# that rat smell....



## morbidsanity (Aug 22, 2009)

so i got a big cage for my 2 female rats,its that purple/green super pet home thing,and well i am haveing problems with the smells,it reeks of rat,i am using the petco brand paper bedding,i notice that it starts to smell about 2-3 days after i put new litter in,and i usually clean the cage once a week....what can i do about the smell?


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## morbidsanity (Aug 22, 2009)

anybody? come on now i know you alls have rats!!!! lol


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## morbidsanity (Aug 22, 2009)

im thinking its the bedding and the plastic,little buggers love to pee on it all the time! im trying to get a recomondation on a bedding,whats everyone using? you know i know theres people with like 5 rats and they have some magical beding that keeps the smells down....


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## morbidsanity (Aug 22, 2009)

i just use baby wipes to try and clean them inbetween washes and i use just dish soap and water when i wash....


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## morbidsanity (Aug 22, 2009)

AvaAdoreSmashing said:


> You could try watering down regular mouthwash (The brown stuff) in a spray bottle, spray it all down and rinse them well with hot hot water. I try not to use soaps or chemicals when cleaning but I know what you mean when you say smell :-\
> I'm not 100% on using diluted regular mouthwash but I don't see how it could really hurt them. I always make sure I rinse really well.
> My sister has a ball python and this is what she uses to clean her tank.
> and yes. She has a snake. I have rats and we do not breed rats for food. My two girls are my pride and joy. As is her snake to her.



cool ill have to give that a try,what about viniger mixed with water? wouldnt that work well?


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## 3pidemic (Feb 22, 2009)

I use white vingar to clean my cages with. I wipe/wash the cage down with vingar and the rinse it with water to tone down the smell some, then let it air out. It works pretty well.


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## patty! (Aug 7, 2009)

I do the same with the vinegar but instead of water I wipe down with hydrogen peroxide afterwards. Seems to take all the smell off, and should be helpful in disinfecting as well. I personally wouldn't think the vinegar would need dilution...the normal distilled white vinegar you'd use in cooking is already diluted to 5%. It's a strong smell but rinsing or peroxide seems to take care of that.


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## 3pidemic (Feb 22, 2009)

AvaAdoreSmashing said:


> 3pidemic said:
> 
> 
> > I use white vingar to clean my cages with. I wipe/wash the cage down with vingar and the rinse it with water to tone down the smell some, then let it air out. It works pretty well.
> ...


Oh wow, sorry it took me so long to respond to this. 

I just use it straight. My ratties have been fine after using it, no sneezing, weird poops, lethargy or anything. My SO got the vingar to put on sandwhiches and I stole it to clean cages with. I figure since it's not on any of the forbidden food lists and people can it with no issues that it should be safe.


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## this_wallflower (Apr 19, 2009)

I use white vinegar but I water it down (1 part vinegar to 1 part water) a little bit.


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## MahRatz (Oct 18, 2009)

Well, I drench my cage and bedding with Frebreeze, so it smells nice and fresh all the time. You could try that.


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## Lynxie (Jun 25, 2008)

MahRatz said:


> Well, I drench my cage and bedding with Frebreeze, so it smells nice and fresh all the time. You could try that.


This seems like a bad idea. I'd imagine that the chemicals in it can't be good for the rats.


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## MahRatz (Oct 18, 2009)

OH NO!!!! you mean it hurts my rats?


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## Lynxie (Jun 25, 2008)

Rats have very sensitive respiratory systems, and smells like that can irritate them. So yes, dousing your cage with febreeze could be hurting your rats.


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## juliebug (Aug 13, 2009)

very bad idea. you can look for petsafe deodorizes at petstores. but i just use vinegar diluted with water. and dont soak the bedding in it. if its good bedding it wont need the extra deodorizers.


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## MahRatz (Oct 18, 2009)

Oh no........I'm going to stop using it then. I thought I was doing good for my rats, but all this time I've been killing them.


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