Few questions

[Melissa's ZOO]

1. How does everyone clean their FN's? Do you take them outside and hose them down? Do you spray it down with something and wipe it off? If so then what do you use?

2. I have eight girls and 2 small cat litter boxes and it seems like I need to clean them everyday, so should I put in less litter and just clean them everyday?

3. Does any one use humidifiers where their rats stay in the winter?

I can't think of the other questions right off hand so I will just start with these.

Thanks for any input you might have. :lol:

 

[Melissa's ZOO]

Now I remember my other questions?

My Hairless girl Willow, looks like her skin is peeling? Is this normal? I thought they were scratches at first but when I took a very close look at her, it was patches of peeling skin :?

 

[jorats]

1. I've always had big cages so I could never move them to clean them. I bring a big bucket of water/vinegar/a bit of dish soap near the cage, clean/scrub all the toys/accessories, then I scrub the cage with a brush and wipe down. I use my nose to tell me if there are any trouble spots. With the FN, I find it much easier to clean than the martins but that's because of the bars being farther apart and less of them.

2. I have two litter boxes in my cage, I don't fill it completely with litter because I do clean it every day. But not putting enough could make it not as odour controlling, you will have to find what woks for you. The only downside, you really go through a lot of litter.

3.I used to use a vaporizer but then noticed my walls were getting moldy. :shock: So that's something to watch for. Too much humidity is not good either.

4. I think you must be referring to sebum? It's a natural oil produced on the skin. When I had a hairless, my vet recommended using Aveeno cream to moisten the skin occasionally.

 

[Melissa's ZOO]

Jo, thank you.

I bought vinegar last night so I will be using your method. During the summer I will have no problem getting it outside for a hose down its just that I HATE the winter and do not want to stand outside getting sprayed by the hose.

I think I will clean out the litter boxes every night, there are eight of them so it needs it.

I have Aveeno cream at home so I will be rubbing her down with it tonight. It was really weird to see it but I figured since she was hairless there would be some skin issues. Plus it gets really dry in my house when it gets cold out and the heater is running. So I will be using the humidifiers and looking out for mold as well, I never thought of that happening.