# What to feed rats to reduce cage smell?



## lalalauren (Jul 3, 2013)

So I've recently got a new baby rat and I've come to realise his cage is stinking so much more than my boys! Luckily for me, my boys' favourite treats are these specially formulated apple flavoured crunchy treats that claim to reduce waste odour. I didn't believe it at first, but bought them anyway just to see, and they really do work! 

Anyway, my baby boy isn't as keen on them as the others yet, so he's noticeably more smelly (though I don't know if this is because he's new to the area and is therefore producing more territorial smells than normal?? Is this a thing?). I want to get him hooked on these treats, but when he goes into the main cage, I'm not going to be able to leave them in the bowl waiting for his discovery as they're always the first to go! 

I read somewhere that mint leaves work to reduce waste odour, and he does seem to like them (more than the other two), but I just wondered if there was any other foods I can feed him, or things to avoid, to reduce this smell?


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## ratclaws (Nov 11, 2012)

Baby rats tend to have this baby 'stink' I tend to find when you get them. It's likely to do with his diet from beforehand still having an effect. You just need to give him a wash with a baby wipe and get him on a good food mix and the smell will gradually go.


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## DustyRat (Jul 9, 2012)

One thing I do is I de-poop the cage every day. Sometimes more than once a day if I am not working. It really helps. Rat claws you changed your picture. Get tired of the original?


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## JBird (May 23, 2013)

I know that my adult girls reek way worse than my baby boys... I feed the babies Oxbow, and I am switching the girls to Oxbow currently. The boys smell amazing! I don't give them a lot of treats... some dog food, fruits, and pasta or oats, but they aren't food crazy yet so they don't show a lot of interest in it. I'd try feeding the Oxbow. The food itself smells horrible, and I know it looks pricy, but it really is worth it! 
I have also heard that a few drops of vanilla extract in the water helps to reduce odors. 

Sidenote: does anybody know the nutritional value of Yucca root/extract in rats? In dog food, this is a fantastic ingredient to reduce joint inflammation and also naturally neutralize body odor and waste odor. It works fantastically, if my dog has anything to say about it! I didn't know if there is any way to use this for rats? Since it is a natural ingredient, I don't have any concern about chemicals, but it may be a toxic root to them anyhow. I'd like to see if anyone knew anything about this.


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## DustyRat (Jul 9, 2012)

On a side note, is it my imagination, or has the size of the Oxbow food gotten smaller? They seem to be smaller than they used to be.


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## Mball77 (Jul 3, 2013)

DustyRat said:


> On a side note, is it my imagination, or has the size of the Oxbow food gotten smaller? They seem to be smaller than they used to be.


The closest Petsmart sells Oxbow under $4 per 3lbs. No one else does though, not Petco, not the smaller local pet shops either. I've seen it priced for much higher online, I think there just isn't a high demand for it. My Petsmart uses it which is the only reason I think they have it. The online prices are crazy.


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## mnesson (Jun 18, 2013)

Mball77 said:


> The closest Petsmart sells Oxbow under $4 per 3lbs. No one else does though, not Petco, not the smaller local pet shops either. I've seen it priced for much higher online, I think there just isn't a high demand for it. My Petsmart uses it which is the only reason I think they have it. The online prices are crazy.


$4 for three pounds!? I just paid almost $13 for five pounds at my PetSmart.. Good thing I love my ratties so much!


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## Hephaestion (Jan 27, 2013)

Aside from regular spot cleaning, foods containing yucca extract are known to reduce the ammonia odour from urine. My rats eat a mix containing yucca but I cannot say I notice any real difference. Pee in hammocks will always smell!

Regarding mint, I am not sure if it reduces waste odours, but it does create a nice minty smell about the cage.

As mentioned, babies are pongy. This is perhaps because they need a little more protein in their diet. Protein poos are woeful ( think ferrets and cats-yuck!). 

I sometimes wonder if lab blocks create pongy poos. Typically, nugget foods will contain what is generically called 'animal protein', 'animal derivatives', etc. which are essentially poor quality bits of meat, possibly 'mechanically reclaimed' but definately sandblasted off the caracas then reconstituted and dried. If you feed nuggets, shifting to a good quality mix with a good quality animal protein like dried shrimp, mealworms or a decent dog kibble might help with poo smells. Although, I am not sure if nuggets make pongy poos for sure, I just know that my girls have practically odourless poo, possibly linked to their eating a mix or my poor sense of smell.


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## JBird (May 23, 2013)

Mball77 said:


> The closest Petsmart sells Oxbow under $4 per 3lbs. No one else does though, not Petco, not the smaller local pet shops either. I've seen it priced for much higher online, I think there just isn't a high demand for it. My Petsmart uses it which is the only reason I think they have it. The online prices are crazy.


What?! I want to go to wherever you are!! Oxbow is $13.99 for a 3lb bag. I thought it was insane, but everyone here recommended it so I got it hoping my girls wouldn't go through it so quickly. I mean, I pay out the butt for dog food, but it's because it's so protein dense that my boy doesn't need to eat much at all and the bag goes by slower. If Oxbow lasts just as long as the 2.5lb bag of LM Farms for $5.99... I'm gonna have to nix the nice food. That's a lot of cash over time for my hungry girls.


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## lalalauren (Jul 3, 2013)

Oh you might be on to something there with the nuggets! My baby has a mixture of muesli and nuggets in his bowl (with the odd bit of fresh food when I have my dinner), but he goes mad for the nuggets! Every time I put some in his bowl, he spends about 20 minutes storing them away in his bed! He also scratches a lot more than my other two but with absolutely no signs of fleas or mites or any ailment. He's been out with my big boys a couple of times too, and they've not started scratching at all, and google tells me that increased scratching could be due to a high protein diet! So that's the mystery solved! 

I'll have to look into oxbow. I've heard a lot about it on this site, but I've never seen it in any pet shop around here. Don't know if it's more of an American thing?? I'll have a look on Amazon  


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