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vampeyes13

New Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2019
Messages
3
Location
Ontario, Canada
Hello all, new rat mom here. We got our girls, Scabbers and Marbles, two weeks ago for our sons and I have fallen madly in love with them. I however am not enjoying that they full out pee on me! I am hoping this will stop as they get older. We are currently working on litter training them, but it's not going so well. I will be checking the forums for tips and tricks.
 

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Welcome to the forum! :)
Very cute little girls

Rats mark their territory so they are marking you as their's
take it as a compliment
Rat owners often wear rat clothes when handling their rats - clothes that you do not mind getting peed on or chewed
Make sure they always have access to their litter box
try putting corner litter boxes in the corners they have chosen as a toilet

Spayed and neutered rats mark their territory less then intact rats
and there are important health reasons to spay girls if you have access to a good vet with the knowledge and experience to do it safely https://www.ratshackforum.com/threads/why-spay-or-neuter-rats.35402/

you might want to check out https://www.ratshackforum.com/threads/reference-thread-read-only.35894/ and joinrats.org
 
Welcome! Some rats do outgrow the marking their areas while others do not. If you keep them consistent in the same area all the time, they may mark less, also be aware that when they mark you, that's because they are claiming you as a safe space. They love you!
 
Hello, and welcome to the forum! When it comes to litter training, the best thing i can tell you to do is put a "pee rock" in each litter box. It should be a rock large enough for an adult rat to stand on, well scrubbed and disinfected with vinegar or boiled. The rats will naturally wee on the rock, in the litter boxes. My 3 boys only use their boxes for wee; other than tiny scent marking, there is no urine in their cage outside the boxes at all. In addition, only one boy poos outside the box sometimes, and I clean them up maybe twice a day. Their cage is very clean and I need only to buy litter, no bedding. I'd say their fastidiousness will probably decrease as they get old and lazy, but so far it's been wonderful! I recommend taking the time to litter train your girls, with the rocks, to save a great deal of time and money over the next couple of years. :)
 
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One thing I didn't see mentioned too is that rats typically use the bathroom after waking up. If you wake your rats up to handle them or give them free time, they may need to use the restroom and may not be able to hold it for too long.
I don't know if this little tidbit of information I know is relevant to rats or not, but if they're litter trained, you can set a litterbox out when handling them/giving them free time and they'll potty in there. I used to have a rabbit many years ago, so I can't remember if I read this for rabbits or for rats.
 
Yes, good thought, VC. Just like us,, they need to go after waking, so if you get them up from a nap, you can just set them each in a litter box before taking them out to hold. And, as VC mentioned, take a litter box with you to the play place.
 
In addition, only one boy poos outside the box sometimes, and I clean them up maybe twice a day.

When you say clean up, do you discard the poo in the trash or do you put it in the litterbox? I'm just curious, because I saw one or two sites saying that if you put those outside-the-litterbox-poos into the litterbox, it helps with training. I do it, but I'm curious on another opinion.
 
One thing I didn't see mentioned too is that rats typically use the bathroom after waking up. If you wake your rats up to handle them or give them free time, they may need to use the restroom and may not be able to hold it for too long.
I don't know if this little tidbit of information I know is relevant to rats or not, but if they're litter trained, you can set a litterbox out when handling them/giving them free time and they'll potty in there. I used to have a rabbit many years ago, so I can't remember if I read this for rabbits or for rats.

I know this is true for rabbits. They learn areas to potty in, kinda like cats. Not sure if it works for rats, but I know if mine are out for playtime too long, they have a certain spot, on the edge in a corner of their play area, that they always tend to go. I know it smells like a potty to them in that area, and if I put a tray with a rock there, they would probably go in it. Just an idea.....
 
Thank you all for the reply's. I have added a pee rock, although my babies still tend to be lazy and pee on the shelves. Most of the poop is in the litter trays, I do find a few stragglers on the bottom of the cage.

I can't believe I didn't realize they would need to pee as soon as the wake up, I will definitely be putting them on the potty after doing so! Great tip!

No when I clean up the stray poos and pee I have been just throwing this in the garbage, should I be putting this in the litter box?

Does any one have a good suggestion for litter? I have found that the Kaytee Critter Litter doesn't last long, or am I just cleaning the tray's too often? Just seems to fill up with poo really fast!
 
I would put them in the litter pan. That way they smell them there and see them and know that's where you go. Also, if you clean too often, they will mark more often. Or if you DEEP clean too often. They mark what's theirs, and if you clean it, they have to make it theirs again. ;)
 
Yes, VC, when litter training, I definitely put all the stray poos in the litter boxes; that does help with training. At some point, though, I realized Olly just isn't too concerned where he goes, so now I throw them away. When still training, do put them in the litter boxes. Dena's right, too much cleaning leads to more marking. But I don't feel you can clean the boxes too often, since you want them to go there anyway, and they don't want to go where it's really dirty. I have 2 boxes for 3 boys and clean them every day. As for litter, I used the Yesterdays News type of recycled paper litter. It works best for us.
 
I'm sorry. I wasn't talking about cleaning the litter box. I meant everything else. Cage, houses, ramps, etc....:)
 
I'll have to try the rock trick, though. How big of rocks are you using? I have a big one that's twice the size of my largest male rat (he's a hefty boy), and I know that is wayyyy too large :D
I notice in between deep litter box cleaning, that there will be urine marks down the front side of the litterbox, so I'm definitely going to try the rock trick. They've been trying to tell me.

I don't now if anyone's interested, but when I was buying everything for my first rats about three years ago, I was about to purchase some small pet bedding when a Petsmart employee whispered to me "you'll get the same stuff in cat litter, just cheaper." I went to the cat litter aisle and I found a huge 20lb bag of ExquisiCat Naturals multi-cat litter. It's recycled paper. Bag lasts me at least a month to two months with multiple litter boxes and adult male rats. My rats like to dig in it, but they use it for potty and I haven't seen any evidence of them trying to chew on it.
I'm not trying to advertise, just for anyone who wants some cheaper litter or want to try something new. I haven't had any health issues from it and my rats really like it. Yesterday's News works really well too, my family is just sort of a stickler about buying anything online, so we have to buy things in person, generally.
 
Yes, they’re telling you, “rocks please.” Such smart and polite babies! :D I guess my rocks are all around 4-5” squarish. As long as it fits in the litter box with room to spare and is large enough for a grown rat to stand on, it works. I use the same brand of litter, but I’m not sure about the “multi-cat.” Make sure it doesn’t have added scent or anything.
 
They're also really cute, so I maybe let them get away with too much :rolleyes: Maybe I was looking a the wrong sites or always disregarded it, but I never had even heard of the rock trick prior to this thread. I guess it makes sense, my males love to walk over my arms or legs just to mark me. Thanks for the advice! I'll definitely use my big, fat rat as a good size indicator.
Thankfully mine has no scents or perfumes. I'm really careful about getting non-scented things because it's bad for their lungs and I'm allergic to anything that has perfumes or scents in it.
 
What Jorats said!

As for pee rocks, some people use them, others don't.
Approx. 14.5 years ago, when I was new to rats I tried them but they didn't make a difference so I stopped.
You can always try them and see if they help
I have found that putting litter boxes in the places they have chosen for toilets, is the best course of action

Rats are clean animals and most will naturally train themselves to use litter boxes
However rats are territorial and will mark their territory, especially rats that have not been neutered or spayed
This is normal and there is nothing you can do to change it
Make sure you put something behind their cage to protect the wall and something under the cage to protect the floor if you have carpet
Rat owners also wear "rat clothing" - clothing they do not mind being peed on or chewed, when they play with their rats
 
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