# How can I keep the cage smell free?



## shelld (Mar 13, 2014)

I'm moving back in with my parents for 5 months and they will only let me have my rats there if they don't smell. But I don't know how to keep the cage smell free. Their cage is going to be in the bathroom, because the other rooms have carpet and that won't work. I have 7 girls in a DCN and 4 males in a SCN. Its stacked as a TCN. The boys are old, 22 months, and don't smell nearly as bad as they did when they were younger. They eat Harlan Teklad and veggies sometimes. I use newspaper sheets for their pans. The girls are litter box trained and don't have any litter in their pan. The boys refuse to use a litter box, always have. What can I do to make sure there is no smell? How often do I clean and how? If they smell I'll have to get rid of them.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Get cage wipes from natures miracle and wipe down every three days. I use puppy pads and toss them when they're soiled or once a week, whichever. I have a hand vac for around the cage area and in it. I use vinegar and water to spray the pans clean. Use a better litter if you smell them. Put baking soda and those weird odor eaters (they're gel, you open the top and it absorbs and rats away. Puts out no scent so is rat safe) out to manage smells and use ferret descenting spray to make the cage smell nice between cleanings. 


Beware, while in the bathroom you can NOT use air fresheners hair spray perfume etc and should minimize smelling products outside of that.


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

Keep in mind that the cage will never be smell-free. Pets have odors and that's just something to deal with. It can be minimized, though, with proper diet and regular cleaning.


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## shelld (Mar 13, 2014)

Wiping the cage every 3 days won't cut it. Less than 24 hours after a clean they smell awful. They will chew up puppy pads, so I don't see how that would work. 

Their litter pan is what smells the most. The boys don't smell nearly as bad because there aren't as many pooping, and they don't mark anymore. But the girls, their litter pan smells awful (smell it across the room) if I don't dump and clean it twice a day. I'm not using any litter. I use to use Yesterday's News, but it didn't do anything and you can't spot clean when there are so many. So I always had to dump out a full box, which wastes a lot of money. So no Yesterday's New or similar. I have laboratory grade aspen shavings, which I would prefer to use but don't remember if it even works for odour control. 

They will be in the bedroom now. I didn't realize there was tile in half the bedroom, so they will be there. 



cagedbirdsinging said:


> Keep in mind that the cage will never be smell-free. Pets have odors and that's just something to deal with. It can be minimized, though, with proper diet and regular cleaning.


I realize they won't be smell free. But the cage cannot be smelling from across the room. That isn't normal. They eat a proper diet, which I already said. And the whole question was about proper cleaning. So saying I need to clean the cage, is stupid considering that is what the question was about and you aren't saying HOW to do it.


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## LilCritter (Feb 25, 2014)

If you're doing a deep clean every time, it may cause them to scent mark more often to make their cage smell more like "them". Try leaving a few unwashed things in there to keep it smelling like their home.


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## Persian_boy (Mar 16, 2014)

*The only way I know to create smell-free rat cages*

Put an air filter near their cage (will clear up the smell in the whole room). At first, I was thinking $200 hamilton or sharper image air filter. Nope. I got one from amazon for $27 that comes with filters that will last the first 3 months. 

Keeps a whole room smelling fresh
3 carbon filters trap and neutralize odors
Keeps a 10' x 10' room smelling fresh for up to 3 months
2-speed switch
Uses less energy than a 15-watt light bulb, Voltage- 120 V

It's been a lifesaver in our small college dorm room. I keep it on the low setting but as its getting to be 2 months, i turn it on high because the carbon filters are turning out to fade. But on the plus side, replacement filters are $10-11 and really are worth it in my opinion. Especially if you're gonna be with the fam for 5? months. 

Aside from that, it's pretty hard to keep the smell away. A cheaper version could be using baking soda (keep in in the box, but pull the tabs from the sides) and place two or three around your cage. Maybe have a fan blow towards the window. But I stand by my original suggestion: get the air filter. It comes w/ the filters specified for pets!


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## Andyurgay (Jun 10, 2013)

I tried to use aspen once because I was getting the paper bedding everywhere when I changed it. Turns out the aspen stuck to everything but also smelled much worse. With the paper and only two younger girls, I had no smell what so ever unless I didn't change it for 3 weeks. And by then the smell was from the hammocks, tunnels and two bare levels. The bedding never even had a smell to it. Th aspen absorbs the pee, but then it just sits in a stinky ball of wood. In my opinion, paper absorbs and holds the smell a million times better. My family will agree. As for cleaning, I've heard a vinegar solution works great but honestly, I hate the smell of it before it wears off. I've always used a scent free, anti bacterial dish soap mixed with water in a spray bottle. Used it once a week on the solid levels, rubbed down the bars every two weeks with it and no smell. Its only with the fleece that I've had smell problems. Also a bedding spray works wonders. I get one from WalMart that completely gets rid of any smells, no matter how rank. I only use it if the boys get smelly and I don't have the time for a complete fleece cleaning. But it does great! If I walk in and smell rat, I'll just spray the fleece and instantly no smell. Its obviously not a substitute for a good cleaning but to keep it smelling fresh in between, its been a life saver.


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## artgecko (Nov 26, 2013)

This probably won't work in a CN, but this is what I do and I have 2 cages (3 girls /3 boys)
- For bedding I use a thin layer of kiln dried pine pulp pellets covered by about 1.5 inches of shredded aspen. This gets changed every week although it has gone up to 1.5 weeks before smelling.
- For their hammocks, etc. I change them as often as I need to. For the girls, I use cheap bathclothes inside their sleeping places and these need to be changed daily. 
- I wipe down the wire shelves and sides of the cage with unscented baby wipes daily.
- To retain some of their odor when cleaning every week, I have a few wood toys, a ball, etc. that I don't wash and scatter around the cage.
- When I used a litter box, I used the paper pellet cat litter from petco.. It really absorbed odor and urin better than anything else. I'd suggest trying it if you haven't. That brand worked better than three others I tried.


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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

I do agree theres always a smell, but how strong it is depends on the numebr of rats and your sensitivity as well as a lot of the set up and diet too.

Heres my top tips for keeping smell down, some are easier than others to acheive in your cage. Its worth bearing in mind i have a similar sized cage (an SRS, equivalent to a DCN) though a lower rat density.

*Diet not especially high in proiten (14% max) and not fed too much wet food or treats, regular veg
*Deep layer of good substrate over the floor of the cage, i know this can get kicked out however you can easily make a deep tray for each section using corregated plastic and duck tape, cheap and works well at about 4-5" deep. Use something with decent absorbancy, in the UK card or hemp is best, in the US probably aspen
*Litter trays placed near all fave sleeping places with good quality absorbant litter in it, i like paper cat litter (like yesterdays news). 
*Get rid of all plastic shelves, they are urine traps and all rats seem to love to urinate on them, which does smell. I use 2-3 cat litter trays hung up with wire or keyrings instead, with their litter in. Covering them with fleece only masks the problem and doesnt get rid of it as it only wicks the urine underneath it, it doesnt absorb and trap it like litter does. Hanging them right next to sleeping places means rats often litter train themselves (and i have adult boys).
*go for fewer hammocks and more ropes, branches and such, good for keeping them fit but also easier to change out hammocks if they get smelly.
*Dont clean too much or too often, with boys in particular this actually encourages them to mark more and so smell more. Use your nose as a guide and only do a full clean out when things start to smell (so if the hammocks are smelly in a week clean them then, but if the substrate isnt then change any wet or messy sections and add some fresh. Remove any waste veg or wet food the next day and any wet bedding (some rats like to marinade in it) but that should be it.
*Clean down the cage bars regularly, ideally with a steam cleaner or soapy water, around once every month or two should do but the bar joins can trap smells easily. 
*Avoid enclosed beds like igloos, these seem to encourage the marinading behaviour, espeically in bucks.
*Investigate a fresh air globe or similar water based air freshener, you can drop essential oils in here to add a fragrnace (dont go for anything strong or pine based, i found mint or citus was fine) but more than that they clean the air a fiar bit


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## silversomali7 (Mar 3, 2014)

Okay fun story  I ordered this Hamilton filter that was suggested here, and I live in Europe but I have a connector piece for american plugs so i assumed that would be no issue. Finally came in the mail today, so I wanted to try it immediately of course. Read the instructions and all, plugged it in.. And then after a few minutes smoke started coming out and my whole appartment was filled in smoke. I unplugged it and immediately put all my pets in the garden to prevent them from breathing the smoke. Now the problem was that in the US 120 Volt is normal and here we have 220 Volt. So i completely fried it. I'm getting a new one and bought a transformer 220 to 120 volt. I feel kind of stupid now


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## shelld (Mar 13, 2014)

Well they say they don't smell, so I guess what I'm doing is working. 

They have aspen in their litter boxes. I put newspaper on the pans and replace that daily. They shred it all up and I leave their nests for a few days. I was the hammocks once a week. I clean the pans every 3 days. I don't do a full clean at once, I do pans one day, toys a couple days later, hammocks a couple days later.


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## ratswithfoxandbear (Feb 12, 2014)

shelld said:


> Well they say they don't smell, so I guess what I'm doing is working.
> 
> They have aspen in their litter boxes. I put newspaper on the pans and replace that daily. They shred it all up and I leave their nests for a few days. I was the hammocks once a week. I clean the pans every 3 days. I don't do a full clean at once, I do pans one day, toys a couple days later, hammocks a couple days later.


This is great! I keep my cage smelling fresh by deep cleaning every week and spot cleaning every morning. I also make sure all the fleece is cleaned. Last week I skipped laundry and by yesterday, I could not get over how barnyard my apartment smelled. However, two sets of dirty fleece will do that to an apartment. Now my place smells fabulous because I was not lazy about the cleaning. I am happy to hear your family approves!


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## Whit (Mar 29, 2014)

Thank you this was so helpful.


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