# Ewww! Pooping in food dish!



## ponderosa (Oct 13, 2014)

I think one (or possibly both) of my girls are pooping in their food dish! I've been noticing poop in their food dish recently. And I don't notice poop near it! During cage cleanings, I've been dumping the dish out and cleaning it thoroughly. I also moved the dish in case it was dropping in while the rats were perched on their lava ledge, but it looks like the issue is starting up again. This is gross and surely it can't be sanitary?

One of my girls, Sammy, tends to drag toys, paper, and litter over the food dish... I suppose an instinct to cover up the food stash. Could she also be pooping in the food, or dragging poop in there, to keep others out or as part of this instinct? Has anyone else had an issue like this before? I wonder if there's any way to get them to quit doing this?


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## Sabatea (Aug 23, 2014)

My pair does this. It just seems to be their way of hiding the food, same as covering it. No other animals are going to be interested in eating something that smells like rat poop! XD Personally, I wouldn't try to stop them. They feel like they need to hide their food more and it would probably be best to let them.


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## ponderosa (Oct 13, 2014)

Yeah, I guess there's not much I can do, since my girls seem very concerned that I might eat their food and Sammy is very careful about hiding it. I've seen hamsters eat their poop and I've seen dog owners complain about dogs doing the same, though I don't really see any of my rats eating poop, just the girls pooping in their food... so I guess other animals aren't quite as disgusted by poop as we are!


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## Wieju (Jan 25, 2015)

You could try putting something (like a cardboard box with a door cut our of it) over their food bowl. That way their "stash" is hidden and maybe they do not feel the need than to cover it up more.


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## raindear (Mar 3, 2015)

Once upon a time (about 2007) I knew a rat site that had lots of recommended and "best" products for rats. One of the recommendations was for a "feeder" for rats. The feeder was a bin with 1/2" by 1" wire spacing. Unfortunately, it was already out of production at the time I read about it, but I did find a suet feeder that had 1/2" by 1" wire spacing on all 6 sides. This was great for Harlan Teklad lab blocks. I hung it in the cage with the supplied chain. It kept the rats from hiding blocks in places where they peed or pooped, kept the food clean, prevented eating in bed and made the rats work a bit for their food. If you use any food the size of Harlan Teklad lab blocks, this would be great for you. Be aware it is almost impossible to order this suet feeder on line, because most suet feeders have 1" x 1" spacing on two sides and they won't work. You have to be able to physically see the spacing on all sides to be sure. For smaller food like Regal Rat, you might be able to make a comparable feeder with plastic coated hardware cloth.


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## ponderosa (Oct 13, 2014)

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone!


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