# Tons of poop



## Poppyseed (Feb 1, 2007)

Since I've switched to cloth bedding for ease of spot cleaning I noticed my boys poop a TON. I used to be able to only pick out a few raises/cage/day before, probably because they were covered with carefresh and harder to find thus taking much longer tons raisens waiting in a certain spot for me to clean D:

I find myself picking them out 4-5 times a day now. I can't stand to see them there next to a pile of poop so feel the need to clean them out immediately. It's only 11:16 am and I bet I've spot cleaned at least 2-3 times already.

My question is, is this amount of poop normal? And also do you think since they mostly poo in the same spot litter training would be something I should try? I've tried it in the past with low success as Odin likes to poop where he pleases but it seems lately they are in the same spot.


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## OnlyOno (Apr 4, 2007)

if they're in the same spot, you're more likely to succeed at litter training. i've heard that rats are like a lot of animals in that they don't really notice when they poop, so it's hard to train someone that doesn't realize what they're doing. i've had mixed results in the past.


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## JennieLove (Jan 2, 2007)

LOL, I just swtitch to towels, and am currently potty training them. This isnt the first time trying to train them; when I had frist gotten them they had a potty box, but they wanted to eat eat more than poo/pee in it >.< But ever since I reinrtoduced it again, they have slowly been using it. Bob uses it 8 out of 10 times, Jays just starting to get the hang of it and Im starting to see him in it everyonce in a while. Ive had it set up for less than a week and its been going great for me. 

I do agree...Rats poop alot!


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## Lise (Feb 26, 2007)

Yes, tons of poop is normal.

I have a single rat on fabric bedding, and I am astounded by the amount of poop that even she by herself is able to make.

Easier than picking out individual poops by hand -- vacuum them out! Goes so much faster.


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## JennieLove (Jan 2, 2007)

If you plan on potty training, dont get rid of ALL the poop though; Place a few droppings in the box so that your ratties will understand that that is where he/she is suppose to "go"


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## Poppyseed (Feb 1, 2007)

hehe, I'm just amazed at how much they do go, now that I see it happen more with the fabric bedding D: Vacuum might work but mine gets clogged easily, would be better to just pick them out by hand and won't disturb the rats too much.


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## LizLovesRats5 (Mar 28, 2007)

My rats are 90% potty trained. They will use the litter box if they're up and about, but it they're in a nice comfy spot they tend to go where they are. I have to clean out the top level where they sleep every day and I only find about a dozen poops between five rats, which is pretty good I think. My girls won't poop when they're out of the cage, but the boys still poop on me a bit, though not nearly as much as they did when i first brought them home. Boy poop is SOOOOO much bigger than girl poop... 

All I did was take some soiled bedding and put it in the litter box and they started using it right away, so I found it pretty painless. I wish they wouldn't pee where they sleep though, I can't imagine sleeping in pile of my own urine, ICK.


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## Spider (Mar 19, 2007)

How many Rats are there? and what kind of diet do you feed? I had trouble when I was feeding to much Veggies & greens and they pooped huge turds everywhere,loose soft, can be bad as they can become dehydrated. Are the raisens dark and hard, small?
Spider


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## Poppyseed (Feb 1, 2007)

I have one on the top part of the cage and two on the bottom. Right now I'm working on Bert being introed slowly with Bastian and Odin so I figure keeping them seperate but close is a good thing right now. They havn't been easy to intro so I'm going to give Odin and Bastian a cleaning and then intro them in neutral territory today. I think after a cleaning, since they have lots of buck grease on them, they might be less overwhelming on the male masculine bigger rat smell for Bert as he seems terrified of them right now.

But yeah, usually it seems Bert poops more than Bastian and Odin combined but his poops are smaller and more dry. Odin's and Bastian have the HUGE soft turds, especially Odin. I feed them lots of veggies but lots of regular lab pellets as well. But they do drink TONS of water and their skin pops back when pinched so I'm not worried about them being dehydrated.


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## Spider (Mar 19, 2007)

If it was me I would cut back a bit on the water base veggies, like the greens, cukes,tomatos etc. and stick with Cooked yams, oatmeal types, veggies with less moisture for a while. Those huge soft turds aren't doing their digestions much good, it'll sort itself out when they get denser more concentrated easy assimalated stuff.
Somehow folks thinking has changed, it used to be veggies & a bit of fruit was a treat, now people serve 4 course meals 3x day as a norm and sugary sweets that aren't part of the natural world as a treat daily.
I personally feel its guilt, we all want the best for our babies, and if we have so many choices ,well why shouldn't they? But look at the children in America is their health any better for all our good intentions?
Spider


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## Poppyseed (Feb 1, 2007)

I mostly stick with carrots as their veggie and don't really feed them too much water based veggies. Maybe I should feed them less carrots? They always act hungry, the little pigs. I shall ask my vet about this next Friday and see what her opinion is, thanks.


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## ladylady (Apr 5, 2007)

Carrots are known to stop the runs in people


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## Poppyseed (Feb 1, 2007)

They seem to be their favorite veggie, but they probably have too much fiber in them. I just figured big rats= big poops >_>


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## OnlyOno (Apr 4, 2007)

on a related note, rats make 2 different kinds of poops. they practice coprophagy, or more technically, poop-eating, and if you take ALL the poop out, they can actually die. some essential vitamins are formed in their large intestine by microbes. since the large intestine is after the small intestine, where animals do their absorption of nutrients, they have to eat their poop to get the vitamins back into their stomach. so on that note, don't obsessively clean out poop! i suppose they eat it at night when we're not paying attention anyway, but still.

on that note, true vegans should technically also practice coprophagy since no plant sources make vitamin k, lol.


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## ladylady (Apr 5, 2007)

Your full of amzing facts


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## Alyssa_Rat (Mar 19, 2007)

Well after i had 2 rats get sick (and 1 of them die) from the shaving/bedding stuff ive used only cloth and i agree they do poop alot!! i have to empty the cages of poop more than twice a week and i have to wash ((what cloths survive the week)) once a week.. i think its sorta sad. i did try corn cob for a while in pepsi and colas cage when i had them but its to exspensive, and i tried some cotton bedding for a while but you dont get enough to even last the week in the pacage it comes in so theres no point in buying it. and ive tried potty training several times but they dont learn to.. when i put the box in the potty place they move ther potty place.


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## ladylady (Apr 5, 2007)

Try a different shape of potty, Ive been through various shape and sizes and eventually Im haveing 90% sucess


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## Stephanie (Mar 25, 2007)

Alyssa_Rat said:


> Well after i had 2 rats get sick (and 1 of them die) from the shaving/bedding stuff ive used only cloth and i agree they do poop alot!! i have to empty the cages of poop more than twice a week and i have to wash ((what cloths survive the week)) once a week.. i think its sorta sad. i did try corn cob for a while in pepsi and colas cage when i had them but its to exspensive, and i tried some cotton bedding for a while but you dont get enough to even last the week in the pacage it comes in so theres no point in buying it. and ive tried potty training several times but they dont learn to.. when i put the box in the potty place they move ther potty place.


I clean the popp out on a daily basis. every time i walk by i grab poops out. i change their cloths twice a week and wash them. Doesn't it smell with only doing it once a week and picking poops out twice a week?


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## Spider (Mar 19, 2007)

I use a cotton towel on the ground floor, and fleece for the ledges. I use Cat Country litter( made from Wheatgrass) pellets in a litterbox.
If I don't change the towel every day by the 2nd day it reeks, remember all the urine falls eventually to the ground. And I change the ledges fleece every day. I have to change the litter every day, Rats don't bury poop and as soon as it gets crowded they start to poop on the towel in rebellion.
These are 2 Rats in an gigantic Rabbit cage 40x20x30 , it has alot of space so they're running aroung playing tag all night, pissing everywhere.
Spider


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## ladylady (Apr 5, 2007)

Lolas bed needs changed pretty often or it smells.
Spider are you in Salem where the whitch trials were? I love that stuff  Sad though


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## Stephanie (Mar 25, 2007)

no ladylady those were in Salem Mass not Salem OR


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## Poppyseed (Feb 1, 2007)

I clean the poops out everytime I see them as well. I think there are plenty of opprotunities for them to eat the necessary poop if they do that >_> That fact is SO WEIRD. But yeah they make enough of it it's not like I stalk them every second and steal their poops lol.

On another note I've cut down the carrots and noticed the big soft poops Odin and Bastian were making are gone. So yeah not so many carrots for the boys anymore lol. I'm varying their veggies more.


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## Spider (Mar 19, 2007)

Rats produce 2 kinds of poop. One is dark and hard and has had all the nutrients sucked out of them, this is what you want to see. The other poop is like a pre-poop its light colored and mushy and contains alot of stuff they need, They eat this poop directly out of their butt usually while leaning back, Alot of times when you think they're cleaning themselves they're chowing down. If they don't get to eat the light stuff they become deficient and eating the dark ones does nothing to help.
I don't know if they can poop the light ones for later, or are interupted in mid-chow, but its confusing trying to tell if your rat is sick or if the turds are supposed to look light colored and mushy.
Spider, who is spending too much time thinking about Rat crap.


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## Stephanie (Mar 25, 2007)

hahahaha that is too funny Spider!! i so don't want to think that my rats eat their own feces they give me kisses with that mouth!!! well not anymore they don't but o goodness i need to go disinfect my face and mouth!


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## Alyssa_Rat (Mar 19, 2007)

Umm ive got a question... have any of your guys rats sqeeked ((out of fright or playing)) when you picked them up??... cuz i dont think TempleTon likes to be held cuz accationaly he sqeakes when i pick him up.. its weird.

Omg! ive seen the light colored poop before... except TempleTon wasnt eating it.. he usually poops one of those types of poops the minute he leaves his cage ((sort of annoying)).. havce any reason why he does that??


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

I'm sure he was just startled and maybe a little under socialized.


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## Spider (Mar 19, 2007)

Alyzza, is Tempelton a pet shop ratty ? Rats that come from most pet shops were taken away from their mama early, freightened and forced to adjust to solid foods immediatley they had a horrible experience. The result is they are highly independant, some are timid, some outgoing but the experience is they they don't like submitting to anothers will.
Forced socialization can work but I like to just let him proceed at his own pace, it all about Romancing the Rat. 
Spider


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## Alyssa_Rat (Mar 19, 2007)

Oh well yea TempleTon is a pet store ratty but idk its not that hes not socialized cuz hes really begining to open up lately.. you should have seen him earlier when he was bouncing and doing that thing Alyssa does and hes exploring my room a little more, it used to be were he wouldnt go more than say 6 inces from his cage now hes made it all the way across the room.

Well he was older than the rats i usually se at the pet stores so i think hed been at the pet stores a while or someone dropped him off. Hes friendly, hes never shown any sigh of aggression, and hes healthy so idk maybe someone did drop him off there after not wanting him as a pet.

(((((( I just wanted to share with you guys that ive been taking Alyssa places with me (to stores and stuff) and i really think she likes it.. she behaves, sits on my shoulder and doesnt bother people. If anything the pet store clerk was more worried about her.. she kept thinking that since Alyssas partly hairless that she was sick or something and this was coming from a lady who works with rats! im amazed. Anyway Alyssas doing great with her travel training and she needs it anyway cuz were ganna be moving (driving) to pennsylvania in the next month or 2))))))


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## Stephanie (Mar 25, 2007)

"I clean the popp out on a daily basis. every time i walk by i grab poops out. i change their cloths twice a week and wash them. Doesn't it smell with only doing it once a week and picking poops out twice a week?

answer???


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## Spider (Mar 19, 2007)

There must be something wrong with my 2 Rats, because after 1 night the cloth they slept on reeks with amonia.
Spider


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## Poppyseed (Feb 1, 2007)

Mine don't usually start smelling until 2-3 nights. When I smell it, that's when I change it. ESPECIALLY since Odin and Bastian are prone to myco flair ups. I'm a little paranoid about doing any lazy cleaning behaviors as I'm worried I will make it worse.


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## Stephanie (Mar 25, 2007)

my fizzgig stinks to high heaven all the time but he has a bladder infection right now


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## Spider (Mar 19, 2007)

Stepanie how did you determine it was a bladder infection? what else besides smelling were the signs?
I have to clean the cage everyday cause of the amonia smell and I was wondering?
What are you treating him with?
Spider


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## ladylady (Apr 5, 2007)

Lower urinary tract infection

http://ratguide.com/health/urinary_renal/urinary_tract_infections_lower.php


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## 2manyrats (Apr 10, 2007)

My guinea pigs used to reach down and eat their poop as it came out. I've always wondered if some of the time when the rats are hunched over cleaning, they're eating poop, too. Do they prefer it fresh & juicy or stale & hard?

Also, we perform something called a "poop check" before the rats get to come out of the cage. If you lightly squeeze under the tail, you can feel the individual pooplets in the queue. Then, depending on your comfort level and how chill your rat is, poop that's right at the end can be very gently squeezed out so that you can have poop-free playtime (for a little while, at least).

Gross, I know.


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## ladylady (Apr 5, 2007)

I sometimes look at there bums cus I can see when theres one imminent 
I was wondering how they can eat feaces and not get ecoli poisoning?


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## Spider (Mar 19, 2007)

Poop is probably one of the least worries Rats and other Omnivores have. In Nature they probably feast upon things that are even too gross to mention here.
They must have tremendous stomach acids, to kill all that. But Pet Rats have become delicate creatures and if they were fed tainted or bacteria laden food they would indeed autointoxicate and become sick.
Spider


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