# Cage Cleaning?



## Alanae (Apr 25, 2012)

Okay I am in the processing of adopting rats from a local rescue and have been reading everything I can on rat care. The only real thing that no one seems to mention is what to do with your rats while you clean their cage and accessories and it seems everyone has different ideas on cage cleaning anyway! Since it seems cleaning my sons rat cage is going to become a rather frequent event, I was just wondering a few things since what I do find online seems to be contradictory at every turn 

1. What do you use to clean your cage and accessories?

2. We do not plan to free roam our rats.. so what do you do with your rats when you clean the cage?

Thanks for any information you can give me


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## minnehaha25 (Mar 14, 2012)

I used a smaller cage or let them roam on a high table they wont jump because they have pretty good depht perseption. And as for cleaning i use water if its not too bad otherwise a quick rince and scrub down with a little dish soap is fine.


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## glider11 (Sep 7, 2011)

1. To wipe things down, I use vinegar. For the (fleece) cage liners, I just use soap and water.

2. I have a small travel cage that I put them in. You can find little travel cages pretty much everywhere and they're usually pretty cheap (around $10).


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## Malcolmratdad (Mar 29, 2012)

My rats free roam in the bathroom. I have an old storm window I put in front of the doorway and then they can run around as they please. The bathroom is great because its easy to clean and there are no wires to chew or pieces of furniture to climb into. The bathtub always works great to keep them confined unless you need the tub for washing the cage.


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## A.ngelF.eathers (Jul 6, 2011)

Alanae said:


> 1. What do you use to clean your cage and accessories?


You can use a vinegar mixture or some sort of nontoxic cleaner. I use simple soap and water.



> 2. We do not plan to free roam our rats.. so what do you do with your rats when you clean the cage?


I have to jump in on and this and say it's very important for rats to have free time. Even if it's just them being loose on a bed for a little while, it's important for them to be able to be out of their cage doing something other than being held.
That being said, if you're uncomfortable with them being loose until they get to know you, you can use a spare care or a spare tank while you clean.


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## Alanae (Apr 25, 2012)

Sorry I think maybe I could have phrased that better, by "roam free" i mean just simply running around free without supervision  The last thing anyone wants is for them to get away and either get hurt or lost in the house. So neither hubby nor I want them out of their cage without being supervised. I in no way meant to imply they would be locked up like little prisoners  That being said if the cage is being cleaned they obviously can't be supervised, which was why I asked.


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## Malcolmratdad (Mar 29, 2012)

The bed is also a great place if its high up. My Ruby is a little daredevil and even she won't jump off the bed. Just put down an old blanket and check on them often if you're worried.


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## JessyGene (Feb 27, 2012)

1. I use soap and water, or sometimes vinegar and water for the cage. All the fleece liners and hammocks I put through the wash, but I use only a bit of laundry soap and do a double rinse. I know its recommended to use unscented laundry detergent, but my rat doesn't pee in her beds so I can get away with just using a tiny bit of regular laundry soap and rinsing it well.

2. You could check out this site on how to build a play pen if you don't want to buy an extra little cage. This would be fun for them to play in while you clean, and you could move it anywhere so you could always keep your eye on them.
http://www.squidoo.com/RatPen


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## Sidurah (Sep 28, 2011)

1. I clean the entire cage with soap and water, then use a "scrub" made with coarse kosher salt and baking soda. I rub the entire cage with the mixture, then rinse with plain vinegar. I rinse again with water, dry it off, and I'm done.

2. I put Ros and Bea in their travel cage or have my friends "ratsit".


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## Maltey (Jun 26, 2011)

Playpens are awesome at keeping them under control while you clean.
Or, you could just pop them in the bath tub (unless you're rinsing off the cage in there, in which case I wouldn't suggest that!)


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## British (Apr 2, 2012)

Alanae said:


> 1. What do you use to clean your cage and accessories?
> 
> 2. We do not plan to free roam our rats.. so what do you do with your rats when you clean the cage?
> 
> Thanks for any information you can give me


I use dish soap and water to wash down the base and the shelves/bars (and the desk under the cage, since my girls think it's fun to pee through the bars all over everything). The fleece just goes in the washer with the dog bed covers (super convenient!).

Cleaning the cage while they're out exercising in the same room is convenient, I think. I block off my living room, pick up the wires from the tv/dvd player and let my older girl have the run of the room. My new babies are still timid and don't want to come out of their cage yet, so I just clean it with them inside. They stay on the shelf while I do it, so I can pick up the top of the cage and put it on the desk while I clean the base out, and then I just wipe down the shelves and bars with a rag/clean sponge.


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

Alanae said:


> Okay I am in the processing of adopting rats from a local rescue and have been reading everything I can on rat care. The only real thing that no one seems to mention is what to do with your rats while you clean their cage and accessories and it seems everyone has different ideas on cage cleaning anyway! Since it seems cleaning my sons rat cage is going to become a rather frequent event, I was just wondering a few things since what I do find online seems to be contradictory at every turn
> 
> 1. What do you use to clean your cage and accessories?
> 
> ...


There isn't like a set way to clean the cage, as long as you use safe cleaner & do it often then whatever works for you is good 

About daily/every other dayish I will clean out their food dishes and remove anything that seems extra dirty or chewed up.- Spot cleaning helps. 
I clean their litterbox about twice or so a week.

Then once a week I do a cage cleaning. I use fleece on top of newspaper as bedding (with aspen in the litterbox). I remove the fleece/newspaper. I have a critternation and it has removable pan/shelves. So I pop them out and wipe them down with hot water/vinegar. Dry them and put them back in the cage with fresh newspaper & fleece. 
Vinegar is awesome!
For toys that can be wiped down and need to be I just wipe them either with the vinegar or I also use unscented baby wipes to wipe stuff down in their cage and the bars. They work well for spot cleaning too. 
I throw the old fleece and hammocks/beds in the wash.

The more often you clean the easier your job will always be. 

As for what to do with them- they should have free play time outside of the cage daily so that is always a good time to do so. I clean the cage in the room they are playing in. and if I need to run to toss something in the tub for half a sec they are fine because I make sure the room is safe. But if you can't do that then I would maybe have your husband and/or son play with them while you clean? If there is no other way then having a spare cage/carrier will work for a short amount of time. It is always a good idea to have one anyways incase of vet trips or such.


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## BigBen (Nov 22, 2011)

I don't usually leave the rats unattended in their playspace (my bed), because there have been a couple of times when ratties have gotten down to the floor and given me a heart attack (not recommended!). So I put them in their travel carrier (small-dog-breed size). It's small, but cage-cleaning doesn't take all that long--less time than getting to the vet's, in fact.


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## Munchie (Mar 13, 2012)

Hey  I don't like to leave my rats in an open space if I'm not sat with them (we have lots of cats, one of whom is obsessed with my rats v.v) so I pop them in my travel case. It's pretty small but they actually seem to quite like it and usually just curl up and go to sleep for a bit until I come to put them back in.

As for cleaning the cage I use a pet safe disinfectant spray and kitchen roll on the main floor and shelves. Hammocks usually go through the washing machine if they're wet or smelly too, and anything wood is sprayed and left to dry


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## Lovely Rats (May 14, 2012)

I put mine in a glass-door shower with some boxes, towels, tubes, a litter box, and some food and water. They seem to be fine with it ^^ When cleaning, I just use some seltzer water and baking soda to scrub it without poisoning the ratties!


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## petratts (Feb 14, 2012)

When i clean my cage it takes a while. I have to put them in the play pen. But i have a really big cage. You could get a travle cage. Or you could go to lowes or walmart and get a big tote. I got a 10 gallon tote for like $5. Poke holes in it, a lot of holes.


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