Question about cage cleaning

[sublimity]

I was just wondering what you guys do when you clean your ratties cages and how often you do it.

I've been cleaning it weekly (changing litter, wiping down floors and washing the hammocks and things but Ive been feeling bad about getting rid of their "nests" and them having to start building them all over again.

Should I be doing this or should I leave their nest intact? I dont want to stress them out or anything.

Thanks

[Kim]

Its actually a good idea to clean out nests because firstly they do pee in the nests so the amonia builds up if left there and can cause damage to the lungs but also it helps to prevent mites and lice and other bugs from multiplying.

Taking away the nests doesnt stress out the rats, in fact they seem to get pleasure from building them... so I'm always cleaning out everything, litter and nests (shredded paper from hubby's work)

[christie]

I say take out the nest for same reason Kim said, it will smell really bad. If you can smell it then its 10x's worse on your rattys noses. You can leave in one or 2 things if they don't smell to you, and make sure you change them out on the next washing day.

I also clean out the cage weekly, their is only 3 boys in the cage and it doesn't stink up to quick. But i think when it gets to 5 boys in it then i will clean it out every 4-5 days.
To clean i just take out most of the hammocks (i leave in the ones that aren't used often, just so some of their smell is still in the cage. I find that they don't mark as much when i do this) then wash everything with hot water and vinegar (once a month it will be hot water and bleach) put all the fabric liners and hammocks in a hot wash with vinegar (again once monthly its bleach) and then re decorate. That's the fun part lol.

[gabrielleb]

I clean out my FK dayly.....I use fleece liners and they tend to dirty them up really quickly, also the boys (6 and 2) wee all over their beds (I mean literally SOAK them) so they need to be changed everyday so theyre not sleeping in wee lol ....that and I like it to look clean Each day I pull out the liners, disinfect the trays, and 1-2 times a week I soak the liners in vinegar and water overnight, and then wash them in the washing machine I switch their toys around once a week

[Leeann]

I clean weekly also. And everything is changed.
All things are fully washed and all new bedding materials are put in.

I use a small amount of flea control dog shampoo in hot water to wash, then dry it with paper towel, then I wipe over the whole inside of the cage with vanilla extract. I don't wipe the food bowls or hutches.

My girls love rebuilding their nests, and often I just place the paper in the cage and let them drag it to the hutch.

[wulfyskingdom]

Being in QLD and as the boys get older, you'll probably find, come summertime you'll need to do them more regularly. Last summer wasnt as humid as it has been before then, I'm hoping this one will be the same.

I find my cages only last 4-5 days in winter, with a paper & litter tray change at day 3. THen a complete wash and change on day 4 or 5.

My rats always think it's exciting on cage cleaning days, if i leave them in they run around and try to "help" and if i take them out and put them in when its done, they run around for about half an hour checking it all out. THey associate cage cleaning with treat time and attention time... best of both worlds for them, only becuase they keep distracting me, and it takes me twice as long to finish.

[jazzy]

I only have the 3 boys and I also clean weekly at the moment and I wash and wipe everything. They are not much of players so they dont really care what I do and dont put in there for them :-(

[nessie]

Geez, you guys with the weekly clean are lucky.

At the moment I stretch mine out to every two days, and they seem to stink with that time frame! In fact I just cleaned them this arvo (everything, their liners, bedding, hammocks and toys) and went in there 5 mins ago and its already a bit pongo. And these are girl rats too, this is not supposed to happen
... I think there is one very dominant girl in particular who marks everything clean as soon as she sees (or smells) it.

They are in our lounge room, and while I am used to the smell, its a bit embarassing if people come over.

I've tried what Christie (I think) mentioned and leave some things in there that already have their smell on it but that doesnt work. I've also tried initially with polar fleece liners but found that since they did not absorb the pee, the rats just slept in it and made themselves stinky, so am using towels at the moment (which thankfully they do not chew - yet).


Does anyone have any other tips?

[christie]

Nessie I'm wondering if its not actually anything in the cage that's smelling. Before we moved where our cage was it would stink so bad, even after cleaning as you said. We found the smell was actually coming from the back of our couch (which the cage was right behind) We cleaned the couch and no more smell.
I would look at things that are around the cage and see if it could be anything around it, or even the carpet under the cage that might be holding the smell. Also could it be the cage its self? Are their rusted parts? Is something inside the cage holding the smell? We use plastic ice cream tubs for igloos here and also realised that they started to hold a smell even tho they were thoroughly cleaned regularly, we replaced them and it smelled much better again.

[jazzy]

I dont notice a smell from my boys though they are only a few mnths old does that make a difference?

I use copy paper boxes from work for igloos replace every week and these are placed on top of newspaper in a litter tray, it doesnt get very wet and doesnt smell either. They seem to use the proper litter tray for their business.

Do boys smell more as they get older? Maybe my smellies aare yet to come :-)

[sublimity]

I dont think my boys smell that bad, in a week I only really notice their favourite hammock really smelling of wee. The rest of the cage smells normal. They are only young though so maybe that will change.

[wulfyskingdom]

It will get stronger as they get older (but that's dependent on the rat and how many rats are in together lol), but nowhere near as strong as mice, plus if they get messier as they get older, that will sometimes contribute depending on what they throw or move around the cage and pee/poop on.

I have 3 boys in a cage thats quite large and they are the smelliest, but they're also quite dominant so they scent mark more.

My others arent as bad, so its also dependent on the rat/s.

[Leeann]

Nessie, If your cage is an all wire one and sits on top of something, have a look behind what cage is sitting on, as old litter and paper may have been pushed through the bars and fallen there.

I used to have an all wire cage and would also have to clean behind the cupboard that is sat on.

Another thought also, some of the litters we can us for the base are not as good at their job as others.
I, like some thers have found Breeders Choice Litter one of the better ones for absorbing and lowering the smell factor.

Hope this helps

[gardenersfriend]

Hi Guys was just reading your comments about smell in the cages and I dont have that problem as I use breeders choice bedding and only change if once a week, with two adults and at one stage there was 16 babies. I have also heard of a great diinfectant called f10sc it can be brought from the supplier but you need to have an ABN to purchase it. Thought you might like to give it a try and see how it goes

[chocrats]

I clean the cages out twice a week.
One of those days I change the newspaper (or wash fleece, whichever I have in the cage), and the other day everything is washed, the cage is wiped down with hot water and vinegar, toys are changed around/replaced and clean hammocks are put in.