Litter box training tips?

I recently got a pair of adorable male rats and just got them an awesome tower cage. I'm in the process of sewing them liners for their levels/floor, decking out their cage with toys and enrichment, etc. While I was picking up some toys for them the other day, I purchased a corner litterbox (listed as being for ferrets, but I figured the boys would be happy with space and they're going to get a good bit bigger than they are right now). My fiance is a little less sure of this whole "rats thing" than I am, so I want to do as much as possible to limit any qualms he might have. Does anyone have tips for training them? I know it's not going to be an overnight change by any means.


Those are my new boys by the way- Wilbur and Faraday! ❤❤

The best way I found was just to keep putting the poops in there for them until they figure it out.

Consistency is key with any training. From my experience, it helps to:
-Keep the box in the same spot in the cage, even when you change the layout
-Use the same type of litter each time
-Put flat, rough rocks in the boxes. For whatever reason my rats love pooping on the texture of rocks. I know other people say their rats like to pee on rocks. No clue why they like rocks, but I have found it effective as well.
(make sure the rocks are clean first, you can take them from outside and scrub with unscented soap. Boil them if they don't seem to get clean, or just to be extra safe)
-Pick up stray poops and put them in the box
-If you have a cage like the critter or ferret nation that has two distinct levels, keep a box on each level. Rats can be lazy bums and don't always want to take a hike to the litterbox.

I hope this helps

Yep, be consistent and always pick up loose poops and place in litter box and when you clean out litter box, keep a few in there.

Oooh I forgot to say that! Yes! You must toss a few poops in there after you clean the litter as well!

I may or may not have gone a lot crazy when I got their cage-this was it on day one prior to my frenzied hammock sewing (please excuse the messy house &#128514. It looks like I'm going to need more litter boxes! Do rats tend to have a size preference with their boxes? I would have never thought of using rocks, thank you!

Probably two would be good for that cage. The ferret ones are great.

one per level imo corner litter boxes work well

I have one ferret litter box and am going to go grab more tonight. Thank you guys so much!

btw, the litter you use in the litter boxes needs to be different from the bedding you use ..... many use a unscented paper based product (like yesterdays news)

They're coming along remarkably well! I've only had to pick up 2-4 stray poops a day and had to change out one bed in which they peed over the last couple days! They seem to dig the rocks, too! Thanks for the tips, everyone!

Oh yeah, they learn fast!

Great news!
Rats do urine mark like dogs do so rats do not usually use the litter box 100% for urine but they are pretty good. :thumbup:

SQ said:

Great news!
Rats do urine mark like dogs do so rats do not usually use the litter box 100% for urine but they are pretty good. [emoji106]

Click to expand...

I've noticed that! I haven't had a pet rat since I was little, I completely forgot they did that! I just thought they might not be completely used to the box, but it's good to know they're on track. I did sew them multiple level-liners for a reason though, so I think I can live with that! Now I just have to tell my fiance lol- he never had any pets before we got together, so he's always puzzled for a while after I drag more home 😂.

SQ said:

Great news!
Rats do urine mark like dogs do so rats do not usually use the litter box 100% for urine but they are pretty good. [emoji106]

Click to expand...

I've noticed that! I haven't had a pet rat since I was little- I completely forgot they did that! I just wondered if they might not be completely used to the box, but it's good to know they're on track. I did sew them multiple level-liners for a reason though, so I think I can live with that! Now I just have to tell my fiance lol- he never had any pets before we got together, so he's always puzzled for a while after I drag more home 😂.