RatPalace.com - Pet Rat Care and Discussion

Sat Jul 26, 2003 6:43 pm

From what I have heard here , From people that have bathed their ratties, you will need a long sleeved shirt, and bandaids, and maybe a local surgeon. Puppy Dog Eyes

I do not bathe my rats, I don't like shots or sutures. I buy baby wipes and wipe em down with those. Makes em smell all baby powder fresh. :mrgreen:

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Tabby
My Friends that have crossed to the bridge
~Lilo,Stitchy,Pleakly,JumJum,Ohana~
And the family hamster ~Scrump~

Sun Jul 27, 2003 10:20 pm

If your ratties shred up your arms, and they looooove being petted, try damping a wash cloth and "pet" them with it. It worked with Fritz!!! :mrgreen:

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Ratties: Oreo (My uh-oh oreo)
Fei-Yen (My softy)

Mon Jul 28, 2003 1:03 am

I found it easier to wash my ratties under a faucet then trying to rinse them off in a bucket of water. It went must faster too, because the running water takes the suds off better.

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~Mandy~
~Lily~My squishy PEW
~Tiger~My wittle baby PEW

Mon Jul 28, 2003 9:30 pm

When my girls get stinky, I use an oatmeal dog and cat shampoo. They get a dunk in warm water, then I place them on a towel laid out on the counter, they get a lather and scrub down, (not their heads, just bodies & tails) and rinse in the tub. Then I dry them in a towel and give them lots of treats. My arms usually end up all scratched by the end, but then I have soft, fresh ratties!

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Lindsay & The Rat Head, Lily

At The Bridge: Daisy Lynn & Violet Amanda

Sat Aug 23, 2003 4:13 pm

I just added a new rat to the pack, shes an agouti Dumbo Hooded named Nina. She came from the same place I got Emily from and is acctualy Emily's sister! Nina was taken home by and employee but the employee soon developed allergies of Nina and had to bring her out to be adopted out. She is about 5 months old.

Well, Dori and Emily accepted Nina straigh away, no fights, no nothing. Do you think its possable Emily remembered Nina? They havnt seen eachother for 3 months now. But they are all living hapily together.

Only problem is, they pissed on eachother. Is that normal rat behavior? Like when a new rat is introduced to mark them? But they absoulutly reek! So I would like to give them all a nice bath, but they have NEVER had a bath before. I have some shampoo thats made for small rodents, I use it on my guinea pigs. Its called Bunny Bath.

How do you suggest I do this? Mabey in the bath tup with like 1/2 inch of water? They need a bath because when I hold them I smell like rat piss.

Please, any and all suggestions welcome:)!

Sat Aug 23, 2003 7:39 pm

I try to avoid giving baths whenever possible, using a wet wipe instead for a quick wash (also make a game of it which the girls love). However, when a bath is inevitable, I always find it easiest to spread a towel on the floor and set a shallow dish with soapy water on the towel. I stand the rat in the water up to herelbows and lather her up. Ordinarily with fidgety girls I find it easier to rinse them by standing them in the same dish and pouring lukewarm water over them to get all the soap off. But after Iris's strokes, she loves being held and run under the tap with warm water -- if the water is the least bit chilly she kicks up a fuss, but if it's nice and warm she goes limp and squishy with a big blissful look on her face and I could rinse her for 20 minutes non-stop I'm sure.

I like using the shallow dish better than the tub cos they don't feel like they're trapped in this huge expanse of water. I hope that helps

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Bridget & The Tabbies
Aoife, Hamish, Bruce & Isobel
RIP Emer, Tilda, Baby Weebles, Iris Luminous, Maeve, Fearghal, Louisa, Lili Lambkins, Avril & Iona

Wed Oct 01, 2003 8:51 am

I wanna give my funky smellin rats a bath, can I use baby shampoo?I live in Australia and can't find rodent shampoo or any other rodent wash anywhere! grr

Please help coz they don't smell too good!I think they pee on each other while they sleep...... Rainbow Smiley

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Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age and dreams are forever...

Wed Oct 01, 2003 11:31 am

Don't quote me but I think you can use small animal shampoo (rabbit etc) or puppy shampoo. I don't use anything though, I just rinse them off in warm water and it seem to do the trick - much to their annoyance. They HATE the water.

If you do use something, be extra careful not to get any on their head, just to their back and sides.

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Kirsty

(Angel, Harmony, Druscilla, Buffy & Willlow at the Bridge. Now it's me, Rich, Dooob & Bebe)

Wed Oct 01, 2003 2:21 pm

To be honest (hope this doesn't sound too harsh) but if you clean out your rats often enough, then they really shouldn't smell. My rats individually don't smell when I pick them up and smell them, and I've got 20! This does mean an awful lot of cage cleaning for me though (but beats going down the gym!). Rats groom and wash themselves more often than cats do, they are very clean animals, given half a chance.

Anyway, if it's cos they're old and can't groom properly, or if you want to show them, or if for some other strange reason they do smell, you can use small animal shampoo or puppy shampoo. an't you buy some online if you can't find it in a shop? You use tiny amounts of these, about 5mLs in 40mLs of warm water. Mix up the diluted shampoo and put to one side. Then sit your rat in the sink or whatever with water in it low enough so the rat keeps their face out of it! Pour warm water over the rat's back, to wet them, then pour half the shampoo mix over their back, and rub it in (this is the part my lot hate!). Rinse and then use the second half of the shampoo.
Then rinse VERY well! Rinse them with more cups of warm water. I then have about 4 buckets lined up, with clean water, and dunk the rat into each one, so they are very well rid of any shampoo. Then I have warmed towels on standby to dry them very well.

Wed Oct 01, 2003 3:34 pm

Actually, Labrat, I have one of those rabbit cages (I know, it's small, but they're barely ever in there) and I keep it cleaned. I have 4 males, and 3 females, and the males are always smelling themselves up. And when I breed a pair, the male pees on the female. It's not the cage, it's the little rattie. I don't know if this is good, but I know I've used ferret deoderizing shampoo a few times. (My brother has a ferret, and I borrowed some shampoo.) I never knew baby shampoo was bad, that's the only shampoo I ever use on myself! Lol.

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Wed Oct 01, 2003 3:44 pm

Oh, ok. Yep, boys do whiff more than girls, but personally I like the smell! They work long and hard to get smelling like that - why should I spoil their fun?

Most of my bucks are neutered anyway, and I have an air purifier for them too, so maybe that's why mine don't smell. I dont breed either, which I suppose could cause problems.

Thu Oct 02, 2003 12:33 pm

Call me crazy but I love the way my girls smell. I've only ever bathed them twice in 18 months and that was mainly because their tails were gettting a bit dirty.

I bury my face in their fur, I think they smell a bit sweet, like sherbet or something. They roll their eyes and indulge me - most of the time!

:|

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Kirsty

(Angel, Harmony, Druscilla, Buffy & Willlow at the Bridge. Now it's me, Rich, Dooob & Bebe)

Mon Nov 24, 2003 7:26 am

I've been reading a lot about people bathing their rats. I'm just curious, should everyone bathe their rats? I tried last week, but I don't know if I did it right...I filled up the tub with about two inches of lukewarm water and tried to put them in there, but they absolutely hated it and clung on to me for dear life, so I only managed to get their feet wet. Any tips? How do you guys all do it?

Tue Nov 25, 2003 1:03 am

I've just bathed my three babies yesterday for the first time. I don't usually bother as they clean themselves but these were rescuees that were kept on very soiled sawdust and absolutely stunk (sorry girls but you did) I started off by half filling a washing up bowl with a little warmish water with a little baby shampoo and then I let them play in the bath for a while before lifting them in one by one. it was just the right depth that they could swim in it with their heads out and I just kind gave them a gentle rub while they swam. Two out of three didn't mind but Sabrina was not best pleased. I had a carry box ready with a towel inside and I gave them a quick rub down with another towel and then shut them in there with the towel on top. They dryed off by digging around in there (they love their box as I always shut them in it with towels and hide treats in amounst the towels. I hope this helped

Tue Jan 06, 2004 9:07 pm

I find that if my girls have been sleeping in their pee and are smelly when I take them out, it's a sign I haven't checked their nest enough... Rolling Eyes

And that doesn't happen often at all. And I find the smell on their fur goes away on its own quickly.

More often than not, my girls smell like incense and grape (I made soaps that smell like them!) Just make sure their nest is nice and dry at all times, i fthat means changing their soft bedding material daily.

I have the dirty rat shampoo too but only use it when it's an extreme case. I don't bathe my rats unless they had an accident or like when Buddha's skin was a wee bit too orange.

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Sab

"I feel like I know her, but sometimes my arms bend back"

Wed Jan 07, 2004 6:25 pm

I put a washing up bowl in the bath and let them have a swim (they can get out if they don't like it!!!) and then shampoo them and then let them swim again. just a little gentle stroke is enough. Mine loose fur really easily. just be really careful not to let them get cold and don't put them back into their cage until they are totally dry.

The three that like to pee on each other and roll in it get bathed about once a month. and their bedding in their nest gets changed every three days, any more than that and they start peeing like mad to scent everything and everyone!!!!!!

Wed Jan 07, 2004 6:36 pm

I use cut up bits of polar fleece you can buy in any fabric shop for thier bedding. If you use this for two-three days, it doesn't sak urine enough to make your rats smell. I'd never ever use paper bedding for my lot again!

And the fab bit about the fleece is if you wash it in your washing machine, it comes out virtually dry! So it doesn't have to be hung up to dry for any length of time and can be reused very quickly! (Don't use conditioner or biological washing powder though!)

Wed Jan 07, 2004 10:41 pm

Try the bedding changes and baby wipes first, see if that helps before actually bathing them. Rats (and many other animals) rarely need full water baths (unless they've got some unusually bad habits), it's usually their humans who think they do.

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Kate & the M.O.U.S.
If you saw a man drowning and you could either save him or photograph the event ... what kind of film would you use?
~ Anonymous

Thu Jan 08, 2004 9:40 pm

Yep, my thoughts exactly Kate. At the end of the day, you'd be bathing them every couple of days if you can't work out why they smell. This is not a good solution to the problem. (For you or them!)

I've had rats come from a very nasty background, and within a couple of days they'd be sweet smelling being in a clean cage. Rats wash themselves more than cats do so it's gotta be something in their cage that's making them smell, not the fact they don't wash themselves. Unless they are VERY old/sick and have trouble grooming.

Wed Jan 28, 2004 7:32 pm

Hi peoples,
I posted a while ago about my greasy, smelly, and overweight rat, Oswald. He's been slowly (slllloooowly) loosing weight since I got him, and it seems that his previous diet contributed only to his weight, not to his grease. I've been giving him olive oil a couple of times a week (thank you, whoever suggested that!) and it seems to help a bit, but not totally. I've been bathing him with some rabbit shampoo, but its "pleasent fragrence" smells more pungent than he does!

I bathed him last night, but couldn't stand the thought of that smell wafting around, so I lathered up some Ivory soap instead. It's wonderful! He still smells a bit, but his coat is so soft, smooth, and shiney. (I sound like an advertisement, i know)

SO... has anybody used ivory soap on their rats before? Have you noticed if it's bothered their skin etc? It's supposed to be very mild blah blah blah, (hold on, he's drinking my tea...) but maybe longer term exposure isn't good? I dunno.

As a side note: Os has grown himself quite the lump on his left stifle (using a horse term... back knee?) I found it a little while ago and have watched it. Either it has grown or he has lost weight (which is entirely possible, and preferred).

I'm on a hunt for good small animal vets in my area (Toronto), and have found a couple. I am really wondering how much I should expect to pay to get it removed. I've probed around and it doesn't seem to be firmly anchored to his innards, but he is middle aged (about 1 year and 9 months). although he is also very active and doesn't seems to have any major problems other then the lump. And he's also VERY big (about a foot long, not including his tail), if that makes any difference for the surgery.

any thoughts?

thanks!
em

Wed Jan 28, 2004 9:53 pm

Wow, what a big guy!

Must be the tea. wink

I can't help you on surgery pricing, and unless someone has used one of the vets you're looking at, it's almost a crapshoot.

As for the Ivory, it's plain ol' soap, which means it will be drying to his skin. Try a nice baby shampoo, like the one from Burt's Bees, maybe.

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Kate & the M.O.U.S.
If you saw a man drowning and you could either save him or photograph the event ... what kind of film would you use?
~ Anonymous

Wed Jan 28, 2004 9:56 pm

Or Dr. Bronner's, available at hippy stores.

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Arvay and the Squirmin' Vermin

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me.'

--Erma Bombeck

Wed Feb 11, 2004 6:49 pm

None of mine seem to like baths (out of the ones that have had a bath) but all without exception like to fish for frozen peas on a hot day in a shallow bowl of water!

Thu Feb 12, 2004 4:24 am

Lol at LabRat, well I might try that, especially if my rats dont like baths, when they get stinky, just put some peas in some water, lol!!! Thanks for the idea! :enlighten:

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Kalie, Rizzo, Talulah and Sierra

Wed May 19, 2004 3:54 pm

i think i may begining to make friends with Vic and Bob, bob has found her perfect spot down my top, had them out for the longest time yesterday 1 hour 30 mins. i think they enjoyed it but will see how it going.

i have found that cornflakes are a favorite.

I am thinking of bathing them, are they too young at six weeks and three days old. and what is the best way to do it,