potty training

[Kimberly]

I wanted to find out some tips and tricks for potty training. I am getting a small cat box today and some carefresh or possible yesterdays news and want to work with Ducky, Gemini and Mater on potty training.

Should I like put all the poopsies from the cage in the box to get the scent in there?

Thanks for any advise

 

[Melissa's ZOO]

If I were you I would go with yesterday's news, I get the scented/softer texture cat litter not the small animal it is way more expensive. Carefresh is more of a bedding and I think it really stinks when wet.

At Petsmart a big bag of Yesterday's News cat litter is like $16.00 or less, when the small animal stuff is like $25.00 for half the size of the cat litter.

All you do is put it in a location where they seem to go a lot and put their raisins in the tray. Rats are super smart and usually catch on really quickly. My girls caught on the first night, but I think girls are probably easier than boys but I maybe wrong.

 

[Kimberly]

Cool thanks!! I just picked up a huge bag of yesterday's news and am getting ready to fill the box and pick up the raisins LOL Im really hoping they catch on quickly as it would make cleaning so much easier!!

 

[Melissa's ZOO]

Oh, you are fixin to find out how much easier it really is.

I have eight girls and two small cat litters boxes and let me tell you they fill them up everyday. I could only imagine how dirty it would be if they did not have the litter boxes. I clean mine out everyday and spray them down with vinegar (which really kills the urine smell) and put in fresh litter. I will go through a lot of litter but it is worth it to keep them smelling clean.

Good luck I am sure the guys will catch on really quickly.

 

[Melissa's ZOO]

Oh and I only put about half an inch of litter in the box, if you fill it up you are just wasting litter. Just FYI.

 

[Kimberly]

lmao I think the boys think its a new play toy hahaha this is so funny....

Ok so i filled the box up with litter and placed it in the bottom of the cage where they tend to do business at the most. I picked up all the stray raisins I could find and placed them in the box.

Ducky was the first to dive into the box and then followed by Gemini. They start digging like wild men like its some kind of new dig toy... and start pop corning all over the cage lmao Now they are trying to push each other out of it and back and forth with pinning each other down, like saying this is my box stay out of it. Ducky just grabbed a piece of food and took off to the potty box and dove in it and is now happily having a snack in his new play toy LOLOLOL Mater took a few sniffs and went back to sleep like oh well ok whatever LOL

This should be interesting LOL

 

[Melissa's ZOO]

Yeah, my dirty girls eat in the boxes to. I am glad no one sleeps in them so far, but that could change. My new babies dig like mad sending the litter flying all over the cage, I just rake all in a pile and put it back in the box.

Sillies boys its not a toy it's a toilet :lol:

 

[Lise]

You didn't mention, but if you haven't already you should change the bedding you use on the rest of the cage floor.

I had the best luck when I changed to fleece everywhere, and litter only in the litterboxes.

Otherwise they see it as a litterbox... sitting in a giant litterbox. :lol:

 

[Kimberly]

we only use fleece, I never have tried any kind of bedding as I thought it was all smelly LOL I change the fleece daily and have enough fleece stock piled to supply an army lmao

So far things are good , I havent seen to many loose raisins LOLOLOL

 

[LA]

I am going to start doing this. I think I will put fleece at the bottom of the cage and a litter pan. I can't wait to start. What do you guys normally use as a litter pan.

 

[Godmother]

For litter pans I use little desk organizers under the ramps and corner litter pans in the corners. In the big girls' FN I use a giant sized rabbit/ferret corner litter pan on the bottom level. On the top level, under the ramp (a popular pooping spot), I use a large vegetable bin.

Man, they fill it up fast! oop:

My girls also like to deposit raisins just outside the boxes on the fleece. Sometimes I despair of them.... not too much ladylike behaviour!!

 

[jorats]

Another good thing to do is keep cleaning up any poops that has gone awol and put them in the litter pan. If you can do this several times a day, they should catch on.

 

[Lise]

I use medium kitty litter pans. I would say 80% of the poops go into them. If I was super diligent about cleaning up the rest of them it would probably be higher. I have a corner ferret pan as well, and the rats never use it.

 

[Kimberly]

I wanted to post an update to the "digging box" LOL

Its a success so far!! I havent found but like 2 stray raisins!!! I woke up a few times last nite and heard them digging in the potty box!!! I think Ill give the boys a special treat today for being such good boys and using their potty box all day and all last nite, Im so proud of them :dance:

 

[PiedPiper]

Does the location of the food bowls in relation to the litter pan, matter? Should the litter pan be as far away from their feeding station as possible? As close as possible?

Do rats naturally prefer to potty as far away from the area they are fed? Or are they just as happy to pee and poop wherever the need strikes?

 

[Moon]

Gina, my girls will sometimes carry their food from the uppermost part of the cage down two flights to get to the litter box... it's also a common place to stash food, LOL. I find this extra entertaining as there is already a litter box in the uppermost level... but that one is no good for eating in, apparently.

Rats pee pretty much everywhere, especially where they sleep, though. So litter training doesn't usually work too well in that respect.

My biggest tip is that most rats already have a couple corners where they like to poo, so stick the litter boxes there. Wait... Melissa covered that already. Sheesh. I'm so on top of things.

I use a shallow tupperware in one part of the cage, and one of those stacking bin things in another. I only recently put litter boxes back in for my girls and they have taken to it quite well. I stopped because I was having trouble getting the fleece to stay in even remotely the right spot in the bottom of the super pet cage. Now with my new cage it makes much more sense.

 

[PiedPiper]

Gina, my girls will sometimes carry their food from the uppermost part of the cage down two flights to get to the litter box... it's also a common place to stash food, LOL. I find this extra entertaining as there is already a litter box in the uppermost level... but that one is no good for eating in, apparently.

ROFL!! Well, that's exactly why I asked, because for the past two nights, I've watched them do just that!! It's very reassuring for me to know that your girls like to dine in their bathroom too because I kinda went :shock:, "EarlGrey, I think we ended up with the dirty boys in school".

My biggest tip is that most rats already have a couple corners where they like to poo, so stick the litter boxes there. Wait... Melissa covered that already. Sheesh. I'm so on top of things.

Yes, now that the boys've been home for a few days, I see what you mean by that. They do seem to use the litter box at the bottom of the cage for a bathroom as well as a dining room table and there's another corner in the middle section that they frequent quite a bit. I'll just buy one of those triangular cutlery trays at the Dollar Store and cable tie it to that particular corner for them. That should do the trick!

Your pup's a real beauty, Ashley . . . just gorgeous!

 

[jorats]

About bringing food to the toilet, that's so the other's can't find them. Rats can smell food a mile away, so if you mix it with poop, no so appetizing anymore. lol

 

[PiedPiper]

Honestly, it's all so fascinating - and so new to me! I love watching their behaviours! The absolute best is when they get out of cage time, I think you guys have a "technical" term for it, free range (or something like that) and you can just tell that they're having a blast! It's wonderful how they take off to explore, then come back to say hello, then take off again, then come back for a quick check in, then off they go . . . . !

I love it . . . .