Pet rat smells sweet

[mufintherat]

Hi everyone

My female rat, Mufin, usually smells pretty normal (almost like corn tortillas, haha). However, she’s recently been smelling sweet. It’s definitely not a “bad” smell, just very different from her usual scent. She smells faintly like grape soda — almost perfume-like.

I’ve heard people say that female rats can sometimes smell like this, but from what I’ve read the smell is present mostly since they were babies (basically, the smell doesn’t randomly change halfway throughout their life).

I’m wondering if anyone has had any experience with this? Is this something to be concerned about?

Thank you

 

[lilspaz68]

I have had girls end up smelling sweet in time, not their whole life. Just become a Rat Sniffer lolol

 

[mufintherat]

I have had girls end up smelling sweet in time, not their whole life. Just become a Rat Sniffer lolol

Haha, okay good to know! But I definitely am a rat sniffer! I love their smells Thank you

 

[Dena]

Fellow rat sniffer here. I sniff all my rats. I feel like it can tell you a lot about their habits, and health. I do it with my daily inspection. Mackie (3 year old female) smells super sweet at times. She's always had a nice smell except as a baby. She has mostly smelled of corn tortillas (I don't know why) I guess that the easiest way to describe it. But from time to time, she will go short periods of smelling like something sort of fruity. So will baby (another female in the same cage). But the other girls just have that normal tortilla smell. LMAO

 

[mufintherat]

Totally agree! When my baby Poppy was sick back in December, she smelled different. It’s interesting how we can tell, for the most part, how they’re doing based on sniffing them loll. I LOVE the tortilla smell hahha. Corn tortillas are my favorite, so when I first became a rat sniffer I was so surprised when they smelled like them!! I’m so glad to know though that it’s normal for them to change up their smells a bit throughout their lifetime