# Wax melts to help with smells?



## AnxiousRaptor (Jul 27, 2020)

I’m wondering if using wax melts will help with the rat smell. I have four girls now and my boyfriend was told by someone else that they stink when we only had 2 at the time. My boyfriend has noticed it as well. We know candles aren’t safe and we aren’t allowed to use them in our apartment anyways but we are allowed wax melts. I’m just wondering if using them has helped with the smell at all.


----------



## Morbius (Mar 10, 2019)

Anything that has a strong smell is kinda bad for the teeny noses, wax melts included. Packets of activated carbon near (But not in) the cage could help, or an air purifier is a good option.


----------



## a1phanine (Mar 27, 2018)

Strong smells are bad for rattoes nozzles. Clean the cage regularly, but not too regularly or they'll pee extra hard to scent mark it. Fleece is smellier than paper bedding that is easily replaced every other day. Some people use air purifiers not sure if they're any good.


----------



## Natalya (May 18, 2020)

a1phanine said:


> Strong smells are bad for rattoes nozzles. Clean the cage regularly, but not too regularly or they'll pee extra hard to scent mark it. Fleece is smellier than paper bedding that is easily replaced every other day. Some people use air purifiers not sure if they're any good.


Can you tell more about cleaning often but not too often, please? I clean my girls' cage every day, and they pee with no regards to my efforts , inside their house, on the shelves, everywhere. Potty training seems not working for us with pee (works more or less with poop). This is exactly what I'm trying to reach - eliminate the smell by cleaning so often. I only have pressed paper cat litter in their litter boxes, and bare plastic floor everywhere else - so I can wipe it whenever I see a puddle. I guess I'm doing it wrong. May be litter everywhere would be better?


----------



## Morbius (Mar 10, 2019)

Natalya said:


> Can you tell more about cleaning often but not too often, please? I clean my girls' cage every day, and they pee with no regards to my efforts , inside their house, on the shelves, everywhere. Potty training seems not working for us with pee (works more or less with poop). This is exactly what I'm trying to reach - eliminate the smell by cleaning so often. I only have pressed paper cat litter in their litter boxes, and bare plastic floor everywhere else - so I can wipe it whenever I see a puddle. I guess I'm doing it wrong. May be litter everywhere would be better?


Some kind of shelf liners you can swap out will help. A lot of people use fleece, I tried and it wasn't working for me so I switched to the bathmats that have the little fleece nubbies on them. It's just another barrier between you and direct evaporation into your nostrils. I gotta say the only thing that helped my boys start peeing in the litterbox was me putting a brick in it. They want to pee on hard surfaces so the brick satisfies that. Even then though they're goblins that will still pee-mark everything they at least go there a majority of the time now. Before that I had a four inch round rock that they ignored. Guess it wasn't big enough.


----------



## CorbinDallasMyMan (Feb 24, 2017)

Natalya said:


> Can you tell more about cleaning often but not too often, please?


Rats want their cage to smell like them (at least a little). The theory is that when you completely clean their cage, you're getting rid of their smell and they feel like they have to run around peeing on everything to mark their territory. If you clean to often, your rats will just mark more. There's probably some truth to this. 

I do a little bit of cleaning every day. I might change the litter boxes one day, swap out the hammocks and liners the next day, and change the bedding on a different day. I kinda do it in stages for the most part. When I do a full cage cleaning, I'll hold on to some dirty litter or bedding and mix it in with the clean. This way their cage always smells at least a little like them. It's not really possible to maintain a totally odor free cage but you can definitely work to keep the odor at a minimum.



Natalya said:


> I only have pressed paper cat litter in their litter boxes, and bare plastic floor everywhere else


I'm not a fan of bare floors. It does nothing to control odors and ammonia and it's not hygienic. I'd do some research into figuring out what they can be covered with. Your options may be dependent on your specific cage. I use aspen shavings on the floor of my boys' cage and I make fleece mats with an absorbent inner layer (see link) for the platforms. When urine is not absorbed by bedding, your cage will smell much worse. Walking around through pee puddles isn't very hygienic and could lead to foot problems. Lying in pee puddles could make your rats stink.


----------



## Natalya (May 18, 2020)

CorbinDallasMyMan said:


> When urine is not absorbed by bedding, your cage will smell much worse. Walking around through pee puddles isn't very hygienic and could lead to foot problems. Lying in pee puddles could make your rats stink.


Thank you for the reply. They don't lie or walk in pee, because I currently wipe all floors and shelves with wet terry cloth twice a day, and spot wipe every puddle I see throughout the day (I work from home during the quarantine). I thought wiping hard, bare surfaces would be more effective in controlling odors than liners or bedding. But I didn't take into consideration, that the more I wipe the more they pee    . For now I stopped religiously wiping the puddles with wet towel, I just absorb them with paper towel to leave some residual smell on the floor, but not humidity. I think I will try a liner on one of the floors, the messier one. I'm looking into pee mats on Amazon. I tried blue, thin, disposable liners, but the rats pull and move them around, so I need something thicker and heavier.
Has anyone tried something like this?





Amazon.com : DogLemi Washable Dog Training Pads Reusable Puppy Pee Pad 4-Layer Fast Absorb Mat with Waterproof Non-Slip Bottom for Dogs Indoor Outdoor Car Travel (Grey M) : Pet Supplies


Amazon.com : DogLemi Washable Dog Training Pads Reusable Puppy Pee Pad 4-Layer Fast Absorb Mat with Waterproof Non-Slip Bottom for Dogs Indoor Outdoor Car Travel (Grey M) : Pet Supplies



www.amazon.com


----------



## Natalya (May 18, 2020)

Morbius said:


> Before that I had a four inch round rock that they ignored. Guess it wasn't big enough.


I put a piece of marble tile for decorating bathroom walls that I bought in Home Depot. Funny thing, they were leery of the glossy polished (but beautiful) face of the tile, so I turned it the wrong side up, which is just dull grey stone. They like it and pee on it. They also like to eat on it, which reduces the crumb mess in the cage. So we have a toilet/dining space combo . But they pee everywhere else as well. I'll try all kinds of liners, as you suggested.


----------



## AnxiousRaptor (Jul 27, 2020)

Morbius said:


> Anything that has a strong smell is kinda bad for the teeny noses, wax melts included. Packets of activated carbon near (But not in) the cage could help, or an air purifier is a good option.


I do have an air purifier, I originally bought it when I just had two because where we were previously living because the home owner created a lot smoke indoors. I’ll check out the other stuff though thank you


----------



## AnxiousRaptor (Jul 27, 2020)

a1phanine said:


> Strong smells are bad for rattoes nozzles. Clean the cage regularly, but not too regularly or they'll pee extra hard to scent mark it. Fleece is smellier than paper bedding that is easily replaced every other day. Some people use air purifiers not sure if they're any good.


I clean pretty regularly, spot clean poop everyday, wipe down the cage pans and clean the fleece once a week but I don’t clean more than that and I usually leave something in to smell like them. I mainly use fleece because I have a critter nation and fleece is a cheaper option for us. I do have an air purifier which my bf says has been helping. If it isn’t a particularly strong smell or we make sure the room is well ventilated during use are wax melts still bad?


----------



## a1phanine (Mar 27, 2018)

I would recommend avoiding putting anything scented in the rats environment, it is bad for their respiratory systems


----------



## AnxiousRaptor (Jul 27, 2020)

a1phanine said:


> I would recommend avoiding putting anything scented in the rats environment, it is bad for their respiratory systems


Alright thank you I just wanted to double check


----------



## Verucasdad (Aug 31, 2015)

Try putting a couple of drops of non-alcoholic vanilla extract in their water. It has improved my cage smell. As for cleaning, I only deep clean once a month. I spot clean every day and switch out stuff like fleece and cloth hammocks twice a week. When I deep clean, I leave at least one item in the cage as is so it still smells like them. My rats are also litter trained so they don't make too many messes outside of the litter box. For cleaning I use vinegar and water and the pickle smell only lasts for about 10 minutes and then everything is OK. For deep cleaning I use Dawn. I personally don't use bedding and only use pieces of fleece in plastic hammocks. In 5 years I have never had bumblefoot or any other issues.


----------



## Dinabubble (May 1, 2020)

AnxiousRaptor said:


> I’m wondering if using wax melts will help with the rat smell. I have four girls now and my boyfriend was told by someone else that they stink when we only had 2 at the time. My boyfriend has noticed it as well. We know candles aren’t safe and we aren’t allowed to use them in our apartment anyways but we are allowed wax melts. I’m just wondering if using them has helped with the smell at all.


I agree with others who’ve mentioned anything with strong perfume smell, especially synthetic deodorizer, is bad for our little friends. After much trial and error, I discovered a shredded cardboard bedding called Back 2 Earth, by a company called Valken. I have 8 rats, and the shredded cardboard bedding has been an amazing improvement in odor control. I use non toxic paper pellets for their litter box, and the shredded cardboard on the cage floors. The shredded cardboard is virtually dust free, my rats have not sneezed one bit with it. But with 8 rats, there is very little odor and I don’t have to clean out the bedding as often. My 8 girls are happy and so am I!


----------

