Stinky Boys!

[Vanilla_Rat]

Does anyone know something that can make a rat smell clean?

I have two boys,Paco and Goober,and they stink BADLY.They are my most recent rescues.Ever since I got them,they had a strong odor...smells like poop and dirt.

I bathed them and sprayed them with ratty cologne I have when I first got them and it only lasted a day.They seem to carry this odor.None of my other rats ever had this problem.I never experianced anything like this before and never had a rat stink like these guys.I have bathed them a few times since and it does nothing.They are not sick or anything,just stinky boys and always have been.

[candyraver]

Heh,I have females...so I didnt encounter this problem [yet]

Would neutering help do you think?
I don't know if you modified their diet a bit [maybe they are sensitive to certain foods that your other ratties aren't?] Also is there something you can put on food that would make the odor die down?
When I was in the process of buying things for sugar gliders [waiting till I moves before I get them now,it will be easier for shipping etc...] I came across this product called Elimina.
Here's the desription:

Elimina is the only spray in the world that when applied to the pet's food truly eliminates urine and feces odors at the source - the pet! When Elimina is sprayed on the surface of a pet's food, the smell from the pet's waste will be virtually undetectable to humans within three days. The active ingredient in Elimina, anthium dioxide, is an oxygenating agent, which means that it enhances the exchange of oxygen at the cellular level and improves the pet's digestion. Anthium dioxide also selectively oxidizes the hydrogen sulfide and ammonia molecules in the waste. So Elimina works in harmony with the pet's digestive system to virtually eliminate the urine and feces odors, body and gas odors, and male cat spray odors. Not recommended for Pregnant Females.
That was taken from this site: http://www.toandfrogliders.com/
& this is what the product looks like: http://www.toandfrogliders.com/PicsT...n/Elimina1.jpg

(I tried to link the exact page it was on,but I couldn't )I don't know if its ok for rats ? Think it might be worth looking into! It was priced @ $9.50...US I'm guessing =)

[Vanilla_Rat]

Hmmmm...will have to look into that product and see if it is safe for rats.

Paco and Goober stunk when I first got them.They were fed only nutriblock and NOTHING else.I changed their diet to my mix and their odor never changed.All of my rats eat the same food...they get my mix,plus nutriblock,veggies/fruit,pasta...etc on the side.None of my other rats stink like these guys,so I doubt diet has anything to do with it.

Neutering...that may and may not do anything.Paco and Goober don't smell musky like a male rat,they smell dirty...like they roll in poop.Cages are cleaned every 2 days and like I said,I have bathed them and it don't do much.It is weird that these guys smell so bad,and no one else does! These guys are older rats and so I don't know if I want to put them through surgery.

[candyraver]

Hmm,I didn't think it was the diet itself.Because well,its only those two.
See if that product is rat safe.
If it was the musky smell,then it would be the glands.
Right.So surgery would probably do nothing anyway I guess. (If they were younger,risky since theyre older ).
But if that product is rat safe,I think it might just be what your looking for

[Fubie]

Woody litter and apple shampoo =o (this is what she uses)
vinegar gets rid of most smells, maybe dilute that it and give them a vinegar bath?
Anyway, I started using wood litter and now I love to smell my boys ^_^
(it's soft wood btw, see? I'm careful ^_^)
(if it smells like poop and dirt, it's probably what they lived in. Rats smell like what they live in ^^

[Vanilla_Rat]

Quote: Originally Posted by Fubie Woody litter and apple shampoo =o (this is what she uses) vinegar gets rid of most smells, maybe dilute that it and give them a vinegar bath? Anyway, I started using wood litter and now I love to smell my boys ^_^ (it's soft wood btw, see? I'm careful ^_^) (if it smells like poop and dirt, it's probably what they lived in. Rats smell like what they live in ^^

They get cage cleaning every 2 days,so their cage is not that dirty.

I use aspen mixed with YN.I have always used aspen,they were living on hemp bedding and carefresh when I got them from the girl who owned them first,but like I said they were stinky whenI first got them.And out of 24 rats,these are the ONLY two that smell like this.

I did abit of research and found out that some rats just smell worse then others.

Today when I had them out,the smell wasn't too strong,but I am gonna be giving them a bath tommorrow.

Apple shampoo? Where can I find that? Is it made for rats?? I never heard of it.

[pinkie1205]

When did you get these dudes? It might take awhile for the smell to go away if you just changed their diet


(think of male mice and how stinky they are on a petstore diet)

[GeishaGirl]

I would say it is either they may not tolerate a certain thing in their diet and may be causing a bit of odor, or it could be just they are just stinky on their own! But I am no expert!!

[Fubie]

XD XD I know YOU have them in clean cages but that doesn't mean past owners did, and yes, it takes a bit for them to lose the old bedding smell.
Green apple shampoo is simply shampoo that smells like green apples =3 I don't know why..but something about it just blends in with the rat and it works. Just look for gentle varities like herbal essence ect..that is if you feel you need to resort to it, otherwise just use what you've been using, this goes for your bedding too, and it'll go away.


[quote=Vanilla_Rat][color="SeaGreen"]They get cage cleaning every 2 days,so their cage is not that dirty.

I use aspen mixed with YN.I have always used aspen,they were living on hemp bedding and carefresh when I got them from the girl who owned them first,but like I said they were stinky whenI first got them.And out of 24 rats,these are the ONLY two that smell like this.

I did abit of research and found out that some rats just smell worse then others.

Today when I had them out,the smell wasn't too strong,but I am gonna be giving them a bath tommorrow.

*cuts in* Yep thats them losing their smell. And Carefresh, yes. If it's allowed to get dirty enough it'll be like musty paper or cardboard and, yup, you'll smell poop =3 Hemp probably made it smell more like dirt.
A strong smelling rat has a..ratty smell. Like you know how people say rats smell like grape soda? Yeah you'd notice that, and their backs would be more oily. Luci has higher glands and when you rub him with a wet towel you'll see orange, something that doesn't happen with Spirit, and yes, he has a stronger smell, although he rubs his smell on Spirit now..but it's not bad so I don't mind.

[Vanilla_Rat]

I generally use a puppy shampoo,but if I can find a gentle variety of apple smelling stuff like you mentioned,I will go for it.I am normally not for bathing animals with human shampoo,but maybe once in awhile.

I got Paco and Goober in October,I think thats when it was.

Yeah,I never liked carefresh too much when I used it and made a couple of my rats allergic to it,so I stopped.And your right,I dunno how clean misses kept their cage,altho she seemed to love them alot and hated giving them up.However they DID have a bad diet.Also they were covered in buck grease,so obviously never had a bath before.

[Fubie]

My aunt used herbal essenese on her dog because thats the gentlest shampoo and her vet reccomended it ^_~ Also baby shampoo works too. I wouldn't use dog (I dunno about puppy) 'cause I just think that it's too harsh. And carefresh cages get dirty fast ^_~ (I have no idea about hemp but it doesn't seem to absorbent to me)
Hmm..yes I think the smell would linger for a months time.
Oh man I remember when I had put in an old shirt in the cage, but it got underneath the water bottle, and got soaked. Two days later I let the rats play and I notice a horrible smell. Yup them, they were sleeping in the wet shirt or something. I couldn't bear to have them on my shoulder, they went in a bath so fast...and I burned the shirt lol.
Anyways, it'll go away, I had them on carefresh and they smelled musty and just last week is when they started to smell woody.