Rats that are so ratty; a page on rats and their care (pt 3.) || the final part

Disinfect the cage 

Disinfection should be done at least twice a month. You should also disinfect if your rat is sick or if you're introducing a new rat. Many people use bleach and water to disinfect, but this can be harmful to the rats respiratory system; as it's very sensitive. 

Disinfecting routine 

➔ Spray the cage with an anti-bacterial spray (for example, the one I mentioned earlier) 

➔ Depending on the product you use, it will probably have a label that tells you how long you have to leave it to do its job (most products take 10 minutes minimum) 

➔ Thoroughly scrub and rinse the cage 

➔ Smell the cage for any residual cleaning solution. If there is any smell left, rinse once more to get rid of it. 

➔ Preferably, you should let the cage air dry in the sun (as it helps to kill all organisms), or towel dry the cage 

Clean the food and water bowls 

➔ Wash the food and water bowls in hot water with dish detergent ➔ Rinse them well and then leave them to air dry 

➔ You can put them in a dishwasher, but make sure you rinse them again to ensure that all detergent is washed away completely 

Clean the toys and accessories

➔ Wash any cloth items such as hammocks and fabric bedding in a washing machine with unscented and hypo-allergenic laundry detergent 

➔ Dry the items in the dryer for at least 20 minutes, or let them air dry 

Return everything to the cage 

➔ Once the cage is dry, you should decorate it with freshly washed toys and accessories 

➔ Put in new litter and bedding 

➔ Put 2 poops back in the litter to avoid rats excessive marking (peeing and pooping EVERYWHERE!!!!!!!!!!! THEY WILL DO IT!!) 

How to get rid of rat urine smell 

Rat urine, like all urine, can be extremely unpleasant. But you can follow these tips to help you out with that stinky smelly smelly smell 

How to keep a rat cage from smelling/being stinky: 

➔ Regularly clean the rat cage 

➔ Use white vinegar or deodorizer to clean the cage and to neutralize rat urine ➔ Use a cage with coated wires – uncoated wires can pick up the smell of urine ➔ Train the rats to use a litter box 

➔ Avoid cages with mesh flooring and pull out pans 

Now, you should be careful using white vinegar, as some rats can be sensitive to the strong smell. If your rats start acting strange or odd after you use white vinegar on their cage, stop using it and use an unscented deodorizer instead. 

Remember that rats have an extremely strong sense of smell (They can even smell tuberculosis)! Something that's a small bother to us is unbearable to them. So, even if you think the cage doesn't always seem to smell bad, it NEEDS to be cleaned regularly. 

Why do rats eat garbage? 

Most rats out in the streets eat garbage because it's their only source of food. Rats are rodents that are more likely to be vegetarian, but for the sake of survival they will eat meat and old food for the sake of survival; if they don't eat garbage they don't have a source of food. 

Thank you for reading!