is once a week good enough?

[ratsr4life]

I clean the cage once a week for my four rats. In the tub srubbing away, disinfect or antibacterial, rinse well and let dry. All the material and cloths are put in there newly washed, nothing goes back in there twice.

It still kind of smells, where they eat and where they use the bathroom (in a tray with YN) within 2 days, but its not overpowering, and they 'usually' hang out somewhere else in the cage where it doesnt smell.

Also, they have started to sleep in thier tray :gaah: nose dug in there good and breathing in all that nice amonia :shock:

What would you guys do? They get fresh air 24/7, thier cage is next to the window and its open all the time (landlord doesnt turn down the heat, even tho its 30C outside :? ) Why are they sleeping in the toilet?

Iam thinking of changing the tray every 2 days if they are to continue sleeping in it.

 

[lilspaz68]

What is the litter you use on the bottom? I would change out your litter pan every 2nd day if they love to sleep in there like most of my rats :giggle:

 

[ratsr4life]

What is the litter you use on the bottom? I would change out your litter pan every 2nd day if they love to sleep in there like most of my rats :giggle:

its yesterdays news, i wonder why they like to sleep in it...

 

[lilspaz68]

So you have YN in the bottom of their cage and in the litter pan on another level?

 

[Arkeld]

is once a week good enough?

No.

Litter box gets changed daily, all the rest every 2-3 days, depending on my schedule (for instance, it was due yesterday, but I only got home at like midnight, so I skipped it and will do it today). If you let it go longer, it's bad for their health imho, but your mileage may vary.

 

[ryelle]

I have two boys. One is in a very large cage, and compared to the large cage - my other boy is in a 'small' cage.

The large cage has litter trays that get changed every 3days. The whole base of the large cage has an inch of cat litter. I used to change this every Saturday when my two boys were in there. The time between change of the litter in the bottom has become longer now that there is only 1 boy in there and he mostly uses the litter tray. I change the fleece liners twice a week (i have 3 sets of liners made up).

The smaller cage gets spot checks every day, the litter tray (theres only one) gets changed every 2-3 days. Fleece lining and any bedding gets stripped and washed 3 times a week. He also gets shredded newspaper (he likes to nest) that i, unfortunately for him, pull out every 2nd day and give him fresh nesting material

 

[jorats]

How big is your cage?
I clean out the litter pans every day. I've got a couple of rats that like to sleep in the litter pan but not that often. It might be cooler in there with the YN. Every second day, I change all linens in the cage and once a week do a major scrub down.

Just this morning I was telling my sister how I could smell the rats. When the weather is warmer it always happens... but do not mistake the rat smell for urine or feces smell. Rats especially males do have a scent to them. I myself actually love that smell. It's like the dog smell or the cat smell, not poop or litterbox smell.

 

[ratsr4life]

my rats are pretty clean, they pee and poop in the tray (most of the time) and the tray is full of YN, thier main sleeping hammock is above that, so when they wake up they plunk into the toilet and go. The food is at the bottom in a separate tray and i clean that out everyday, the plastic bottom is covered in paper, and all bars are covered in towel.

I know the cage doesnt get too dirty, because thier coats are white. When i had to go away for a week and a half i had to let my non rat friend take care of them and she didnt clean the cage, thier coat was yellow (poor things)

Thier home:

 

[anita1216]

I change litter pans every other day, linens every third and a full scrub once a week. It works well for them. In the summer months I can smell the boys, but it is their natural smell..not the stench of poo and pee

 

[ryelle]

I think it comes down to:
A. The size of your cage, and B. How many rats are living in this cage