bathing rats/trimming nails?

[lansauce]

okay, i know rats are incredibly clean little animals - i've even seen my new boys stop dead mid-scuffle to make sure their fur is lying straight. but they're smelling a little strong (i assume un-neutered male rats have a strong smell to them anyway but it's almost pungent, and i don't think it's the food they're eating since i have them on blocks until they gain some weight). they came from a guy who had three other rats who constantly harassed them. when they got here sunday they were skin and bone, very stressed out and so scruffy i couldn't tell if they were rexes or not. they have urine stains on them and while they've done a good job so far cleaning themselves up i was wondering if there's anything i could use aside from water to help clean their fur up a little bit, since it's still lying in 'chunks' (not sure how to describe it, it's not quite matted but all my dogs' fur gets the same way about once or twice a year when there's too much oil in their fur and thats how i know it's bath time :lol .. i was told they love water and swimming and will dive right in.

so my question is how sensitive is a rat's skin? would a drop or two of baby shampoo in a bathroom sink's worth of water irritate them if i drained it after and filled it up two more times so they could rinse themselves off? or is there a good homemade rat-shampoo recipe that anyone has? i have been keeping a few ceramic dishes of water scattered around their cage so they can groom themselves without having to rub their tongues raw on the water bottle, but it's the stains that i really want to try to get rid of, not to mention they're leaving a ton of dirt/dander and dead hairs everywhere they crawl, probably because new hair is growing in now that they're eating properly. i even found a whisker in one of the water crocks :shock:

and what do you do when your rattie's nails get too long? i'm terrified of trying to trim them myself. their toes are so tiny and all it would take is one little squirm to cut off a toe :sad3: do i have to take them to a vet to have them trimmed down, or is there something i could put in the cage that would naturally file their nails? my boys are really gentle but my arms are covered in scratches from them crawling up on me and losing their balance since i'm a lot smaller than their previous owner, walking on my arm must feel like toeing a tightrope to them. they look a little overgrown anyway to me, i can see the quick through their nails and it's a good 2-3mm away from the tip, and they're looking a little claw-like


edit: petsmart has small animal cleaning wipes, has anyone used these? i saw it in the store and looked it up after, and all the online reviews say they take stains right out. the only thing is that makes me worry what on earth is in them that they can do that so easily :lol:

sorry for so many questions, i'm pretty new to rats and still trying to figure some things out! thanks in advance for bearing with me

 

[MissGuardian]

I'm not sure about the bathing part..
But for the trimming.. I trim my rats nails on my own..
Have you ever tried holding so far out on the nails that if you clip to far you only clip yourself?
Probably not a good explanation but..
I have(so far) never clipped the nail too far in(on a rat), and mine usually completely refuses to hold still..
I understand your concern tho.. I used to be like that too..
I would guess a big rock or branches to climb on would help keep the nails short..
Don't know if this was helpful tho..

 

[sarunia]

I'm not sure what other people use, but I've always used a bit of Dawn, which works well. Just know bathing is not a fun task. I generally fill the sink with some shallow, warm water, put in the Dawn then prepare rinsing bottles. There are always a lot of screams and some bits of poo, but it sure does make their fur shiny!! For spots, I use unscented baby wipes (the ones for sensitive skin).

Clipping claws is a bit of a challenge... Little Rat especially gets long-ish claws, and i flip him upside down, give him a cheerio in order to clip his toenails. I put my finger at the base of the nail to cover up the pad that way if the nail cutters slip, I"m only hurting myself a bit, and don't risk taking off a toe.

Good luck!

 

[nifzeta]

A lot of people on here say bricks in the cage to get to a water bottle helps to keep nails filed; I've yet to put a brick in to test this theory as there aren't too many bricks lying around my city that wouldn't constitute as theft if I took them. I don't trim the nails either, but a vet can do it. I have read that you can ask to learn and they'll often show you how it's done.
Try this also: http://www.ehow.com/how_4667277_clip-rat-nails.html
Also, I think that some oil on the rat is necessary, the same as it would be for a dog... but I have used baby bum wipes on my rats, especially their tails when they get messy sometimes, especially if they've run around in foods (namely berry juice) and I don't want the juice on my clothing, carpets, beds, etc...
I don't bathe my rats as they caused my arms and hands and chest and throat severe damage the one time I tried, but I began washing their fleece by hand because I don't have to keep it for a full load at the laundromat and I use the cheap version of the johnson's baby soap from wal-mart to do this. The rats have had no issues with breathing or skin reactions, so I imagine you could use that on them so long as it wasn't in their eyes... which they might do to themselves while cleaning, accidentally, if you just toss some in the water.
I haven't put it in my eyes, so I don't know if it really is tearless, but I'm not willing to trust it.

 

[lansauce]

Have you ever tried holding so far out on the nails that if you clip to far you only clip yourself? Probably not a good explanation but..

i understand what you mean - like, to use my own fingers as a block. hm, i never thought of that, since ive only ever done dog's nails and they know better than to squirm when i have the clippers. since rats' paws are so tiny i could see how that would work well for them though, thanks for the tip! what do you use to trim their nails? i've heard a lot of clippers made for small pets get dull really easily or don't do a good job cutting. also, how short do you usually trim them, do you just take off the hook or do you have a certain distance from the quick you like to stick by?

I'm not sure what other people use, but I've always used a bit of Dawn, which works well. Just know bathing is not a fun task. I generally fill the sink with some shallow, warm water, put in the Dawn then prepare rinsing bottles. There are always a lot of screams and some bits of poo, but it sure does make their fur shiny!! For spots, I use unscented baby wipes (the ones for sensitive skin).

Clipping claws is a bit of a challenge... Little Rat especially gets long-ish claws, and i flip him upside down, give him a cheerio in order to clip his toenails. I put my finger at the base of the nail to cover up the pad that way if the nail cutters slip, I"m only hurting myself a bit, and don't risk taking off a toe.

Good luck!

ah yes, i'm having a brainfart day, of course dawn would be gentle enough :emb: thanks for reminding me! i was told the boys love water, but i'll see if thats really true .. i'll leave a shallow container of it out and see how interested they are in splashing in it. if they're not keen i might just put together a couple bottles of warm water, one with a bit of diluted dawn in it and give them a bit of a 'shower' so that they don't think i'm trying to drown them in the sink :lol: i'll definitely try the upside down think as well. thanks!

 

[lansauce]

A lot of people on here say bricks in the cage to get to a water bottle helps to keep nails filed; I've yet to put a brick in to test this theory as there aren't too many bricks lying around my city that wouldn't constitute as theft if I took them. I don't trim the nails either, but a vet can do it. I have read that you can ask to learn and they'll often show you how it's done.
Try this also: http://www.ehow.com/how_4667277_clip-rat-nails.html
Also, I think that some oil on the rat is necessary, the same as it would be for a dog... but I have used baby bum wipes on my rats, especially their tails when they get messy sometimes, especially if they've run around in foods (namely berry juice) and I don't want the juice on my clothing, carpets, beds, etc...
I don't bathe my rats as they caused my arms and hands and chest and throat severe damage the one time I tried, but I began washing their fleece by hand because I don't have to keep it for a full load at the laundromat and I use the cheap version of the johnson's baby soap from wal-mart to do this. The rats have had no issues with breathing or skin reactions, so I imagine you could use that on them so long as it wasn't in their eyes... which they might do to themselves while cleaning, accidentally, if you just toss some in the water.
I haven't put it in my eyes, so I don't know if it really is tearless, but I'm not willing to trust it.

i know what you mean about the bricks - i'm waiting for my dad to re-lay the interlock porch so i can have the extra pieces cause thats my best bet right now. but i've seen lava rock perches for chinchillas and things for chewing on .. they look a bit like pumice stone though, so i guess they would work just as well, but that's money that could go toward the CN fund bahaha. thanks for the link, that really helps! i'm going to try to do it myself but if it's just too difficult i don't want to risk injuring them so if that's the case they'll most likely be visiting the vet for a trim.

 

[Chevalrose]

When I trim nails I usually just cut off the "hook". I use regular baby nail clippers, works great. I actually hold the clippers vertically to the nail rather than straight on (if you're cutting the hook) that way they don't shove their toe any further into the clippers than I want them too.

As for bathing, I usually fill the tub up to where their tails are at least covered, wet them down and put them on the toilet seat to "scrub" them (with a hand towel on the seat) with a dab of dawn. This helps eliminate arm/chest/neck scratches. Then I rinse them out again in the tub. Dawn works great on buck grease and stains.

 

[Rachael]

I've never had to cut their nails personally, but that's just me. I don't use bricks in the cage either really.

As for bathing them, I only do that if they are sick, old, or dirty.

 

[MomRat]

We've discovered, through sitz bathing rats with abscesses, that a 5-10 minute soak in quite warm water with a couple dashes of salt in it gets their tails glistening white. It's cute. Gets their tummies pretty clean too. Alternatively, you can use a gentle kitten shampoo diluted to wash them off, just make sure there are several rinses to get it all off, and don't wet faces/submerge heads. I trim nails with regular clippers, and have never cut a quick, but if you're worried, keep a little dish of corn starch handy to dip it in if it starts bleeding. Stones/bricks seem pretty popular for filing nails down, but all ours ever did was stink up the cage, because they peed all over it. =/

 

[Rachael]

I sometimes baby wipe their tails gently.

 

[MissGuardian]

Have you ever tried holding so far out on the nails that if you clip to far you only clip yourself? Probably not a good explanation but..

i understand what you mean - like, to use my own fingers as a block. hm, i never thought of that, since ive only ever done dog's nails and they know better than to squirm when i have the clippers. since rats' paws are so tiny i could see how that would work well for them though, thanks for the tip! what do you use to trim their nails? i've heard a lot of clippers made for small pets get dull really easily or don't do a good job cutting. also, how short do you usually trim them, do you just take off the hook or do you have a certain distance from the quick you like to stick by?

I have one of these

.
Mine haven't gotten dull yet, and cut well, but I haven't used it much, since my oldest usually were too hard to work with cutting nails on..
It depends really, but I cut them about 2mm from the nerve or something.. depends on how long it is from the beginning tho..

 

[lansauce]

i took sarunia's advice and gave them a diluted-dawn scrubble bath - holy crap the boys look so much better now! there were actually long patches of dark orange oil on their lower backs (i couldnt quite wash them totally off, but they'll have another bath eventually) and i hadn't realized how dirty their tails were. they weren't crazy about the water but they were fairly good about being showered off with gatorade bottles, and they were perfect gentlemen when it came to trimming their back nails their front ones are also pretty sharp, but they were less patient about letting me hold onto their hands so that's saved for another day. thanks again everyone for the advice and information!

 

[MissGuardian]

i took sarunia's advice and gave them a diluted-dawn scrubble bath - holy crap the boys look so much better now! there were actually long patches of dark orange oil on their lower backs (i couldnt quite wash them totally off, but they'll have another bath eventually) and i hadn't realized how dirty their tails were. they weren't crazy about the water but they were fairly good about being showered off with gatorade bottles, and they were perfect gentlemen when it came to trimming their back nails their front ones are also pretty sharp, but they were less patient about letting me hold onto their hands so that's saved for another day. thanks again everyone for the advice and information!

mine usually don't need trimming on their front nails at all.. because they are so thin that they usually break in suitable lengths anyway..

 

[lansauce]

mine usually don't need trimming on their front nails at all.. because they are so thin that they usually break in suitable lengths anyway..

really? my guys have hooks on their front nails that are almost as bad as the back ones were .. perhaps they will break off though, who knows!

 

[puffnstuff]

I have no experience with this, but I would totally trust using Dawn. It's what they use to clean the animals who are caught in oil spills -- everything from birds to otters.

 

[sarunia]

i took sarunia's advice and gave them a diluted-dawn scrubble bath - holy crap the boys look so much better now! there were actually long patches of dark orange oil on their lower backs (i couldnt quite wash them totally off, but they'll have another bath eventually) and i hadn't realized how dirty their tails were. they weren't crazy about the water but they were fairly good about being showered off with gatorade bottles, and they were perfect gentlemen when it came to trimming their back nails their front ones are also pretty sharp, but they were less patient about letting me hold onto their hands so that's saved for another day. thanks again everyone for the advice and information!

The orange is probably buck grease, a natural oily substance that male rats have

 

[lansauce]

The orange is probably buck grease, a natural oily substance that male rats have

ha, i didn't know that, thanks!

 

[MissGuardian]

mine usually don't need trimming on their front nails at all.. because they are so thin that they usually break in suitable lengths anyway..

really? my guys have hooks on their front nails that are almost as bad as the back ones were .. perhaps they will break off though, who knows!

Mine has that too, but they are so thin(one mm or less) that when they get to a specific length they break at the point where I would clip them anyway(at the point where they get thicker..)
I sometime clip them anyway tho.. If the animals are in a good mood so they allow me to..
But usually I clip the back nails.. sometimes they break too, but usually not

 

My friend is a groomer, so she has experiecne cutting all kinds of critter nails, so she cut's all my ratties nails. We use people nail clippers. Two of my ratties don't need clipping, as they chew thier own nails.

Also, as for bathing ..it dries out the skin, so I don't do it often, only when they are sick or old. Sometimes I will give them a bath is really smelly (3 of my oys are uneutered and tend to smell more).

 

[xxchelle]

Not only does bathing dry out their skin, but it actually causes them to produce MORE buck grease (if they're male, of course.)

Once in a blue moon I'll file my rats' nails down, but it's usually not needed. I just file them enough to take the pointy tip off. Heh.

Edit: I DO clip nails when I have rats with HED.