# Training Fail: Eating from the litter pan, pooping everywhere else



## SilentRiver (Feb 2, 2013)

So I've been trying to litter-train my 2 ratties, and it's not going so well. When I first put the litter tray in, I scooped up all the stray poop in the cage and put it in with the litter. I did this for another couple of days, before I realized that at least one of my rats is taking all his food out of his bowl and making a pile of it in the litter tray! And as far as I can tell, he hasn't pooped there once, just everywhere else (there seems to be no pattern -- he doesn't poop in just one corner). Help! What on earth...

-Confused Momma


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## ratchet (Sep 27, 2012)

Haha! What an imp!

What level is his food supplied on? I tried to discourage my girls from hoarding their food by putting their food bowl all the way at the top- they have to climb up 3 levels to get it and that has pretty much done the job. Also I don't let them have free range food either so they usually eat what's there. From. What I've read on the forum a lot of rats store their food in their toilet...


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## Jokerfest (Sep 25, 2012)

Three of my boys are litter trained my oldest isn't, he instead likes to pile blankets in the litterbox and sleep in it.
I fell your pain.


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## JLSaufl (Jan 20, 2013)

Three of my boys were litter trained for about 3 weeks and now...none of them are. LOL They used that box profusely, I'd find one stray poop a week. Their litter tray is on the top floor, near their favorite sleeping spots. However, I witnessed London get out of the hammock, walk down to the first floor (he had to walk past the litter box) and poop next to the ladder. As soon as I realized what he was doing, I said 'No' and put him in his box. Where he finished his business. They also LOVE to hide their food in the box. Their food is on the first floor. So in the mornings, I take all the food out and scatter it around the cage and put all the poop in. I'm hoping they get the deal one of these days.


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## ratclaws (Nov 11, 2012)

It will take them longer than two days! It took my rats a couple weeks when they were younger after having to collect the poop and put it into the tray, but now they always use it. My young girl Ellie pretty much learned in a day though, got lucky with her.


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## dashielle89 (Apr 24, 2012)

I have never found a way to stop this behavior, but it was never really a problem as far as the litter training itself goes. My older rats are half litter trained, they will go in the litter pan, but they also like to go under the ramps (well, they also like peeing ON the litter pan rather that IN it, which gets kind of messy, but at least they're close). The only places they will put their food is either in their litter, or they need to rip up the fleece so there is nothing covering the bottom of the cage and hide the food under the fleece, then they cannot really find it. I would prefer they just keep it in their litter if they really want to.
My younger girls are trained much better, but they also will put food in the litter from time to time though not as much. They are more likely to bring the food into the litter and eat there than to actually store it in the litter pan.


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## Rumy91989 (Dec 31, 2012)

My gals used to poop in the litter box then kick it all out to make a place for their food, so I got them a litter box with a grate on it so that they can't get to anything inside it. None of them stash much food anymore because I've cut down on how much I give them in the morning so that they'll actually eat what I give them at night, but they also aren't able to stash in the litterbox because they can't get to what's inside it. 
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752717&f=PAD/psNotAvailInUS/No


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## trematode (Sep 8, 2012)

What type of litter do you use? When I used a wheat-based litter, my girls would eat it and poop it in occasionally. When I switched to Yesterday's News, my girls started pooping mostly in there. My friend noticed a same thing when she switched from the wheat litter to Yesterday's News. Even her boys, who never used to box, started going in it. Sometimes my girls hoard certain food in their litter box like their other type of lab block and red peppers.


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## Lubmyrattie (Mar 8, 2013)

My rats trained themselves..overnight.. In their overturned hidey home. Lol.

Guess ill take it out since they only sleep in the hammock an they put a actual pan in there.


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## socal_sarah (Mar 5, 2013)

I got a med size metal bowl & filled it with pet bedding intending it to be a burrowing place for my girls. Well...they had other plans, it's mainly a potty box now. I need to look for a litter box somewhere so I can switch it out, lol.


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