# Rat pees in his own bed



## pip (Apr 3, 2009)

Hi there 
I'm a fourth-time rat owner and I'm having a hygiene problem with my first-ever boy Buddha. I've searched the internet for answers but am still at a loss as to what to do and am reaching desperation, so I thought I'd ask some people who really know what they're talking about.

Two weeks ago I bought a month-old rat from the pet store. He'd been kept with his brothers in a small aquarium filled with wood-shaving.
His new cage is also filled with wood-shaving, but I fill his litter tray with clay litter pebbles. For the first week or so he always peed in the tray, and usually pooped next to it or near it. I was very impressed.
On the top level of the cage he had a plastic igloo with a nice clean piece of towel for bedding.

Then after being here for about a week he started to pee (not just accidentally, the whole towel was SATURATED) repeatedly in his sleeping area -- which meant he was no longer using the litter tray. What went wrong? Is he just going through a rebellious stage of puberty?
I've been careful to keep his cage very clean, changing the wood shavings and litter pebbles frequently (and always leaving a few smelly pebbles and raisins behind in the tray to refresh his memory, although he never poops in there). I had been changing the towels frequently too so that his bed was nice and fresh each day.

I cannot keep giving him the towels if he is going to pee on them, because he stores some of his food in there as well as sleeps in there. So I replaced the towels with tissues -- same thing, he saturated them. I don't understand how he could happily sleep in a puddle of his own urine and it needs to stop. I am also concerned that continuous proximity to urine will cause the paint on the bars of his beautiful brand new (and expensive!) metal cage to corrode away.

What should I do?


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## kleeheartsratandrabbit (Mar 21, 2009)

my boys pee on there little paper-towel nests they make. its gross


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## pip (Apr 3, 2009)

How old are your boys? I hope mine grows out of this.


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## Stace87 (Jun 24, 2008)

Some rats will pee in hammocks and other areas they sleep. 

You say you're using wood shavings. Are they pine? Also the clay litter - that isn't suitable for rats, however a 100% paper-based alternative is


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## pip (Apr 3, 2009)

The brand of clay litter which I use does not clump in the stomach and for this reason the packaging claims that it is safe for all manner of pets.
Thank you for your concern but I don't think the material used is the source of the problem -- that's all I'm urgent to identify at the moment.

None of my previous rats EVER peed in their hammocks. They had a toilet spot where they repeatedly did their business.

It's not logical for them to pee in their beds. Rats are very clean animals and it makes no sense for him to be doing this.


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## Stace87 (Jun 24, 2008)

pip said:


> It's not logical for them to pee in their beds. Rats are very clean animals and it makes no sense for him to be doing this.


It's been said by many rats owners that some rats seem to like to marinade in their own pee, more so males with their lazy habits it seems lol.


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## pip (Apr 3, 2009)

Very well, but as I've said, for the first week he was very diciplined and seemed to enjoy using the litter tray.
Perhaps if I removed all of the wood shavings and left him with a bare plastic floor? Then there would be nothing to absorb the urine and he may prefer to use the litter tray once again.
But this will not guarentee a dry bed on the top floor.


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## Corrie (Feb 4, 2009)

It could be that he's now reached sexual maturity and the peeing is him marking that bed as his own.

It's not abnormal for rats to pee in their beds. I have three cages of rats, 2 of the cages of rats use their litter trays really well but I have two stinky little girls in one cage that insist on marinating in their own pee. The only thing I can do to counter it is to change their hammocks MUCH more frequently. The other cages can have the hammocks left unchanged for nearly a week but those two girls get changed daily.


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## pip (Apr 3, 2009)

Thank you for your response Corrie. You may be right about the first part, as I noticed that around the same time that he began to wet his bed he also began to scent-mark everywhere during our play sessions.

Hopefully he doesn't view me as a rival and may slacken on the practice, but if not, your second point comes as very good advice.


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## Gats1788 (Mar 14, 2009)

im just guessing here, but i do frequently hear that urine is a weak sterilizer. Maybe they do it to keep their sleeping area sterile and free from bacteria as well as scent marking


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## wizzyjo (Mar 3, 2009)

i dont think stace was trying to imply that this was the source of the problem, simply that rats shouldnt be living on pine wood shavings as it has toxins in it that arent safe for rats

as for the peeing thing, my 2 boys do that too, its not much trouble for me to clean out their igloo everyday if it makes them happy. rats dont have great bladder control so if he spends alot of time in there then that is probably why he pees alot in there. you could try using paper bedding in his igloo, thats what i do, as my boys seem to pee there most, this is alot easier to empty in to the bin and fill up again with paper bedding than washing towels out constantly


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## Stace87 (Jun 24, 2008)

wizzyjo said:


> i dont think stace was trying to imply that this was the source of the problem, simply that rats shouldnt be living on pine wood shavings as it has toxins in it that arent safe for rats


Yeah, that was why I asked if the shavings were pine.


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## Lakea (Feb 12, 2009)

My girl Indy pees in her hammock, the other girls sleep with her in it :. After I was it (with vinegar to get rid of smell) none of the ratties will get in it for the first few hours, they just sleep on the floor of their cage. I think they do it just to mark it, makes them feel safe maybe somehow, that it is THEIR bed. I don't think there is anyway to stop it.


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