Smelly?

[One More Herper]

How bad do rats stink? I was thinking of starting a small 5 rat colony and am wondering if the odour is too offencive to be kept indoors?
Thanks
-Ben

[Auskan]

I don't find the odor from rats to be bad at all - not like mice. Mice just poop wherever they happen to be, so it get real smelly. Rats are much cleaner and use one corner so its easy to just spot clean each day and keep the odor down.

[Linds]

A small colony shouldn't smell, once you get in to the larger numbers, it smells a bit ratty, but nothing intolerable. Rats do not have an offensive odour like mice do. I keep over 200 rats and a small colony of mice in my house, albeit I wouldn't want that many in my bedroom or anything, but they do not stink bad enough that I cannot keep them in my basement :) I do keep two rats as pet in my bedroom, actually at the foot of my bed, and they never smell. They get cleaned 1-2 times per month and are kept on Carefresh. The feeders are on pine and that takes a bit more maintenance, but is the best option for me in that situation :)

Auskan,
You're rats are litter trained??? I've been breeding rats for over 9 years and I've never had rats that didn't crap where ever they were...

[Auskan]

Linds, I wouldn't exactly say they're litter trained as I didn't do anything special. I just noticed that they always use the same corner so I scoop it out most days and that's it. This is my first experience with rats but I kept mice for years, so I thought this was just typical of rats. Did I just get lucky?

[Linds]

LOL I think ya got lucky! I've never had rats have a preferred place to poop, they've always gone all over the place in my experience, both from my personal breeding ventures and at work. Not much cleaner than mice, but definitely smell better :)

[mykee]

You'll get used to the smell of rats. I personally can't stand the popcorn mixed with pee smell that mice leave. It's not terribly offensive, with one colony, you should have no nose issues.

[Syco]

Popcorn mixed with pee smell ? LOL! I've never thought of putting it that way, now I have to go downstairs and sniff my mice:p

[mykee]

That's the most accurate way I have found to describe the odour from mice. Sniff away, you'll see I'm fairly accurate with my description.

[reptiguy123]

Haha! Ratty! popcorn pee! this place is full of comedians!:D

[sapphire_moon]

I have two 1.2 colonies. and 2.0 pets. (so 8) plus whatever happens to pop up when they give birth. I keep them on pine and shredded newspaper. I usually start to smell them at about 1.5-2 weeks and then I clean out the cages. It is probably the bucks you smell, as they like to scent mark their "territory".

[Auskan]

I use the Wal-mart Carefresh equivalent & really can't notice any odor at all.

[Dark_Angel_25]

well I have 2 pet rats in a 6 foot high 2 foot wide enclosure. there is no substrate and I don't notice a smell. My two also ALWAYS poop on the very bottom floor of the enclosure. always in the same corner. I just have to get the dust pan out ever few days and sweep out the poop. then wipe up the pee. they alwyas go in the same place... its as dependable as it is that if there is toilet paper in the cage, they put it ovcer the food in the dish, instead of IN the house like it was intended... they would rather put chewed up kleenex boxes inthe house.. go figure...

[sapphire_moon]

ya, but the floor of our cage (for pet) would take 2 bags of that stuff, and not all rats are litter trained or can be litter trained. Right now we have pine and newspaper in our pet rats cage. But that is only temporary because the mother was really doing a number on them (only the boys). I mean, I don't really want to be woke up at 3 am by LONG PIERCINGS SCREAMS from the rats! Never any blood though. So we went ahead and put them in "their" cage. And we are picking up a paper shredder today, so after this is all used we will be using shredded paper, probably confetie (sp? lol) shredder...

[annieb_mice]

I've got nearly 500 breeding mice <even more if you count the babies and weanlings> and I don't really notice too much of a smell. I keep them in rubbermaid bins and use a small amount of pine shavings with shredded paper for nesting. I've also got quite a few rats as well as several rescue small animals and with the exception of an occassional odor when I missed "cleaning" day, I don't have any odor problems. I clean the mouse bins out about every third day and the rats about once a week, or sooner if they need changing.
Maybe I'm just immune to the smell or whatever... but I also have many visitors over to see the rodents and pick up their orders and they've commented on the lack of smell as well. :)
I wonder... perhaps the smell is linked to their diet? I feed mine a high quality grain diet with natural food suppliments. :)
Take care
Annie B. <:3 )~~

[orion_dv8]

I have a colony of mice split into 2 cages m and f, they are bred as necesary, and try as i may they stink, and its not a light popcorn pee stink it is a rancid foul odour that rises from their cages within 2-3 days of changing, what i have noticed however is that the males smell considerably less than the females do.
I hear if you put a drop or 2 of vanilla extract into their drinking water the smell is substantially reduced, i have yet to try this myself, havent had the time.
ORION

[annieb_mice]

When cleaning the mice cages or bins, what are you using? If you use something that has a strong smell, the males will continuously "mark" their territory over and over again and the odor will get overpowering. But if you use a "mild" solution of a bit of vinegar with HOT water, the males can still smell their "markings" and won't be inclined to mark again. You might also try to leave a bit of shavings in when you clean. Or simply remove the shavings but don't "wash" the bin <unless it's REALLY bad>.
I don't have any problem with odor though I have hundreds of mice and rats <as well as other rodents> in one room.
Part of the problem with the odor is the males feeling the need to "mark" their territory everytime you clean.