Ratty Smell HELP!

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OK so I got a Honeywell air purifier this am (Moon, the pricey one looks pretty good, so that is what I went with).

I am going to see how goes. I have also put down towels. I even washed everything with vinegar and baking soda.

I will try tea tree oil next time.

I am going to leave the cage for a few days not cleaning it so thoroughly.

Then next step if that doesn't work, I am going to order the pans and get some bedding.....

After that, well off to the vetties they go.


So fun! :gaah:
 
I go through spells where the cage seems smellier than usual to me. Cleaning frequently definitely only made it worse, it was hard but eventually I trained myself to stop being such a clean freak and just let them do their scent marking thing.

Putting towels beneath the fleece definitely helped a ton. And my air purifier isn't exactly state of the art or uber expensive, but I have it sat on a stool so it's at the same height as the FN, and it's definitely made a lot of difference. The boys are visibly perturbed and antsy when I turn it off - it's too quiet, they've gotten used to the sound. During the warm weather, when the heat brings out smells a bit more, I have had luck with placing a couple of open boxes of baking soda around the cages to absorb smell, but they were placed carefully out of rattie range. Dunno what would happen if they ingested a bunch of that stuff, but the thought worries me.
 
Something to keep in mind with fleece is that it shouldn't be washed with fabric softener or dryer sheets and certain detergents should be avoided. I didn't realize this until Rissa posted a thread on the forum. We ended up having to stop using dryer sheets all together (we don't use them on any of our clothes) before I really noticed the difference. HUGE difference. If you absolutely must use dryer sheets, hang your fleece to dry. Otherwise the residues build up on the fleece and it repels the pee.

Also, neutering makes a world of difference.
 
I've never really had a problem with smell Only when I had all my 7 rats there was a bit of a smell. I use boxo and I find that covers up their smell of pee completely! And the poo you only smell it when you are RIGHT beside the cage. Unless my girls arent as stinky lol :giggle: but even the boys didnt smell too bad. For cleaner I use Natures Miracle made of natural enzymes. I find it works fantastic.
 
I haven't had too much trouble with my two boys so far. I wipe up pee puddles and poo on the linoleum shelves daily, and I clean out the bedding on the bottom of the cage about once a week... sometimes more often if I decide it's looking too dirty. I've been using a thin layer of super-absorbent aspen pellets covered with a thin layer of Carefresh bedding and it works like a charm.
 
I use some cage wipes from Walmart: go to the pet aisle for birds and rodents, they're called Nodor wipes. I was using a rodent-friendly spray but rather than making it clean, it seemed to INTENSIFY the smell. I got the wipes just because I thought they would be easier but the first time I used them I fell in love: I wouldn't have minded if my entire HOUSE smelled like that.

Since then, I have no cage odor (I, like you, clean my cage about every other day)-in fact, the cage actually smells pretty fresh. It doesn't bother my rats either, which is good...I was worried that it might smell too strong for them but they don't seem to care.
 
I clean my cage once a week ( sometimes once every week and a half if I am super busy). I had my 2 girls in a large bunny cage ( just got the CN yesterday) But i found it never started to stink until I needed to clean it, it smells excellent then as soon as it smells bad , I clean it ( depending on the weather its about a week in between.) Since I have only 2 girls, it doesn't get dirty as quickly so I never found a need to clean it every few days ( cept in the summer).

I am also a firm believer in baking soda. I buy those 'Fridge' ones that have too pieces on either side oyu rip off so that the air travels through the baking soda. One of these by the cage and it is insanely fresher. I can tell when its time to change the baking soda cause it gets smelly, then I change the box and its better. ( it lasts a month) I also clean the cage by letting ti all soak in a baking soda bath ( just soda and water) pulls out all the odor that's stuck in the plastic. I swear baking soda is my best friend ( I use it as a face wash too .. but that's a story fro a different thread ; ) Bottom line, make a baking soda paste and use it as a mask. sooo nice) Also, I scrub the toys and bottom pan with Johnsons Baby shampoo. It smells like apples (ish) and is really gentle, so I don't worry about the rats.)

And when I do the laundry, I toss in maybe a half a cup of pure white vinegar with e fleece, then just use a tiny amount o detergent, and the fleece comes out really fresh, rather then the lingering rat odor.


Then every month or so, I take a baby wipe sprayed with a bit of vinegar and water and wipe down the cage bars.

All in all, the onyl time I smell the rats si when I leave the cage fro too long , or I stick my head right inside haha. Or when I give them veggie. God, I hate the smell of rats that have just eaten veggies. :sick2:
 

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