RatPalace.com - Pet Rat Care and Discussion

Wed May 19, 2004 6:11 pm

Here's a link to rat bathing from ratsrule:
http://www.ratsrule.com/bath.html
Good luck. wink

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Wed May 19, 2004 11:35 pm

You don't need to bathe rats at all unless they've got into something disgusting, have a medical need for a bath, or are show rats.

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Thu May 20, 2004 12:42 am

Rats are self-cleaning.

The only time I ever bathed a rat was when she had a tumor that prevented her from grooming herself.

Thu May 20, 2004 6:19 am

Same here, I only bathe my rats when they are really stinky (ie. I haven't changed the hammock soon enough and they have a definite "urine" smell to them). Other than that there's no need to.

LOL

at that link, Ratitude!

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Sun May 23, 2004 3:44 pm

Rats do not need baths unless they are obviously dirty, but I recommend the following method. Being young, the rats probably will not take long to take to this method.
DO NOT BATH THE RATS TRADITIONALY
I have had bad experience bathing rats the traditional way and it is too much stress for them.
1. Get a shallow container (one the rats can climb in and out of).
2. Fill it with warm water. Start with a small amount of water and build it up as the rats get more confident.
3. Place some food in the water such as grapes, corn, peas (whatever the rats like and as long as it will not make the water yucky).
4. Place the container in the cage, grab a chair and just watch your rats. Watch them investigate the water and dive for the food. It is funny to watch.

If you do this as often as you can, the rats will soon be diving right into the water to get the food. The rats will then give themselves a complete grooming and the water will help get rid of any muck and smells.
There are some rats who get stains and smells on their coats that need more than water. Try to find a small animal stain remover in the pet store and use that, otherwise a more traditional bath may be needed.

I hope I have helped. I haven't been on this forum for months as very busy and it is good to help someone.

Sun May 23, 2004 4:59 pm

Katiepat-
That's a really clever idea. I might need to try that next time my girls need a bath (because of the tunnels I use in their cage, their tails get really gross). Being in the tub does stress them some, but I hadn't thought of how to make it less stressful. Thanks for the idea

Sarah

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Sun Aug 22, 2004 5:48 am

I havent put the ratties in the tub yet. How do you usually do it? Just fill the tub up and let them play or what?

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I never though I would love rats and now here I am.
Coach and Fluff 03/04
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Sun Aug 22, 2004 7:50 am

Firstly (and very importantly, lol!) I clip all of their claws!

Then usually I just put about 4cm of luke warm/warm water in the bath. Then, in it, I put a tea towel or one of those non-slip mats on the floor of the bath so the rats feel more safe not slipping around everywhere.

I get out some pet shampoo, face cloth, cup, and towel and place it beside the bath.

Then I take the rats (no more that two at a time unless u are feeling exceptionally confidient, unbreakable, unscratchable, super athletic, foolish, and/or all of the above

) and put them gentley into the water. The reaction that follows next varies from rat to rat:
They either
a) they take it all in their stride and just casually wallow and sniff about in the water.
b) Think that the water is flesh consuming acid just desguised as water and try desperatly to leap out or tear up your skin as they sprint up your bare arms (hence the nail trim!).
Or, lastly c) Some in between variation of (a) and (b). Whatever way, be prepared!

Then proceed to carefully wash them. Don't push them under the water or put water on their heads. You want them to feel as safe as possible and they hate water in their ears. Use the cup to wet them and a damp face cloth to wipe there little ratty faces.

Rinse them carefully then as you finsh each one just put them in the towel to find a den to dry themself. After they're all washed you can dry them all properly.

Lastly, relax, breath, and pray that you don't have to bath em again for at least a couple of months!

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Mon Aug 23, 2004 3:44 am

You don't need to bathe them unless they've got into something icky. Rats are self-cleaning.

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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

Mon Aug 23, 2004 4:04 am

Ohh I know they are but they might enjoy a little romp in the tub. Who knows?

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I never though I would love rats and now here I am.
Coach and Fluff 03/04
Zoie and Sofie 11/04

Mon Aug 23, 2004 4:10 am

Hmm, well I've only had my rats for a month (as a matter of fact, exactly a month today), but I think I'd like to stick to bathing them once a month or two. They're both PEWs, so even if they clean themselves, they can discolour. This might change though - this past month they've been living in a tank, meaning they're constantly in the litter and stuff. But their cage should come in the mail tomorrow, so I'll have that set up and hopefully potty-train them, so they'll stay cleaner.

But anyway, I prefer to wash them at the kitchen sink, one at a time (well I've only tried once so far, but I wouldn't bother with the bathtub). I don't bother filling the sink or anything, I just hold them tight and carefully get them under the faucet. The faucet has a shower option, and I use that. A cat/kitten shampoo works just fine, though I've been considering trying a whitening shampoo (would it be too strong for them?). I make sure to get the tail squeaky clean, because dirty tails particularly annoy me (I usually rinse their tails once a week, without an actual bath). And then I place them into a nice absorbent towel, and get them as dry as it'd get.

And yes, nail-clipping is a good idea. they seem ot hurt more when the nails are wet.

Wed Sep 15, 2004 8:31 pm

Like BRR, my ratties despise baths. But really, unless you are showing them or they are extremely messy they really don't need baths. They do a great job of keeping themselves clean. The only time I have ever given mine a bath was when they had a lice infestation and when my old men get too old to properly clean, and then they just get a sponge bath.

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Wed Sep 15, 2004 10:47 pm

I generally find that my kids do much better when I bathe in the sink, as opposed to putting them in a tub, and I don't immerse them. I put a towel in the sink for them to stand on, and then have a bowl of water I dip out of to get them wet and rinse them off. I haven't had a single scratch after a bath since starting this method...

Wed Sep 15, 2004 11:07 pm

I just tightly hold them in my hands while washing them in the sink. If i put them down, they'd make a run for it, I think. Plus it seems to be over relatively quickly when I hold them.

And, well, curse them for being PEWs. Cause pee all over their sleep spot (I assume this is normal?) and then the pee dries on their coats leaving them spiky-haired and dingy. And they don't do a good job at cleaning their backs. So I try to bathe about once a month or so, and I wash their tails every week.

Wed Sep 15, 2004 11:25 pm

my 3 frat boy males always smell like pee and they don't do a good job of cleaning anything they're a pew, a siamese, and a black hood. my 3 hairless smell perpetually like pee too. I used to have a female hood who liked to sleep upside down in puddles of pee, would seriously seek them out to sleep in. She was a rare black and yellow hooded after a couple months of that. wtf

It finally just stained her fur.

My rats pee everywhere. Litter training is a joke to them Rat Laugh

Ahhh...my rats are crazy and I'm not alone.

Bad Rattitude Rattery

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Sat Sep 18, 2004 7:20 pm

My rats all hate baths as well. Violet only got one bath in her life (but she also had a natural pleasant smell that I couldn't figure out and was quite good about cleaning herself, therefore not really requiring baths). Petunia had only had one until she started getting older. Now that she has more trouble eating and grooming, I give her a quick bath about once a month, and sometimes will just take a warm moist cloth to her crusty spots. The one time I washed Violet and Petunia together, they both waited until they got soaped, and then jumped on top of my head. Surprisingly, though, both of them seemed to really enjoy being dried off. Guess it's kinda like a warm, fuzzy, ratty massage or something.

Daisy and Lily have had one bath so far, and they hated it, even the drying part. The sink in my bathroom has a long counter, and they both kept jumping out of the sink and trying to hide amongst the bottles of mousse, deodorant, etc while shaking off and spraying water everywhere. Violet and Petunia were never terribly messy, but Daisy and Lily seem to also enjoy peeing on eachother. Maybe it's something about white rats? Of course, they also think that the hammock is a litter box, so who knows. Nutso

~Jamie

Sun Sep 19, 2004 10:40 pm

Rat tongues - rats wash themselves well enough, many times more a day than cats do. I only EVER wash my rats or give them a bath if they've come to me as a rescue and are a right state, or if they are old and incapable of grooming themselves, or possibly to take to a show. I have one adolescent mucky boy who decided to pee a LOT in his hammock and then sleep there. I picked him up and he was dripping wet. Shocked

So he got an impromtu bath.

But... rats in general hate baths. I've had a lot of rats and all are petrified of them. You get scratched to pieces, and end up with one stressed rat. I wouldn't suggest anyone give their rats a bath on a regular basis. Make sur etheir cages are clean, and they'll be clean.

Sun Sep 19, 2004 11:10 pm

I use cat/kitten shampoo which i have at home since I've got a cat that I bathe occasionally. I wouldn't use hand soap for rats though. That's got perfumes and otehr additives, and dries out my own hands (which its designed for), so it might be harmful for rattie skin.

But if your rats are very greasy or have very dirty tails, you cna use a few drops of diswashing liquid (I go to dog grooming school, and we sometimes use Dawn on very oily/dirty dogs that shampoo just won't take care of, and it doesn't dry out the skin, so its safe to use occasionally)

Sun Sep 19, 2004 11:33 pm

You can use dawn for very oily boys, they use it to clean animals at oil spills. Here is a link on it :

http://www.homemadesimple.com/saveaduck/

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Mon Sep 20, 2004 6:20 pm

I use Bunny Bath. I understand in the UK there's a small animal shampoo called...Dirty Rat.

I'd *love* to get a bottle of that stuff!

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Mon Sep 20, 2004 9:42 pm

Psst! Victor! Look here: http://www.ratwarehouse.com/shop_view.php?cat=11

Wed Sep 22, 2004 10:21 pm

Everybody said baby shampoo, which is my favorite. It's tearless!
You can basically use any shampoo product that is safe on kittens, ferrets, rabbits and anything smaller... I found a lovely avocado shampoo for dry skin... LOL

If by chance, your rat gets ick! fleas or lice, you can use a flea shampoo for kittens. Read the label. The younger it says you can use it, the safer. The best I've found in my area is De Flea. It has no pyrethrins, is safe for young and nursing animals (we're talking puppies and kittens here, so it's safe for ratties too), and can be used in conjunction with a worming product. What I don't like is that it is kind of watery and doesn't lather all that well unless you use a lot. I have it around just in case, and for washing newcomers.

Karinka

Thu Sep 23, 2004 4:28 am

i,m not sure about the whole bathing thing. should i be bathing my girls or not. they dont smell bad infact they smell quite nice. i did bath once when they had been wrestleing in their litter tray. they did not like it at all .

Mon Dec 13, 2004 4:53 am

My boys have a bit of dermatitis. I skin scraped and cultured them for ringworm, and that was negative. They have no lice, mites or mange. I'm putting Omega Fatty acids in their food and water, but the vet recommends that I still bathe them twice a week for a month with medicated shampoo.
That's all fine and dandy, but these guys are still getting use to me. They are getting more comfortable with being handled. Dundee would rather not be held, but I still work with him. Irwin doesn't mind being held compared to his brother. Neither has attempted to bite me, well Dundee turned and snapped at me once, but didn't bite.
I'm just nervous that they are going to hate me when I have to bathe them. Any tips....they have to soak in the shampoo for about 10 minutes. Do you think they will be able to jump and clear the tub?

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Mon Dec 13, 2004 5:37 am

Haha, Luna, it sounds like you're having pretty much the same issue as I am with medicating. Wouldn't it be nice if we could just gently reason with them and say "hey, this is for your own good, humor me here"? I swear, if I could just convince Stephanie I wasn't trying to kill her, this would all go so much easier.