# Cage cleaning day?



## Grawrisher

What do people normally do with their rats while they clean out the cage? I used to take mine out but last night I started cleaning and scrubbing down the cage and they all decided to do this instead








I told them that they don't all exactly fit in one basket....they didn't seem to care...and after I finished cleaning they attempted this








I was just wondering what the normal thing to do during cleanings was?


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## nanashi7

I let mine free roam. Generally though they are more invested in what I'm doing and will either correct my egregious feng shui errors, help, or act like their very world is ending as yours did. I do enjoy allowing them to "participate" in cleaning/decorating.


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## jlhummel

If it's the normal once a week cleaning I usually let my girls stay in the cage and as nanashi said just deal with their "helping" paws...usually with much laughter at their antics. For more thorough cleaning with products more than baby wipes I give them a penned in area or let them run around the bathroom which is the best rat safe area I have in my apartment.


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## Grawrisher

It was weird at first they were just wandering around like "you're in here again?.....why?" And I was walking back and forth to the bathroom spraying off the tile and the shelf in the shower and next thing I know they're all in one basket...which was especially silly because there are tons of those baskets all around the cage they could have all had their own


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## elliriyanna

I have a cage cleaning cage, its not very big, but since I have a cat and dog, I prefer to keep them nice and safe and save the playtime and roaming for when my attention can be purely on them.


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## artgecko

Put them in the shower (without water). We have a glass shower that closes and they can't escape. I put some toys and hide some treats in there and they are pretty happy to explore while I clean. I wouldn't get anything done if they stayed in the cage.


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## Velo

I have a small Martin's playpen that they go in when I am cleaning. It takes me 2 or 3 hours to clean the cage & rat room and I am terrified I will run into someone if they stay in the rat room with me while I clean. 
Before I had my playpen, I would seal off the half of the DCN that I wasn't cleaning.
I highly recommend the playpen, totally worth $100, plus they act like it's a cool vacation house. (It's out in the living room so they get to watch TV too ha!)


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## Sabatea

Usually my girls are asleep when I go in to clean the cage or they just stay in the cage. I go outside a lot while I'm cleaning so I don't let them out to play... They don't seem to mind very much. XD Last night I had a very extensive cleaning though, since I had left them in my dad's care for two weeks and he had not cleaned the cage. They went in their travel carrier for that one. XD


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## erinsweeney

I let them do their usual couch roaming. They are used to me doing it by now and don't show much interest in what I'm doing.


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## Grawrisher

artgecko said:


> Put them in the shower (without water). We have a glass shower that closes and they can't escape. I put some toys and hide some treats in there and they are pretty happy to explore while I clean. I wouldn't get anything done if they stayed in the cage.


I do intros in my shower like that! Lol...but I was using the shower to spray things off

My current girls show little interest in coming out unless I specifically make them come out and play...if I still had penny I imagine things would have gone differently (especially since serenity and lilith used to follow penny everywhere)


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## Phantom

I used to let my ratties free range while I was cleaning their cages, but it became a bit of an issue because they kept jumping in the soapy water bucket for baths so I'd had wet rats running around on my carpet. They also used to steal my cleaning supplies (paper towels) and hide them under the cage or my dresser. 

Usually my normal routine is to clean the top part of the double ferret nation first and put everyone in the bottom level. There's a little ramp that allows me to close the levels off. When I'm cleaning the bottom level I put everyone in the carrier, then I move the cage around to vacuum, give baths if they are needed, and put everyone back. =P


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## Coconut

I have tried letting my two free roam whilst I clean their cage but they get all curious about what I'm doing, and it's so difficult keeping an eye on them running havoc and cleaning at the same time xD 

It doesn't normally take me long to clean the cage anyways so I have a large carrier I put them in and they tend to use this time to clean themselves


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## kksrats

My girls currently inhabit the top part of a DFN and I used to just put them on the floor in the office to let them play, but they got to the point where they realized they could climb all the way up my body and across my arm to get at whatever I was cleaning with. They now get banished to the cat carrier lol. My boys don't care at all about what I'm doing in their cage, so they either hang out inside or play on the floor.


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## hrl20100

My cage can easily be split into two my pulling one of the ladders up. So i divide the cage in two.

I put the girls in the bottom part when i clean the top part and swap them over when i clean the bottom part.

However, at the moment i have an empty cage in my room so i put them in there for now until i make the effort to fully clean it, dismantle it and store it. I'm lazy! 

I would let them free roam, but i've done that before and its not a fun experience when cleaning. They all try to climb up my legs and end up on my head or back in the cage and it just didnt work! XD
Rosie likes things that make noise as well... So she liked the binbag... And that had a lovely hole in it so all the waste fell out!


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## LilCritter

I divide my DFN in half and keep them in the half that I'm not currently cleaning.


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## Zekkia09

I usually cover the couch, move all their toys onto it and let them roam free while my boyfriend keeps an eye on them. I suppose its easier with two people but a nightmare on your own, you'd need eyes in the back of your head.


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## Jett250

Grawrisher said:


> What do people normally do with their rats while they clean out the cage? I used to take mine out but last night I started cleaning and scrubbing down the cage and they all decided to do this instead
> http://i1292.photobucket.com/albums/b568/grawrisher/Mobile Uploads/2015-01/20150105_231925_zps8rarjpx7.jpg
> I told them that they don't all exactly fit in one basket....they didn't seem to care...and after I finished cleaning they attempted this
> http://i1292.photobucket.com/albums/b568/grawrisher/Mobile Uploads/2015-01/20150106_001905_zpscndna5li.jpg
> I was just wondering what the normal thing to do during cleanings was?


These pictures are hilarious, and shows accurately the uniqueness of rats personality lol. My boys have a two story ferret cage. I also buy rug fragment pieces at the dollar tree every week (I have always worried about tiny toes being injured in the bars) so their weekly clean up is fairly easy... Pull the rugs out and toss em, put new ones in. I use a lot of fabric stuff... Baby blankets (also from the dollar tree, easily replaced when they get tore up) and beds and hammocks... These get tossed in the wash and replaced. Any plastic gets wiped with baby wipes, or cage spray for stubborn stuff. 

Using rugs, however, means a quick vacuum with the vacuum cleaner hose. At first I used to trap them in the opposite section, then open it up when I was done and trap them in that one while cleaning the other one. Now that they're older, I can literally vacuum, noise and everything, directly next to them. I have to watch our crazy one, Oberon, to make sure he isn't sticking his head directly into the vacuum hose 🤦‍♀️ But basically, the more you do it around them, the more accustomed to it they become. Lol


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## Creepy McSteezerson

I feel like this really depends on your personal situation. I just had cage cleaning day today and this is how it went down for me. I did my two big boys first. They free roam while I do because I can pick up their cage into the bathroom and just clean it while they roam. They're very calm. Momma and her sister go into their carrier (on their own) because I have Momma's two week old babies. They go Into my bonding scarf - all ten (they fit fine and are comfortable for now but as they get bigger I know I'm gonna have to change this tactic). The girls and babes are in a CN cage so obviously I can't carry that into the bathroom. I could let the girls free roam but as mentioned in previous posts they're are all about the babies and would be bouncing around the bathroom looking for them. So it's just easier in the carrier for now (they get free range other times). So yeah the boys cage is quick and easy. The CN obviously takes a little more care. But everyone is back and safe in no time


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## Creepy McSteezerson

I gotta say I've never had an issue with vacuuming near my rattos. They're always right up on the cage looking at me while I do it. My dog on the other hand thinks it's the end of the world every time.


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## Cbig

Creepy McSteezerson said:


> I gotta say I've never had an issue with vacuuming near my rattos. They're always right up on the cage looking at me while I do it. My dog on the other hand thinks it's the end of the world every time.


*I've always found this very interesting and curious! My rats seem to love the sound of the vacuum cleaner is there in their cage they are all pinned up against it trying to get out if they happen to be out they run up to it and want to either be sucked inside or right on top of it LOL of course at that point I put them in their cage because it's too dangerous to vacuum with them out but I always wondered why dogs freak out about it and why my rats are so interested in it. Curious and curiouser*​


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## wilders.littleunicorn2

jlhummel said:


> If it's the normal once a week cleaning I usually let my girls stay in the cage and as nanashi said just deal with their "helping" paws...usually with much laughter at their antics. For mor thorough cleaning with products more than baby wipes I give them a penned in area or let them run around the bathroom which is the best rat safe area I have in my apartment.


Not sure if u r still here since the thread is from 2015...but may I ask what kind of baby wipes do u use for cleaning?


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