Stop the smell

[kingbuxton13]

My daughter has really taken to our new ratties, and loves them being in her room. Keeps her company.

My ONLY concern is the smell. Not too bad at them moment, and I have bought a plug in air freshener which helps. Was tempted to clean them out last night, but they have barely settled so I dont want to give it a full spruce as its not even been a week yet.

What advise can you offer to keep the smell down?

[Ratty_Rhian]

Please remove the air freshener. Rats have very delicate lungs and air fresheners are not good to use around them. A safe version is called "Tap-a-Drop" which you can buy from the Rat Warehouse. My favourite fragrance is Red Clover tea. You put it on a tissue near but not on the cage or a couple of drops in an air purifier.

What substrate are you using? I find Aubiose the most effective at keeping smells down. My lot are also litter trained which helps. I put Papelit pellets from Finacard in the tray and change it daily but with only a couple of rats you can get away with every few days.

I also wipe down my shelves in the cage daily with a dilute vinegar solution as I find that they like to pee on shelves which gets stinky. I change hammocks half way through the week as well if they are soaked with pee.

Hope these things help

[Ratty_Rhian]

Oooh, and are you feeding rat nuggets? They will make their poo smell awful and they are not great for them either. If they are babies their poo will smell worse too.

[Felix]

What RattyRhian said.

If they are new they may smell more whilst they settle, and babies tend to just smell more anyway.

I would say definitely remove the plug in as many creatures are allergic to them (I am one of those creatures )

I also find that trying to cover up smells with other smells can make things worse. They will want some of their own smell. All pets (and humans) will have their own smell to some degree, which is natural.

Is there a particular smell that you have a problem with, ie is it a pee or a poo smell?

[kingbuxton13]

The smell isnt too bad in all honesty, but it is there. I would just like to keep it to a minimium really.

Food wise they eat nugget type things yes.

The plug in is no where near the cage itself, does it still need to go?

[totality]

I personally wouldnt have it in the room at all. Likewise with air freshner sprays, i never spray them near my lads as rats are so prone to respiratory problems. Even spraying deodorants can cause problems. I make my other half put his lynx stuff on outside our apartment, and i have to say the amount he sprays on makes me cough and green faced, so imagine how a little ratties lungs copes with it.

You'll get to the point where they'll stop smelling as strong and you'll just get use to the smell. We love having national smell a rat day in our house.......what!? i love odour muskyrattus! honestly there's nothing wrong with smelling my rats =0/ bollo naboo and mr susan love it =0)

[Lostgirl08]

it does settle down mine youngest who i got at 6 weeks wow did the poo's stink! but now they ate rat rations its settled down they are around 10 weeks now i think (its been nuts so im not sure )

i use a jelly bean solid air thingy the other end of the room and it masks the smell when you first walk in, but will be getting a tap a drop asap

ive got 9 girls and 2 boys in my front room so far and you dont notice a smell and nor does my mum who will comment if a partical of dust is in the wrong place lol

i use ecobed, wood cat litter (which was the best thing ever now the litter tray doesnt smell at all!) and i do wash the washable things every 3 weeks or so

[kingbuxton13]

Ok il take it out. It was only for prevention really.

[Amzy]

Get an air purifier like someone said above and get tap-a-drop.

I'd also be thinking about changing their diet. Info can be seen here and here.

If those articles completely confuse you then you can buy ready mixed food from rat rations.

i use ecobed, wood cat litter (which was the best thing ever now the litter tray doesnt smell at all!) and i do wash the washable things every 3 weeks or so

Wood cat litter isn't suitable really. Ideally you need to be looking at a 100% paper based litter.

[kingbuxton13]

Currently using shredded paper as bedding that I get from work (I work in an office)

Also ordered that tap a drop online. The air freshener will be out soon as I get home.

[Lillyland]

I have a plug in air freshener just outside the rat room - and inside, i have a pure air globe thingy that you can put essential oils into that keeps smells down.
I also have small dishes of Bicarbonate of soda in the room that i stir every time i clean out

[kingbuxton13]

Plug in is gone btw.

[Nemokid]

Thats good, you will find tap a drop is great

[yuuki_forever]

The tap-a-drop is fantastic for keeping the smell down, but the best thing is switching the substrate.
Shredded paper will start to smell quite quickly, it's perfect for sleeping areas but you will end up cleaning out every 2-3 days and for a large area it's a bit of work. Ecopetbed here has worked really well for my rats, they love to carry it around and it really reduces the smell. Also have a look at the complete food mixes on the website, my rats love them, although rats will always do better with fresh fruit and veg added to their diet. Enjoy the new rats, they really are a delight.

[Jemma]

Got to echo that shredded paper is rubbish for smells. My dad got it free from his work when I was little and we used it for a while. You cam improve it by putting something very absorbant underneath, like hemp or paper cat litter (id avoid the wood stuff like the plauge, it turns into dust really fast. Alternatively shredded card like green mile is brill and very cheap if you have space to store it.

I would second the suggestion to switch food too, asside from the smell pelleted foods are very boring. Even mixing it 50:50 with a muesli like reggie or Rupert rat would be an improvement, though I love my rat rations food, as do the boys.

Just wanted to add am so happy your daughter has fallen for them too. Hope she grows up with them like I was lucky enough too.