Why does he smell so terrible?

Vincent, my newest rattie that I got 2 months ago. His poops STINK. I mean literally could knock the wind out of you. It smells almost if not worse than a large human dump. I have absolutely no idea what causes it either. He usually just eats oxbow. I was thinking before maybe he was adjusting to the new diet since the previous owner never told me what he was eating and didn't give me any of his old food. But it shouldn't be this bad after 2 months now right? He himself doesn't smell bad, he smells like artificial grape for whatever reason. His cage is just ugh, the poop is really disgusting. They're large too which makes it slightly worse.

The only times my rats poops smell are when they are stressed, sick or I fed them something that their body doesn't agree with.

Does he get anything other than oxbow? If he does I'd take it all away and see what happens. Then weekly introduce on new food. He could be sensitive to something. Or he could even be sensitive to the Oxbow. I have one rat who cannot tolerate Harlan Teklad for whatever reason.

It might be the oxbow, I didn't give him anything for a few weeks other than oxbow since I thought that maybe the new veggies were upsetting his stomach. (I have zero idea whether or not his previous owner gave him veggies). I really hope it's not the oxbow since I'm not sure what else to feed him that's in my area.

Zephye said:

It might be the oxbow, I didn't give him anything for a few weeks other than oxbow since I thought that maybe the new veggies were upsetting his stomach. (I have zero idea whether or not his previous owner gave him veggies). I really hope it's not the oxbow since I'm not sure what else to feed him that's in my area.

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You can order Harlan Teklad from chinchilla.ca, it comes in (I believe) 5, 10 and 33 pound bags. There is also Martins Little Friends Mouse & Rat, but it's not as good as Oxbow or Harlan. And there is Living World Extrusion Hamster Food, both are blocks.

I would keep him on Oxbow for now. He is going through stressful intros right now and that might have some bearing on it. How old is Vincent now?

Vincent is 5 months right now. Around there at least.

You could also try repopulating his gut with some new bacteria, either through probiotics or yogurt. He may just have stinky bacteria right now.

Yes, I agree, add probitotics. 5 months is the age when his hormones are all over the place, he's coming into adult maturity.

I want mine to smell like grape!! :flower: