl & fill it up measuring with my fingers to about 1-1.5 finger/s of artisan water. At first she drinks out of it then rinses her face/body a bit, usually I put 2 ice cubes in for her to chew on/play with & afterwards she poops in it so I check it several times throughout the day to clean/change the water whenever I see any turds. This is the only place she regularly does her business so I tend to consider her potty trained instead of litter trained. Maybe if they took interest in the bowl of water they would get back into the routine of using the potty like they did with the litter only they may not fall out of the habit. It couldn't hurt to try but I use a shorter, wider glass pyrex cuz it's heavy enough that it won't tip over & spill.


The last post in this thread was in 2013. Please check the date of the last post before replying.


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