# How to curb excitement/nervous poops?



## Mr_Mooster (May 9, 2015)

I recently got two rats and both have settled down nicely. Rose is much calmer than Edna. Even though Rose is calm, she's also a little more confident and enjoys cuddles and pets more than Edna. Edna gets excitable very easily and runs around the cage like a maniac. However, she usually hangs out in one space. She made a sleeping area in the bottom right corner of the cage instead of inside the igloo. She doesn't use the hammock, while Rose has.

When I take them out for playtime, I usually have to put Edna back in the cage because she is a non-stop poop factory. She poops wherever she pleases. This is also a problem for me because I want to try litter training. There is no explicit "toilet area" in their cage, so I'm not sure where to start. Would litter training help Edna's poop problem? Or should I try something else and let her calm down some more before taking her out? I feel bad leaving her in there while Rose gets to play, and sometimes Edna gets frustrated too. She makes some vocalizations if she's separated from Rose, whether she's in or out of the cage.


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## JigglyPuffy (Apr 21, 2015)

I started litter training with my boys pretty quickly, I found it really helped curb the poop-mergencies they were having all the time. It didn't make it stop, but it cut down the sheer amount of poop to be had. For me I just started collecting all of their poops and throwing them in the litterbox with dirty bedding. It smelled pretty bad, but now it seems they pretty much get the picture. I would highly suggest throwing a pee rock in there too. The very same day I put that in the box they started using it.


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## Kuildeous (Dec 26, 2014)

Time might help too. I suspect your rats are pretty young. My rats were little poop machines too, but after a bit of time, they learned to poop only in their cage. We had a progression where we would keep a towel handy to collect poop when holding them. Eventually we were able to forego the towel and just hold them. 

We still have one who is 5 months old now who gets nervous outside of her cage. My wife pushed her a bit too hard. She put Penumbra on the couch with a blanket. I saw Penny perch on the arm of the couch staring at the cage. I knew she really wanted to go back. Therefore I was not surprised when she pooped on the blanket. Interestingly enough, I can take Penumbra to the bathroom for playtime, and she can hold it for at least an hour. 

But when they were new, they were anxious little rats. Now they have accepted their home life and are quite comfortable with it (except for when Penny gets cage anxiety).


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

I would not return her to the cage. She won't get over her fear if she always gets to return home. She has to get used to being outside of the cage and around you. It just takes time. 

I suggest having a towel or blanket to cover yourself or the floor or whatever area u r using for playtime. Make sure u have a small trash can or bag near by and some toilet paper to pick up stray poops. 

It is like just a phase I guess you could say. Nervous rats poop. Once she calms down it will stop.


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## Mr_Mooster (May 9, 2015)

Yeah, they're both pretty young. They're three months old. Thanks, moonkissed, I didn't realize that putting her in her cage would be reinforcing her nervousness, but now it makes sense. 

It's just interesting, because now I see that Rose and Edna have such different personalities. Rose likes to try out the new places to sleep. I caught her sleeping in the fluffy bed this morning and I saw her in the hammock the other day. Edna likes the nest she made in one of the corners and the wood tunnel I have for them, although she usually just stays in the nest.


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

that is one thing I deeply love about rats, that they all have such different personalities. 

All of my rats seem to pick a favorite spot to sleep and make it theirs. Most seem to pile in the hammocks but my one girl Cersei sleeps on top of their hidey box. I don't know why she sleeps on top of it and not in it. Who am I to judge? lol

Actually my girl Cersei I took in from someone who no longer wanted her & she was a very shy girl who would poop like crazy everytime you touched her. But now she is really coming along great and even coming out for treats now.


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## Millie & Daisy (Mar 7, 2015)

Time and trust should help a lot. Once they are comfortable with you and their surroundings they probably won't poop as much. Mine are around four or five months old now, and it took a little while for them to learn that they didn't need to get overexcited around their friendly human.

I would also suggest that if you see loose stools, you feed them something good for firming up the poo. Fear poo is always going to smell worse and have a runnier consistency than regular poo, but if they have a healthy gut that should help a lot with the grossness of it. I feed my girls plain greek yogurt mixed with plain oats, raw honey, apple sauce and occasionally blueberries in the mix. My recipe is based on one from a youtube video that included chia seeds, but I don't have any chia as of right now. It's firmed up their poo a lot. However, I think it may have worked a little too well because these last few days I've had to add some coconut oil to the mixture in order to get things moving again.


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## Mr_Mooster (May 9, 2015)

Edna's fear poops always start out normal and then after a few poops, they get runny and stinky. All other times, both of my girls have normal poops. They're on a Young Rat block diet right now and I give them fresh veggies and fruits too. I'm still trying to learn what they like and what they don't. Rose goes nuts for yogurt drops. They like apples and carrots too.

Edna is usually really good for brief cuddle time. She's not afraid to climb right up my arm and snuggle for a bit, but when I take her away from the cage, she just poops all over the place. She's not really shy, she just gets overexcited. Yesterday I had both of them out. Rose is able to hold it, but Edna can't. Once Edna calmed down, she stayed on my lap for some cuddles.


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## Mr_Mooster (May 9, 2015)

I spent some quality time with both Edna and Rose today and even though Edna did poop a lot, she was really well behaved. Once she calmed down, she settled down with me for some nice, long cuddle time.


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