# anti-bathtime



## SILENTbutRATTIE (Jul 26, 2008)

Does anybody else's rats complaetly hat bathtime? my racardo will jump out of the tub while im distracted and make a brake for the door. Also i have to bring in a 2nd little cup in with me to scoup up dropings and put them in the toilet.


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## Stace87 (Jun 24, 2008)

My two boys had their first bath a couple of weeks ago. I didn't fill the bath with water, I used a small jug to wet and rinse them instead. They didn't freak out as much. I tried them in the bath when they were younger (they're now 14months old) and they got really scared.

Max still had porphyrin coming from his eyes/nose, so I dread to think how much there would have been if I had him in the bath filled with water 8O


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

Why are you bathing them and how often do you bathe them?

Most rats are bath-phobic. It stresses them and scares them (hence all the poo.)

I'd say just let them be. Usually they can clean themselves well enough. If they don't, babywipes or pet wipes clean them up pretty well.


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## SILENTbutRATTIE (Jul 26, 2008)

Forensic said:


> Why are you bathing them and how often do you bathe them?
> 
> Most rats are bath-phobic. It stresses them and scares them (hence all the poo.)
> 
> I'd say just let them be. Usually they can clean themselves well enough. If they don't, babywipes or pet wipes clean them up pretty well.


i give them a bath every month or so


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## DeeDee (Jul 24, 2008)

My rats hate getting a bath. they will jump out at me and attach themselves to me with their claws. I only bathed them once and never will do it again


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## SteakBreakfast (Jul 23, 2008)

Forensic said:


> Why are you bathing them and how often do you bathe them?
> 
> Most rats are bath-phobic. It stresses them and scares them (hence all the poo.)
> 
> I'd say just let them be. Usually they can clean themselves well enough. If they don't, babywipes or pet wipes clean them up pretty well.



People don't bathe pets for the pets' sake, but for their own. Generally women over-take-care-of their pets because they stop thinking about them as animals and start thinking about them as children or babies that they must mother and treat as such. Therefore, while rats obviously can clean themselves. This fact was completely ignored. It is much more important to keep the cage clean and the items within the cage sanitary and the rat can take care of itself if in this kind of environment. But cleaning a cage does not give the mothering effect that is being looked for. So, have fun. Wash your rat every month. Why not? Animals are domesticated for human enjoyment, so enjoy babying your rats!


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## Randi (May 25, 2008)

SteakBreakfast said:


> Forensic said:
> 
> 
> > Why are you bathing them and how often do you bathe them?
> ...


Why not? What if it's harmful to the animal? You CAN over-wash a rat. Washing a rat too much is not good for his/her skin. You're correct when you say that animals were domesticated for human enjoyment (which is a disgusting fact), but that doesn't mean that we can do with them what we wish, or treat them as our toys.


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## kalamazoo (Jul 25, 2008)

My Riff Raff hates the bath, but for now he has to suck it up.

He is getting over a bout of mites and dandruff and the vet said to bathe him in medicated shampoo once a week for a month. He'll squeak a bit but after a while he'll just squirm about until it's over. He's never had the gut to leap out of the sink - but I know he wants to.


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## begoodtoanimals (Dec 6, 2007)

if he needs a medical bath, than yes, but routine bathing is useless and against their nature. same with dogs. if they smell you need to change their diet, give them more exercise and clean their environment.
I only spot clean them ( 4 dogs) after rolling in deer poop. The oldest is 11 and the youngest is 5 and they have never had a shampoo bath. They don't smell and their coats are beautiful with their natural oils.
Like STEAK said: it's more for people, than for the animals although the later part seemed to contradict that.
Enjoying your animals can be done without forgetting that they are animals. They are not little furry people.


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## SILENTbutRATTIE (Jul 26, 2008)

SteakBreakfast said:


> Forensic said:
> 
> 
> > Why are you bathing them and how often do you bathe them?
> ...


im a guy.......


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## paralistalon (Mar 5, 2008)

Wow, why all the rat bath hate? My rats seems to like it (they no longer fear poop), and I'm all for finding ways to keep them intellectually stimulated. Plus it rinses off the inevitable pee they get on them (for instance, from dragging their tail through a standing puddle). 

Although it's probably less a bath I give them and more a pouring a few cups of warm water over them while they relax in the corner of the shower.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

you can easily clean tails without doing a full bath if the tails are that nasty.

Bathing can cause a few problems...itchy dry skin, inhaling of the water by mistake can cause aspiration pneumonia which can kill, lovely scratches to our arms, stressed unhappy rats. Even the most filthy rat from the worst of neglectful situations will clean themselves up over a day or so. I try not to bathe unless the rat is sick, older, or compromised and needs the help. If they are absolutely filthy you can as well, but most times they won't need it.

Lack of fear poops just means they are enduring better than before, but I wouldn't take that as they like it...hehe


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## kilas_rattery (Jul 25, 2008)

Rats really don't need baths what so ever. They can clean themselves and they do up to 6 times a day. If you really must wash them, like someone already said, use baby wipes or pet wipes you can buy from a pet store. 

It has been discovered that a rat with more stress will die younger than a rat with no stress. There's no need to stress them out and give them a bath when they don't really need one to begin with.


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## Drakkie (Apr 8, 2008)

I dont think it matters, Cuz i think about outside rats, how theyre always caught in the rain or what not. I honestly dont think it bothers them after a while. But it comes to a shock for them at 1st, eventually the shock will go away and become a 'get it over with' lol.


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

Wild rat with any sense is hiding from the rain.


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## kilas_rattery (Jul 25, 2008)

Forensic said:


> Wild rat with any sense is hiding from the rain.


I like you're thinking. You have a great point here. Wild rats will hide when it is raining outside and if they are not already hiding, they are looking for cover unless there's something wrong with them and they stand out in the rain. But normal, healthy wild rats (even domesticated ones) will not just stand there while water is pouring down on them, they try their best to get away from it.


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## CaptainFlow (May 16, 2007)

I bathe the girls when they smell overwhelmingly like urine. 

I just fill the sink with some warm water, and add a small amount of bath wash (I use an all natural lavender body wash). I dip them once, let them walk around on the counter for a bit, dip them with a little scrub, let them walk it off, and then rinse any bubbles off in running water. 

Then just dry them off with a towel, and hand them a yogie for good behavior.

Takes about 10 seconds, which is about all they seem to tolerate well. They still don't like it, but some mornings when they wake up with wet butts from marinading, well, sometimes it just has to be done.


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## Vixie (Jul 21, 2006)

I have scars--many of them, from Jake in his attempts to escape bath time.


All I do now is baby wipes for gunky tails and wet washcloths for horrifyingly stinky man-rats.


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## begoodtoanimals (Dec 6, 2007)

Rats will smell if their cage is dirty. It's less stressful to clean their cage then when you have to bathe them.
Wild rats don't take baths; it's a human thing.


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## SteakBreakfast (Jul 23, 2008)

That would be what I was trying to say. 



SILENTbutRATTIE said:


> SteakBreakfast said:
> 
> 
> > Forensic said:
> ...


And men can have the instinct to mother as well, it is just not a common or as prominent.


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## cute-rat (Jun 25, 2008)

Just keep on bathing them, they will get used to it eventually. I am a FIRM beleiver bathing your rat is an important part of the growing bond between rat and owner. So many people will tell you its not necessary but i dont think its a coincidence that they also slack off in other areas of their keeping.


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## Siwain (Feb 25, 2008)

When i got Emil and Oliver i gave them a bath because they were stinking of bird feces. Stinking really bad! 

Aside from that, they've only been bathed once. Boris have had one bath only for the entire time he has been living here. Chuck has never had a bath.

But i've got to admit tho, that i bathed Emil and Oliver for my own sake rather that their as i couldn't stand the smell.


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## myboys2 (Jul 7, 2008)

Wow, this seems to be quite the touchy subject!

My personal opinion - While I do not bathe my rats often, I will give them a bit of a scrub now and then because they are both constant scent markers and also develop quite a bit of grease. My squishy boy does not like it, he even fusses over a wet cloth but my other boy won't even squirm. Most of the time I remedy the *marinating in pee* problem by putting out a shallow pan of water during playtime and they will usually spend some time walking around in it which takes care of the underbelly pee smell. 

So I recommend giving them a pan of water to play in when they get that dirty belly smell, it seems to work for my boys.

Some rats do seems to enjoy bathtime, kind of how one of my dogs enjoys the water and swims with us and my other dog shivers at the thought of being wet. It's all personal preference.


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## Hallie-Mae (Jul 31, 2008)

cute-rat said:


> Just keep on bathing them, they will get used to it eventually. I am a FIRM beleiver bathing your rat is an important part of the growing bond between rat and owner. So many people will tell you its not necessary but i dont think its a coincidence that they also slack off in other areas of their keeping.


I couldn't disagree more 8O !!! 
I've only ever had to bathe my rats for medical reasons and they absolutely HATED me after I'd done so. If anything it declines the bonding factor :? 
Not only is it unecessary but it's harmful and stressful for the rat. 
Like someone else, in the wild they don't have baths so I don't understand what you mean by it being "coincidence that they also slack off in other areas of their keeping." :|


My full opinion:
It always provokes respiratory issues, most of the time really stresses out the rats, and removes essential and precious oils from their fur causing skin problems. 
Then there's the issue of water inhalation, no matter how shallow the water is. Also, bath water is full of chlorine which can really harm the rats. 
You can't compare it to the idea that "wild rats get caught in the rain", as wild rats are so much different health wise to domesticated rats. Domesticated rats will get sicker so much easier, and will also get skin problems from it unlike the wild rats, who have much much much oilier fur. 
Rats really don't need bathing unless it's medically related or anything, as they quite clearly clean themselves (and clean themselves even more frantically after a bath). I wouldn't recommend it at all  
If you really must wash your rats because they are dirty and incapable of cleaning it all off themselves for whatever reason, wipe them down with those wipes which are specifically designed for wiping down small animals. Or atleast hot water on a towel.

Sorry to rant


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## SteakBreakfast (Jul 23, 2008)

I would give up, Hallie-Mae. It seems we are not to be trusted with opinions in this matter as we "slack off in other areas of [our] keeping" because we believe rats are capable of cleaning themselves. Uh oh! Controversy!


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## Randi (May 25, 2008)

Hallie-Mae said:


> I couldn't disagree more 8O !!!
> I've only ever had to bathe my rats for medical reasons and they absolutely HATED me after I'd done so. If anything it declines the bonding factor :?


I've had this happen, actually. One of my boys made these sad little noises the entire time I bathed him, and it took him a while to want anything for him to do with me afterward. All of my rats hate being bathed... everytime, they've tried to jump out of the tub to freedom, and it definitely does not help our bond whatsoever. It's not like a human baby, hehe.


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## Hallie-Mae (Jul 31, 2008)

Randi said:


> Hallie-Mae said:
> 
> 
> > I couldn't disagree more 8O !!!
> ...


Same here ! I brought Estelle and her sister home for the first time and after a week or so, we were just getting on bonding, but then I discovered they had mites. I bathed them at the vet's request, but then they wouldn't interact with me for days  ! It was back to the start


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## chevalrose (Aug 13, 2008)

I only bathe my rats when they get really smelly. Just like urine build up in the cage harms their respiratory system, urine can build up on them and do the same thing. 

Rats in the wild don't marinate in their urine, they walk around scenting different things...they don't sit in a cloth hammock that retains odor and wet-ness. 

My boys don't enjoy bathing, they've gotten used to it. After their washed we rub them down with towels which they LOVE. Plus after they get tons of treats. I've never had them 'mad at me' for giving them a bath.


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## Hallie-Mae (Jul 31, 2008)

That's a very good point, Chevalrose, about marinating in urine as opposed to wandering around.
However, I still object to fully bathing them and stick by my idea that simply wiping them down every few days would be a better alternative, and they'll do the rest.


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## chevalrose (Aug 13, 2008)

I understand what you're saying Hallie-Mae. If my Bucks weren't so orange, I would probably do the same. I'm sure that buck grease helps retain a lot of the urine and stuff.


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## Hallie-Mae (Jul 31, 2008)

Lol, oh yeah, I forget about buck grease because I only keep girls 8O
However I should be getting two bucks either today or tomorrow so I'm insanely excited about that  ! Irrelevant but I can't help it haha...

Although, I definately wouldn't bathe them too much is my general point, because of the fact bathing often provokes resp. infections in rats with weak immune systems and stuff like that.


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## WontLoseHim (Jul 14, 2008)

Forensic said:


> Why are you bathing them and how often do you bathe them?
> 
> Most rats are bath-phobic. It stresses them and scares them (hence all the poo.)
> 
> I'd say just let them be. Usually they can clean themselves well enough. If they don't, babywipes or pet wipes clean them up pretty well.


i completely agree with this statement, as, my two boys, Moby and Tidge, both HATE the bath. moby refuses to let me put him in the bath. however, moby will let himself be wiped with baby wipes , or just let me rub water over him to cool down. tidge hate anything to do with water, but he cleans himself pretty thoroughly, so im sure he's ok.


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## Dexy (Aug 11, 2008)

I'm anti-bathtime too. I bathed my first 3 boys a few times because of a mite infestation - they hated it. My current boys have never had a bath. I keep some shampoo for emergencies (like if they get something really icky stuck in their fur) but wouldn't put them through the stress of a bath in any other circumstances. I baby wipe tails and rear paws - they take care of the rest themselves.

I think forcing your rat into a bath every month until they 'lean to cope with it' is pretty cruel


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## FrenchMartini (Nov 19, 2008)

Excuse my ignorance but why do they need to be bathed?

They wash themselves and their little bodies smell nice and clean. (Their wee doesn't though........)


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