# How often do you clean your cages?



## radlations (May 24, 2008)

How often do you clean your cage?

And are your rats litter trained?

I clean mine once a week. I dump their bedding in their recycle bin. Mine are not litter trained although I do collect their poops everyday and put them in a corner.


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## saosin (Jan 6, 2008)

I clean my cages every five days or seven if I'm not feeling good. I wish my rats were littered trained. The boys make a huge mess on each of their levels. The girls cage stays pretty clean they just like to re-arrange their stuff.


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## Kathleen (Jul 1, 2008)

My cage is tiled and multi-leveled so I don't have bedding. I clean out the litter pans (I have two and my boys are completely litter trained) and wipe down the floors every 1-2 days. It takes about five minutes.


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## SweetLittleDelilah (May 13, 2008)

Kathleen:
What kind of tile do you use?
Like, is it the stick on kind? Or different?


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## Kathleen (Jul 1, 2008)

Yes, stick-on vinyl tile from Home Depot. I bought ten squares for 39Â¢ a piece. I had to cut a few to size and voilÃ , a super easy-to-clean floor plan! ;P It covers the wire grilles that would otherwise irritate my boys' feet and makes clean-up a snap. I would recommend trying it out to anyone who has wire flooring in their rats' cage. I also think that the tiling really helped with the litter pan training because, for whatever reason, my boys just don't seem to relieve themselves on the tiles (I think perhaps they prefer softer toileting... hehe). I wipe up as often as I do because they trail food crumbs all over the place. *rolls eyes* Lol. Plus it just helps to generally freshen up.

Anyway, sorry to ramble. But I would recommend the tiling 100%.


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## SamAnthrax (Jan 5, 2008)

Hm... Tile sounds tempting to use. I just tried to wash the grids I use as levels but they were gross even though I cover them with fleece. I think I'm going to try tile also. I'm excited.


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## sharlee (Apr 19, 2008)

Everyday sometimes twice. The little poopers!!! Messy, Messy, messy.


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## LinzEva (Aug 1, 2008)

Yeh i've also been cleaning mine veryday, shes in the stage of getting litter trained, dont think its working yet but trying lol..


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## Hallie-Mae (Jul 31, 2008)

Mine aren't litter trained, so I remove and replace their bedding every other day (they aren't too happy about that, with all the effort they put into building nests). Hammocks get washed every other day too.

Tubes and shelves get washed every four days.

Then once a week I'll dismantle the cage and give it a good scrubbing


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## SweetLittleDelilah (May 13, 2008)

Kathleen said:


> Yes, stick-on vinyl tile from Home Depot. I bought ten squares for 39Â¢ a piece. I had to cut a few to size and voilÃ , a super easy-to-clean floor plan! ;P It covers the wire grilles that would otherwise irritate my boys' feet and makes clean-up a snap. I would recommend trying it out to anyone who has wire flooring in their rats' cage. I also think that the tiling really helped with the litter pan training because, for whatever reason, my boys just don't seem to relieve themselves on the tiles (I think perhaps they prefer softer toileting... hehe). I wipe up as often as I do because they trail food crumbs all over the place. *rolls eyes* Lol. Plus it just helps to generally freshen up.
> 
> Anyway, sorry to ramble. But I would recommend the tiling 100%.



Ah ok. That's what I use, too...
and I've noticed that when I use the sprayer to rinse the pan down, water gets under the tiles. >< Any suggestions?


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## ScootersPet (Sep 4, 2007)

My older boys are litter trained, i clean their cage once a week, that includes hammocks and toys everything in the cage. I wash their food dish and water bottle every other day.
The 6 little boys are doing well with litter training but arent there completly yet, their cage gets cleaned every 3 days, food and water bottle every other day.
The 3 girls, the babies arent quite litter trained yet either, thei cages gets cleaned every 3 days, water bottle/food bowl every other day.

It takes me about 25 minutes per cage..not too bad


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## Randi (May 25, 2008)

None of mine are litter trained.

In the FN: I vacuum it out daily, including all of the hammocks and everything. I get all of the poops and left over food out. Then, I wash the flannel liners and all hammocks once a week, as well as scrub all toys/igloos/wooden hideys.

In the FF: It's tiled, so I vacuum out the tiles daily, and then I wash the tile and the shelves every other day. I wash all of the toys/igloos/wooden hideys once a week with the boys' stuff.


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## Emster (Dec 9, 2007)

I give the cage a proper clean out every 7 days.
I generally wipe down and tidy up the cage everyday and change the litter in the poop tray every 2 - 3 days.


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## kenRakuu (Mar 29, 2008)

I change the cage as needed, it's every 4-7 days depending on if they get messy. 

I spot clean every day though. 

My boys are semi litter trained. They will only go in the cage, which was without much prompting. But they wont use a box, they just use the lowest part of the cage.


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## amybunny (Aug 17, 2007)

Mine are litter trained for their poopies.
I do a full cleaning on my FN141 every 4-7 days (it depends on how busy I am).
I take down the "pee pee" hammocks and put up new ones when they get stinky about every 2 days (if I can smell pee, it comes out).
I spot clean every day/vacuum the cage with my hand held vac.
I wash their food bowl out with antibacterial soap daily, then refill.


Overall, my FN141 is so super easy to clean.


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## junior_j (Jan 24, 2008)

I clean my cage every 4-7 days (its a jenny)

I use bob martin cage mate cleaner on the shelves every 1-2 days , and get rid of the poop (boy do they love to poop lol)

And when it comes to a big clean.. I dismantle it , empty it , wash the hammocks, clean the base put clean litter in , scrub the shelves and the bars , re arrange toys , clean bowls and bottles (which get cleaned eveyday to)

And then within 2 days my 3 girls manage to stink it all out again lol 8O 

Jess x


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## chevalrose (Aug 13, 2008)

I completely dismantle my cage about once a week. Wash it with hot water and a washcloth, use antibaterial soap once a month...if I use it every week they tend to get sneezy, even if I rinse it really good. Hammocks get washed food bowls get cleaned etc. 

My boys are semi-litter trained. They'll usually go in the litterbox on the top floor, but I haven't gotten one for the bottom so they usually just go wherever down there. They only poo outside the cage if they REALLY have to...or of corse if we're giving a bath, they love to make the water dirty. Gross. 

I'm thinking about changing things once I get my bigger cage though, since it wont fit in my bathtub like my current one. Probably get some baby wipes to wipe it down, and take it out once a month for a soaping and rinse with the hose. I'm also going to try to fully train the boys to use the litterbox in their cage...that way I can throw it away daily and keep smells down.


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