# Pee rocks



## Zero

For those of you who have rats that are litter box trained, I figured I would share something I learned when I first started litter box training. I used a little container to start with and they kept tipping it over all the time which made it useless, so I decided to put a rock in it to hold it down. Eventually I started to notice not only do they use the litter box but they pee on the rock. I assume it is just to mark it but they do it every time they poop in the box which makes allot less pee on the fleece liners! I just figured I would share, I have males and I would assume females might do the same. Below is a picture of two of my litter boxes with their clearly marked pee rocks, lol. 














_(hope this is in the right place, if not feel free to move it.)_​


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## Zero

For cleaning I just sanitize the boxes and take the rocks and soak them in dog/cat urine remover in hot water and put them back, as soon as they get in they pee right on em instead of on my fleece.


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## Rumy91989

Huh, cool! I wonder if that would work for most people or if your rats are just special. We're constantly searching for ways to get our girls to pee in the boxes instead of just pooping, so I might have to try this out!


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## Zero

@Rumy I hope you do try it! It does really work. They started it due to marking I assume and since mine are unaltered males _(too scared to fix them) _it could be just that but females do mark as well. Even female dogs mark so I would assume they may still do it. If it doesn't work, mine poop on them sometimes too! hah.


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## Kaliloca

I just put rocks in my ratties litter pans. 

They pee there about 70% of the time, but I think they can do better. I'm really hoping they like the rocks as much as your rats do.


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## Zero

@kaliloca I hope it works out and mine are not the only ones, it has been awesome for us. As long as they are big enough for them to get on top of they usually start marking. It always amuses me because mine get on after it is clean and ones pees and gets off, one gets on after, pees and gets off. It is like a train or a bathroom waiting line. It is so cute. You should see little pee lines soon on them. Once I took the rocks out and put one just in the cage for a second, came back and even though it wasn't in the litter box it had pee on it. lol


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## cagedbirdsinging

I use a large "pee rock" for my boys and it works wonderfully.

The key is to find a single large, smooth rock. A little pile of smaller rocks is not likely to work as well.


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## Zero

cagedbirdsinging said:


> I use a large "pee rock" for my boys and it works wonderfully.
> 
> The key is to find a single large, smooth rock. A little pile of smaller rocks is not likely to work as well.


Glad someone else does it too! Exactly what I do. Their favorite is the big blue rock it is smooth and big enough for them to stand and pick a place to mark. Never tried a pile but would have to agree I wouldn't think it would work as well. It is worth the time to try because any pee on the rock is less on your fleece, hammocks, toys etc.


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## crys12065

oh wow, I am going to try this! Just have to find a nice rock!


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## cagedbirdsinging

crys12065 said:


> oh wow, I am going to try this! Just have to find a nice rock!


It took me a surprisingly long time to find the perfect rock. Aim for something that your palm cradles nicely and is quite smooth and rounded.


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## WinonaGun42

I will try this pee rock magic as my girls have taken to peeing in the corners on the ledges. I tried putting a mini litter pan in the spots they urinated, but they just kept switching corners. They can be brats like that. lol.


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## Zero

@winonagun Good luck! Hope it works as great as it has for me!


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## Kaliloca

Here's what the pee rocks I picked out look like. Do these look like they'll work? They're river rocks.


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## Zero

Look perfect to me as long as your litter box will fit them! The top two should work FOR SURE the bottom one is big so unless you have a big box then probably no to the biggest one but you could use it for under the water bottle instead if you wanted.


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## Kaliloca

I have the ferret size litter boxes. They're pretty big. I'll have to wait and see how these work. If the on is too big, we'll just make a road trip and get more. We love going to the river.


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## Booder81

I cannot wait to try this!!!


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## Zero

Kaliloca said:


> I have the ferret size litter boxes. They're pretty big. I'll have to wait and see how these work. If the on is too big, we'll just make a road trip and get more. We love going to the river.


Lemme know if they work for you I am curious if most rats can learn to do it.


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## Moonferret

yup, my guys do the same. I put a rock in the bottom tray of their cage because I wanted to wear down those sharp young rat claws (ouch!) and noticed they pee on it, I was litter training at the time but they would only poop in the traytray and pee everywhere else. so I put the rock in the litter tray and hey presto! no more stinky fleece! Well, thats a not entirely true, one of them still urnine marks the cage occaisonally but he's not voiding his bladder wherever now, he saves that for he rock- much easier to clean!


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## ratchet

i've heard a rumor - from a non rat person - that rats cannot control their bowel movement. 

my girls certainly dont seem to exercise caution, but they do usually poop in one corner. litter training was a complete failure as they always think the box is something to be conquered and seized and flipped over - but they DO have a rock they pee on. maybe i should try this..


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## Ratfinx

I put a rock in my cage for the boys to blunt their nails but they use it to wee on haha, they're not yet litter trained but yeah they only pee on the rock no where else unless out the cage 


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## zurfaces

This is very interesting. Thanks for sharing! Im going to give it a try... Do you think the fact that i have a litter pan with bars on the top of it will make a difference? they pee sometimes in the box but mostly its wherever. 

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## Zero

zurfaces said:


> This is very interesting. Thanks for sharing! Im going to give it a try... Do you think the fact that i have a litter pan with bars on the top of it will make a difference? they pee sometimes in the box but mostly its wherever.
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App




It might make a difference but you could sit it on the bars and try it anyway. Never tried it with the barred boxes.


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## Zero

Moonferret said:


> yup, my guys do the same. I put a rock in the bottom tray of their cage because I wanted to wear down those sharp young rat claws (ouch!) and noticed they pee on it, I was litter training at the time but they would only poop in the traytray and pee everywhere else. so I put the rock in the litter tray and hey presto! no more stinky fleece! Well, thats a not entirely true, one of them still urnine marks the cage occaisonally but he's not voiding his bladder wherever now, he saves that for he rock- much easier to clean!



I am glad it isn't just me, pee rocks work wonders! I still get some scent marking as well but no actual puddles.


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## ratazana

I've been using rocks in the litter box since I brought my boys home. It really does work! 

Of course, boys will be boys and sometimes when they're lazy they'll pee anywhere, but I have noticed that my rats often make the decision to go to to litter box to pee on the rocks, so it is a great idea!

*I will warn people though... do NOT use SLATE rock!* I tried this once and as soon as it was peed on it smelled HORRIBLE. The smell was almost unbearable. I think the urine was creating some sort of chemical reaction with the slate. It instantly filled my whole room up with this yucky stench... Now I just use a smooth river rock. I'm not sure what kind of rock it is, but there's no smell at all.

Also, I wash the rock with a mixture of vinegar + lemon juice + baking soda. Then I just rinse under water, and dry with toilet paper.


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## ratazana

zurfaces said:


> This is very interesting. Thanks for sharing! Im going to give it a try... Do you think the fact that i have a litter pan with bars on the top of it will make a difference? they pee sometimes in the box but mostly its wherever.
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Sometimes I put the scatterless bars in my litter box, and just put the rock on top of it. It doesn't seem to make a difference, they just love to pee on rocks it seems! haha


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## Bluelilly

I'm defiantly going to try this with my new girls. been working on the littler training and been have trouble but I'm sure that's because I'm using the wrong littler ;D :$ does anyone know if a wood based cat litter would work ?


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## ratchet

^ good question!! not to hijack, but what's the preferred litter?!


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## Zero

Bluelilly said:


> I'm defiantly going to try this with my new girls. been working on the littler training and been have trouble but I'm sure that's because I'm using the wrong littler ;D :$ does anyone know if a wood based cat litter would work ?



I use Vita Kraft Earth Friendly Fresh World Bedding. Works awesome as litter. I use to use carefresh but it was too dusty for me.


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## Moonferret

The only safe litter I could find in my area was the pets at home pellets. They can hold an awful lot of pee so it turned out ok and you can get huge bags of it pretty cheap. The only cat litter I have heard of as safe for rats is "yesterdays news" but thats all I know.


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## ratclaws

The best kinds of litter are purely paper based I find and they don't get too mushy. I use one called Papelit 100% Paper Cat Litter and it's brilliant. I am going to try the pee rock, in fact I have a mineral stone my rats never grind their teeth on cause it's gotten old now, they usually just sit on it to eat. Gonna try that in the tray whilst I look for a round rock.


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## cagedbirdsinging

zurfaces said:


> This is very interesting. Thanks for sharing! Im going to give it a try... Do you think the fact that i have a litter pan with bars on the top of it will make a difference? they pee sometimes in the box but mostly its wherever.
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


The fact that your litter pan has bars on top may be why they pee wherever. It's possible that they don't like it? I'd try removing it.


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## ratclaws

Moonferret, you should try buying bedding and litter from this site. They sell 100% safe cardboard bedding and litter for rats and I've been told that breeders use it. I've still got my huge bale from my first buy (in October) and it's not even 3/4 empty yet and I have 4 rats with 2x cages and weekly cleans. It's under £30 for a huge 15kg bale (which is compressed so there's way more inside than it looks, but it is massive anyway) and you can buy soft tissue bedding with the pellets too. Holds smell pretty good too! You'll make such a massive saving compared to stuff from Pets at Home cause they're rip off artists. Just think how big a 1kg bag of nuggets from Pets At Home is and times that by 15 for the weight and amount of bedding you get, it's unreal.

http://www.finacard-uk.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=22&products_id=109


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## Booder81

Tried the "pee" rocks today  so far the girls are marking them so much I'm sure their bladders have to be pretty empty for peeing elsewhere! Now getting the rocks was a story all on its own.


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## Zero

Booder81 said:


> View attachment 32362
> View attachment 32370
> 
> Tried the "pee" rocks today  so far the girls are marking them so much I'm sure their bladders have to be pretty empty for peeing elsewhere! Now getting the rocks was a story all on its own.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App



Awesome. I am so glad it is working for you!


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## Moonferret

ratclaws said:


> Moonferret, you should try buying bedding and litter from this site. They sell 100% safe cardboard bedding and litter for rats and I've been told that breeders use it. I've still got my huge bale from my first buy (in October) and it's not even 3/4 empty yet and I have 4 rats with 2x cages and weekly cleans. It's under £30 for a huge 15kg bale (which is compressed so there's way more inside than it looks, but it is massive anyway) and you can buy soft tissue bedding with the pellets too. Holds smell pretty good too! You'll make such a massive saving compared to stuff from Pets at Home cause they're rip off artists. Just think how big a 1kg bag of nuggets from Pets At Home is and times that by 15 for the weight and amount of bedding you get, it's unreal.
> 
> http://www.finacard-uk.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=22&products_id=109



Cheers Ratclaws, thats a great site and will certainly save me a heap of cash and is a lot better than the PaH stuffstuff, will be investing in a batch once the current supply runs low


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## Kaliloca

Pee Rocks ROCK!!!!!! 8)

My rats use the litter pans to pee 99% of the time now. I only find the occasional tiny spot of pee on the floors. 

THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!!!!


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## Rodent Mama

Definitely going to be trying this!!


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## Reikiru

I am SO glad i came across this thread! I thought i was the only one who put a rock in the cages and noticed they peed on it and shifted it to the litter box. It's a lovely feeling when you realize you're not as strange as you're methods make you seem haha! Though Chen prefers to sit and pee on it Where as Mina just walks over hers and pees.


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## Jackie

I NEED TO TRY THIS. Thank you!


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## ratclaws

Definitely gonna try this when I find a good shaped rock.


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## cagedbirdsinging

ratclaws said:


> Definitely gonna try this when I find a good shaped rock.


I can't lie... the type of rock really does seem to matter. Think of a baseball size with one flat side to rest on and a nice and smooth surface!

Took me about a month to find mine and I'm still looking for more.

I'm also looking into why this tends to work so well.


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## Kaliloca

cagedbirdsinging said:


> I can't lie... the type of rock really does seem to matter. Think of a baseball size with one flat side to rest on and a nice and smooth surface!
> 
> Took me about a month to find mine and I'm still looking for more.
> 
> I'm also looking into why this tends to work so well.


Yeah,
The type of rock matters a lot. 

I had 3 rocks. All were round and smooth, but 2 of them were more porous. They didn't like the porous ones. They liked the really smooth one. I had to go to walmart and get a couple of really smooth river rocks. I got lucky and found some larger ones in a bag in the craft/floral section.


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## YellowSpork

I really need to try this... my girls are Ok with peeing in their boxes for the most part, but my boys just pee everywhere. Only problem is that I'm going to need to find 5 rocks since I have two litter pans in each cage and another one in the corner of my room. xD


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## Ratfinx

Last weekend I put their pee rock into there litter box after about two days they are little trained... I'm so impressed! 


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## ratclaws

Wish I lived near a stream so I could easily find smoothed out rocks! I will be on the hunt. I know this also works with flat slate because I tried putting that under the water bottle ones to file their nails, but it ended up just stinking of pee and the ammonia reacted with the slate so it wreaked.


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## RosesRufflesandRats

Thanks so much for posting this! I was getting discouraged, because I want my girls to be litter trained for both kinds, but I kept reading that there is no way to get them to pee in the box. Soooo glad that isn't true! Thanks so much!


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## mameur

so out of these three rocks which one would best for the litter






?


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## ratclaws

Based on what people have said, I'd say the first (grey) one. Give them all a go and see what works best!


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## Ratfinx

I'd say the grey rock  It's a lot softer and from what my boys are like they prefer soft rocks 


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## Ratfinx

RosesRufflesandRats said:


> Thanks so much for posting this! I was getting discouraged, because I want my girls to be litter trained for both kinds, but I kept reading that there is no way to get them to pee in the box. Soooo glad that isn't true! Thanks so much!


My boys do still pee at random in their cage but most of it is in their litter trays  


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## SarahEden

I wish I had read this before I had gone to the beach yesterday... tons of nice smooth large rocks. next time!


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## mameur

ratclaws said:


> Based on what people have said, I'd say the first (grey) one. Give them all a go and see what works best!





Ratfinx said:


> I'd say the grey rock  It's a lot softer and from what my boys are like they prefer soft rocks
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


thanks guys much appreciated i wasnt sure because it was pretty flat and i dont want to put things in then replace them right away cause they get confused lol.


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## Raturday

Just bought a smooth river rock and right away my ladies went to sniff it and I saw a few marks on it within 30 seconds! I'm looking forward to them hopefully peeing on it and not everywhere else in the cage 
Thanks so much for mentioning this.


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## ZebraGeekGirl

This is amazing! I am defiantly going to try this out. Going to get a rock for when I bring my new boys home


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## ZebraGeekGirl

Was looking and for UK people I have found these in Hobbycraft http://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/darice-river-rocks/559749-1000


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## I love all my girls

My girls have only ever peed on my fiance or peed & pooped during free range when they are frightened from the cats or whatever. I've thankfully never been peed or pooped on. They feel safe enough on me to fall asleep. They can control there bladder cuz I can hold them for at least an hr before they do what I call their potty dance. I've picked up on it. I put them in their cage & the go straight to the litter box. 

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## cagedbirdsinging

ZebraGeekGirl said:


> Was looking and for UK people I have found these in Hobbycraft http://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/darice-river-rocks/559749-1000
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Those may work, but they are not nearly large enough to make an ideal pee rock. The ideal rock is about the size of an average fist.


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## coxbrea151

Wow *shakes head*. I wonder why rats have a preferance to pee on smoth river rocks. The mysteries inlife. Interesting though, something to investigate...


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## ZebraGeekGirl

cagedbirdsinging said:


> Those may work, but they are not nearly large enough to make an ideal pee rock. The ideal rock is about the size of an average fist.


Oooo thank you, I wasnt sure what size rock was needed.


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## ruffles

Haha! You know, I brought in this nice chunk of quartz from outside...was intending to let the boys use it to climb between levels, hoping it might keep their nails a bit trim. Had no idea that they would use it as a pee-station; I never really noticed it with my girls and their brick. Guess the brick wasn't as easy to see it with. Because my lovely white quartz rock is a grungy yellow color, now! Hah. Or well, it gets that way between dunkings. Yuck.

I moved it into their new potty pan, and the levels are at least 65% more clean of pee than they were before. Now, I'm not sure if that's partially because they were also peeing on the fleece that they've since dragged down into the base, but it's pretty cool. Heck yeah, pee rocks!

I do have a question, for any of y'all who may have experience: This fall, I'm moving up to a town with a gorgeous granite-based stream that has tons of nice rocks. I'm a bit of a rock enthusiast, so I'm thinking I'll make some formations (stuck together with glue/clay/something, of course) for them to climb on. I don't particularly mind the cleanup aspect. But I'm worried that they might associate the rock with the potty box, and...that WOULD be a mess. Do you think that's very possible?


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## rivergirl10

it works, it really works! i was using rocks to hold down the corners of the cage lining and i noticed my two girls kept peeing in the one corner and only on the rock. i found it really funny when i found this post right after it happend to me... its also weird because my two ratties are not even litter trained! so i would recommend trying it


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## Rat Daddy

You know, Fuzzy Rat seems to prefer to pee and poop on black pavement outdoors and my wife has a black vinyl chair she pees on and I unfortunately have a black telephone on my desk... and I've had to disassemble it and dry it a few times... Color and texture do seem to matter to rats.


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## Ltukey

wow I love this idea...my late gram was a rockhound&ive a ton of quartz they seem to think need improving. perhaps giving them one suitable for them in the litterboxes will satisfy that urge. they use the litterpan anyway but I think its a rat thing to want to stand up on things to pee. i'll try one litterbox&see the difference between the boxes in that cage.


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## Rodents=Love256

Huh. Pee rocks. I am definitely trying this. Shouldn't be difficult, all that the soil is around here is rock, we have a lot of rivers too, I suppose those smooth rocks would work well.


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## Famous Amos

I don't do pee rocks. Never heard of it till I joined this forum. My rats have been potty trained for 20 generations without it. Seems to me that would be a stink spot in the cage that's hard to clean 


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## zurfaces

You put it in the litterbox watch it get soaked then every other day put it in a dish of soapy water it doesn't stink

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## cagedbirdsinging

Famous Amos said:


> I don't do pee rocks. Never heard of it till I joined this forum. My rats have been potty trained for 20 generations without it. Seems to me that would be a stink spot in the cage that's hard to clean
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Not everyone is so lucky!

The rocks are no harder to clean than anything else in the cage.


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## Famous Amos

I would think they are much harder since they are so porous. Plastic litter boxes without them are really easy to clean. I think rocks are a thing done on this forum but not really the norm. But it's good people are having success with it. 


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## zurfaces

I just wanted to tell everyone my experience with pee rocks so far. I've found on rock they really love to pee on. It's always coated in fresh pee and only two rats use it! I've tried three different rocks but they weren't interested in one of them and the other gets used sometimes. My fiancee and I agree the cage smells loads better with the pee rock. I used to be able to tell where they were peeing because the fleece would get really stiff. I have not come across any stiff fleece so that tells me they are using the rock mostly. I have noticed a few spots of pee on lighter colored fleece but a few spots in a week sounds good to me.






their favorite pee rock







their second favorite pee rock

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## Risika

The person I am getting my two rats from uses a bowl of rocks for her litterboxes I believe. I was going to try it. Now that I've seen this post, I definitely will!


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## zurfaces

Risika said:


> The person I am getting my two rats from uses a bowl of rocks for her litterboxes I believe. I was going to try it. Now that I've seen this post, I definitely will!


Let me know how it goes I've thought about doing that before

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## RattyBoomBaLatty

I have one un-litter-trained female rat that was a rescue and we think she's about 18 months old (total guess from her teeth according to vet - we used to have 2 but her sister died  ). I'm getting too teeny ratty babies at the end of this month to be pals with her. I was going to introduce a litterbox in their cage since the new babies will probably adjust to it quicker since they'll be young... Now I'll have to go buy a rock somewhere to try this pee rock business out! *Thanks for the idea!!! *(I live in FL and where we live we have absolutely no rocks, so this will require a purchase from a store). 

I know this thread is about pee rocks, but does anyone know the smallest size litterbox that's acceptable for 3 rats? - and is it better to have a wire top or not? I see the ones without the wire grate on top are about $6 on Amazon, but with a wire grate they're about $12. Also will one pee rock be OK for 3 rats? Thanks in advance!!!


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## avalouise

I nabbed a few of the decorative rocks we have in the entry way before our front door and within minutes both my ratties were peeing on it  After about three days I rinsed it off and put in a new one. It definitely works! They still pee in other places in the cage too because they're not completely litter trained yet but it is still working.


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## zurfaces

RattyBoomBaLatty said:


> I have one un-litter-trained female rat that was a rescue and we think she's about 18 months old (total guess from her teeth according to vet - we used to have 2 but her sister died  ). I'm getting too teeny ratty babies at the end of this month to be pals with her. I was going to introduce a litterbox in their cage since the new babies will probably adjust to it quicker since they'll be young... Now I'll have to go buy a rock somewhere to try this pee rock business out! *Thanks for the idea!!! *(I live in FL and where we live we have absolutely no rocks, so this will require a purchase from a store).
> 
> I know this thread is about pee rocks, but does anyone know the smallest size litterbox that's acceptable for 3 rats? - and is it better to have a wire top or not? I see the ones without the wire grate on top are about $6 on Amazon, but with a wire grate they're about $12. Also will one pee rock be OK for 3 rats? Thanks in advance!!!


I would use two of the corner boxes. Ware scatterless litterbox is what I use it locks onto the side of the cage and has the wire on top. I love it because they can't sleep in the litter lol or scatter it about. It also allows me to put baking soda in my litter to help with odors because they can't get to it



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## Ratfinx

I use old plastic food containers for my boys potties, and have a rock in each (4 potties in total) 


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## Matt_89

Hi I've just been up the beach and have found this ROCK would this be ok to use as a pee ROCK. Thanks


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## ahrat

This is what I do, but I also put some on the bottom of the cat under a puppy pad, it really helps the odor.


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## ratsoff2ya

does anyone have any idea why this works so well? rats are so weird!

i have five girls who are totally NOT litter trained. i want to get the scatterless boxes because they tend to just fling their litter all over the cage. i also need to get more than one litterbox. hopefully someday i'll have the same success as you all!


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## liana

I cant wait to try this! when should I start litter training? My boys are 5 weeks old and dont trust me yet. should i wait until they trust me more? they seem to be ok with me putting my hand in their cage though, so i dont think the fact that they dont trust me yet would affect litter training.


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## zombiesrkewl

liana, I would recommend start litter training ASAP. Believe me, it makes cage cleaning *so *much easier (especially if you're using fleece)!


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## Matt_89

Matt_89 said:


> Hi I've just been up the beach and have found this ROCK would this be ok to use as a pee ROCK. Thanks
> View attachment 105953


 can anyone please help is this a good enough pee ROCK or should it be different


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## cagedbirdsinging

What are the measurements, Matt?


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## liana

zombiesrkewl said:


> liana, I would recommend start litter training ASAP. Believe me, it makes cage cleaning *so *much easier (especially if you're using fleece)!


OKay, I dont have fleece at the moment, i was waiting until i started litter training, Im going to start tomorrow then. i hope they learn quickly!


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## zmashd

After reading this thread I had to try it!
I went out and picked a few rocks (I'm in Sweden, where the Ice Ages have provided us with smooth rocks o'plenty, so it was easy. hehe). I brought home 3 that seemed well sized/smooth enough.

So, I just put them in the cage for a test drive aaaaaannnnnd...
... they seem more interested in chewing the rocks rather than peeing on them.


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## Matt_89

cagedbirdsinging said:


> What are the measurements, Matt?


About 5inches by 4inches.


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## Lesti

Little bit off topic, but I have boxes with no grates that I put baking soda in. I didn't think anything of it because I've heard of people doing it and just assumed they didn't have grates as well. Is this ok? I should've thought of this earlier :/ Stitch nabbed a mouthful of it once, but I searched it and couldn't find anything on rats and helping themselves to baking soda, so I made sure the water bottles were full and put him in the cage. I hope that's ok because I'm not home right now to dump and refill the boxes. Oh, and my boys have a rock under the water bottle, plus one holding up the bottom ladder but they don't pee on those much. I'm currently searching for a couple of designated pee rocks though! 


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## nanashi7

Full baking soda, or mixed in? It should be fine but if consumed in copious levels I believe it can cause tummy upset. But, I believe it was an old in-home treatment for stomach related issues for humans. 


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## Lesti

nanashi7 said:


> Full baking soda, or mixed in? It should be fine but if consumed in copious levels I believe it can cause tummy upset. But, I believe it was an old in-home treatment for stomach related issues for humans.
> 
> 
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Not full, but there's a thin (ish) layer of baking soda, then yesterday's news on top.


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## nanashi7

That's perfectly fine, and great for deodorizing


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## LeStan82

thanks for sharing. mine poop in the litter box but pee on the fleece or where ever they feel like.I will definitely try a rock. does it matter what type of rock? certain texture of rock?


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## RattieLover1331

LeStan82 said:


> thanks for sharing. mine poop in the litter box but pee on the fleece or where ever they feel like.I will definitely try a rock. does it matter what type of rock? certain texture of rock?


It didn't really matter to mine. I just used a big smooth rock.


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## MamaPickles

This works wonders! I'm new to owning rats and while they're clearly not all using the litterbox 100% of the time yet (we've had them for 2 weeks), they ARE peeing on the rock! I'm wondering where I can find more info on fleece. I did extensive research before deciding on fleece and am now having odor problems.


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## zmashd

It's now been a week since I first put the rock in their cage, and finally they seem to have stopped trying to eat it and have started to pee on it!


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## nanashi7

MamaPickles said:


> This works wonders! I'm new to owning rats and while they're clearly not all using the litterbox 100% of the time yet (we've had them for 2 weeks), they ARE peeing on the rock! I'm wondering where I can find more info on fleece. I did extensive research before deciding on fleece and am now having odor problems.


Have you tried a towel under your fleece? You could also put baking soda on the towel. 


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## MamaPickles

The way I have it set up now is that there is a scented garbage bag, old towel, and then fleece on each level. The problem is, they peel back ALL of the layers and pee directly on the shelf and then literally pile on top of one another! It's a converted cat cage and I'm wondering if I need to move top right shelf down and then out a Sputnik or something like it above it?








And yes, this pic was taken without their safety net aka cat hammock that I put in there until I can get/make crazy long ladders! 


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## MamaPickles

Currently I'm doing pee pad, towel, and fleece. I can find anything that keeps them from flipping up the layers though and I think that's part of the problem. :/ stopped putting a pee pad under the food shelf (lowest on right) because they're not peeing there. Also stopped putting anything bit a towel and fleece on bottom since they're not peeing there either. 


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## Urithrand

This thread should totally get stickied. It's genius


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## LeStan82

I have a pee rock, but they dont realize what its for, they just move it around the litter box..lol :/


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## cagedbirdsinging

LeStan82 said:


> I have a pee rock, but they dont realize what its for, they just move it around the litter box..lol :/


If they can move it around, then it's not big enough to be a pee rock.


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## KaylaMichelle

Will be trying this!


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## Patches

Where can I buy a pee rock? I have searched pet stores and home depot with no luck... I can't seem to find one out in nature in my area either.


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## zmashd

garden centers?


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## JoshDeMott2010

This is a great discovery. @patches ill get you a rock if you want. Free of charge =D Pm me and ill mail you one.


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## Loonalover613

Is this what you use to soak the rock in?http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3506557&f=PAD/psNotAvailInUS/No


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## cagedbirdsinging

Loonalover613 said:


> Is this what you use to soak the rock in?http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3506557&f=PAD%2FpsNotAvailInUS%2FNo


You can wash the rock in diluted vinegar or Dawn.


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## Humphrey

I just found this thread. Fortunately my girlfriend collects rocks so I already had a perfect flat stone to try. My two girls took to it right away! Also, it's perfect for my little nibbler Gentry to grind down her teeth. Thanks for the advice!


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## DemonicJessica

Anyone know where I could get a smooth rock? I can hardly find any outside around my house and the ones that are outside are way to big to even put in my boys cage.


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## kksrats

DemonicJessica said:


> Anyone know where I could get a smooth rock? I can hardly find any outside around my house and the ones that are outside are way to big to even put in my boys cage.


If there is a river or creek that you can go to that is typically a good place to find smooth rocks. Landscaping rock also has some smooth varieties, but I doubt you'd want to buy something you can find for free lol


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## Mene

I've been using pee rocks for about a month now. My girls use them, but they still pee on the fleece as well. I suppose that must mean that they pee less on the fleece, as they're certainly not producing extra pee just for the rocks.


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## MomToRats

I found some at walmarts today in the craft section even though theres a lot of rocks in the bag , I just picked out 4 good size flat ones and just put them in all the litter pans , I use yesterdays news in the litter pans and I have 1 on the top part and 1 on the bottom half of the cage which = 2 cages = 4 rocks 
curious to see if this works , I will let everyone know


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## bostongirl1983

I am going to give it a go! I didn't consider litter box training for my rattie, I didn't realize they could be trained! I did litter box train my rabbits and the process is similar, wish me luck!


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## Mojojuju

I use flat, slate-like stones. Even if they get half buried in the litter, they always aim for them!


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## Owensmom

Wow!! I've only had my boys (Thomas & Percy) for a week & they are my first rat baby's! This is totally cool! It works!! So glad you discovered this!!!!


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## 2ratshack

My boys LOVE peeing on rocks. I clean the rocks off every time I clean my cage (every 3-4 days) and they are always completely covered in urine.


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## Ratlettes

Ugh my boys poop and pee wherever they want, hammocks, hide houses, food bowl etc. I really need a river rock now


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## mghemm437

My girls ONLY pee on their rock, which is in their litter box. I haven't found or smelled pee anywhere else in their cage, and they are in a single CN without fleece liners. I'm wondering if I can now put fleece liners down since they don't pee anywhere else.


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## comprar

I've been using rocks in the litter box since I brought my boys home. It really does work!


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