RatPalace.com - Pet Rat Care and Discussion

Tue Jun 03, 2003 7:15 pm

I've never had to bathe any of my ratties......ever. Until now.
Ellie has a pretty bad case of diarreha. I have been giving her Kaopectate, but it hasn't cleared up just yet. Although she still is able to get out of her cuddle cup to go, she still manages to drag herself through it. I check on her all the time, but I still get there too late and she has it all over herself, in her toenails, belly etc. (sorry to be so graphic).

Anyhoo, a wash cloth isn't doing the trick and I think she is going to have to have a bath. Because of her seizures, I don't want to stress her out any more than I have to.

Any suggestions? What kind of soap (if any) should I use and how do I make this as pleasant as possible. I'm also planning to trim her nails in an effort to help keep them clean....is that pushing things too much??

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Debbie and the gang of spoiled furries

Tue Jun 03, 2003 7:27 pm

I have to admit, Debbie, if stress is causing her to have seizures and she has never had a bath before, I would be hesitant to do it, myself. Other's might disagree, of course, and maybe I'm being overly paranoid, but I would perservere with the washcloth and maybe some of those antibacterial pet wipes you can get. I used those wipes on Slarti when he was getting too feeble to wash himself properly. I tried bathing him but he became so distressed that I thought it was unfair, at his age, to subject him to it. Every rat I have ever tried to bath has wriggled and panicked and I wonder how well Ellie would cope with this.
As for the nails, I suppose that depends on how much it upsets her. Poor little Ellie. Sad

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Linda and the RMDs

Many have forgotten this truth but you must not forget it. We remain responsible forever, for what we have tamed.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

Tue Jun 03, 2003 7:29 pm

my elderly rats are fairly used to getting baths so it wasn't as much of an issue (they still hate them though) Confused

??: I use a mild soap, like kitten shampoo. I was using an oatmeal based shampoo on Tigger because she skin was so dry

Have you tried baby wipes instead of just a damp wash clothe??

Tue Jun 03, 2003 7:33 pm

Thanks guys. I hadn't realized there were pet wipes. I'll definitely try those instead of a bath. She gets enough poking, prodding, and meds so if I can forego the bath that's good.

Ellie is pretty laid back now, so hopefully a good cuddle and a clip here or there and I should be able to get those nails trimmed. Because she isn't getting any exercise these days, the nails are getting really long.

Thanks again.

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Debbie and the gang of spoiled furries

Tue Jun 03, 2003 7:47 pm

Debbie, these are the wipes I used:
http://www.aq-products.com/Frame%20Pages/Pet%20Pages/smallanimalwipes.htm

_________________
Linda and the RMDs

Many have forgotten this truth but you must not forget it. We remain responsible forever, for what we have tamed.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

Tue Jun 03, 2003 10:20 pm

I had some unscented aloe-infused pet wipes my old vet gave me. Can't recall the brand, but they worked rather well. For messy butt, though, you may want to dampen the wipes with warm water for the first go-round.

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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

Tue Jun 03, 2003 11:14 pm

I just got back from the store. I bought the Nature's Miracle pet wipes. It was the only one that appeared to claim they are "all natural"

Ingredients: water, citrus extract, ethanol, jojoba oil, vit E, Aloe Vera, wheat germ oil and "other" plant extracts.

Anything sound too bad there?? They do smell citrus-ee Confused

??: But hopefully it won't bother Ellie too much??

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Debbie and the gang of spoiled furries

Tue Jun 03, 2003 11:55 pm

Oh, you know rats ... they'd inhale nail polish remover if you let them, I don't think the smell's gonna bother her.

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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 Jul 02, 2003 1:59 am

i was just wondering (out of curiosity..) if you needed to shampoo a rat, but you had no shampoo, could you use baby shampoo? (btw.. it's not for me, my boys don't even arrive for another week, pfft).

xx

Wed Jul 02, 2003 2:37 am

I wouldn't use baby shampoo. (Wrong pH and all... or so I read a few times. I don't know, I dont have scientific proof, but I wouldn't use it wink

)

I guess you could use a mild shampoo but dilute it way down with water. Normally you don't really need to bathe rats but there are times when you need to bathe them. When you do, you must avoid washing their head/face.

Ahh Steph, you're in the UK. You could buy this rat shampoo called Dirty Rat!

I bought some today. I hardly ever bathe my rats but love the name wink

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Sab

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

Wed Jul 02, 2003 3:38 am

When I took one of my boys in with a skin infection, my vet told me to give him a bath every couple of weeks. He said a nice warm bath will make it all feel better. He requested for me to use Johnson & Johnson Baby Shampoo. Just thought I'd let you know

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Sara & Daisy

Gone, but never ever forgotten~
~ John-Paul & Earl; Benjamin, Russell, Chester, Dexter, George Harrison, and Leeroy. :*(

Wed Jul 02, 2003 5:07 am

Ah I have found what is in Johnson & Johnson Baby shampoo - its called Quaternium-15, it's a formaldehyde. Carcinogen. And can cause dermatitis.

--
Formaldehyde (Quaternium-15, Trioxan, Para formaldehyde): Preservative. Studies show it is a potential human carcinogen. May cause increase in lung cancer, nasal cell cancer and respiratory symptoms.
--

Don't think I would take the risk of using that on my rats...

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Sab

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

Wed Jul 02, 2003 7:45 pm

I use a shampoo for small animals, I think it's a Johnsons one. But, I have become a big fan of the shop Lush (used to be Cosmetics to Go), and I'm considering using one of their solid shampoo bars on my ratties. They're all natural ingredients, no animal testing etc, and I fancy making my rats smell of mint!

They seem to be really mild, anyway, and it sounds as though loads of people use them for guinea pigs, dogs etc - prob best not to get the ones with sparkly bits in though! Although I quite like the idea of using one on a black rat and putting it in the silvered class at a show!

Wed Jul 02, 2003 7:47 pm

Just checked, if there's not a shop near you, you can order online http://www.lush.co.uk/system/index.html

Thu Jul 03, 2003 3:40 pm

oooh, i LOVE lush! (i'm a regular in leeds!!) that's not a bad idea actually, good for back up (cos i use their stuff all the time, so i'll always have some in!).

that thing about baby shampoo.. i'm really surprised. you'd think they'd be helping babies not making them sick!

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"When caught between two evils I generally pick the one I've never tried before"- Mae West

Thu Jul 03, 2003 4:10 pm

	steph wrote:
	that thing about baby shampoo.. i'm really surprised. you'd think they'd be helping babies not making them sick!

There's been a big thing recently about chemicals and the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution have brought out a report of "Chemicals in products" - I have a copy sitting on my desk right now. There are 1000s of chemicals not tested properly in use, and they're trying to get them all analysed for basic safety within the next couple of years. It's actually quite scary when you think about it - see http://www.rcep.org.uk/chreport.html

But I agree, formaldehyde is a known problem, so whyever they're using it still, I don't know.

Wed Jul 09, 2003 12:43 am

Well, since I am rat-sitting Dan's babies, I needed to bathe them. They were perfect little angels through the entire event. I'm thinking that my does may need their first bath. Any ideas on how to make this experience painless?

_________________
-=Stanza=- [Riding shoulder is:]
Sugar [Magnolias], Peanut, Willow, and Scarlet [Begonias].
This stanza is my lament. This world is my imprisonment. I know I can never be...
I know I'll never be free.
The cut that never heals...

Wed Jul 09, 2003 12:48 am

Well, unless they truly need a bath and overly stinky or dirty, I wouldn't give them a bath. They're very clean animals, and sometimes bathing them could be irritating to their skin, and cause much unneeded stress.

Although, like Eric said, some rats like water. I have 4 rats that love bath time, and I have 2 that do not. My only advice is have the water ran before the rats go in the bathroom, and have a bucket of clean water to rinse with, so no running water is present with them. Oh, and use a good, safe rat shampoo. Ask your vet to see what he/she recommends. That's all I've got to say about that.

_________________
Sara & Daisy

Gone, but never ever forgotten~
~ John-Paul & Earl; Benjamin, Russell, Chester, Dexter, George Harrison, and Leeroy. :*(

Wed Jul 09, 2003 12:48 am

I don't think Cher and Sugar mind. I placed a shallow bowl of water for them to cool down in, and they loved splashing around in it. I'll have to try pea bobbing next.
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmhhhhhhh
^That's Cher saying "hi."

_________________
-=Stanza=- [Riding shoulder is:]
Sugar [Magnolias], Peanut, Willow, and Scarlet [Begonias].
This stanza is my lament. This world is my imprisonment. I know I can never be...
I know I'll never be free.
The cut that never heals...

Wed Jul 09, 2003 12:50 am

Oh, yeah. They need it. Cher found out what it's like to roll around in her own poo. The litter box is now "the 'it' spot". Yuck. Trust me, they need it.

_________________
-=Stanza=- [Riding shoulder is:]
Sugar [Magnolias], Peanut, Willow, and Scarlet [Begonias].
This stanza is my lament. This world is my imprisonment. I know I can never be...
I know I'll never be free.
The cut that never heals...

Wed Jul 09, 2003 12:51 am

Sounds to me like you need to change their litter box everyday, if they're trained. wink

That could be the reason they're rolling around in it.. it's there, why not?

_________________
Sara & Daisy

Gone, but never ever forgotten~
~ John-Paul & Earl; Benjamin, Russell, Chester, Dexter, George Harrison, and Leeroy. :*(

Wed Jul 09, 2003 12:55 am

I do, but it's hard to keep up with them. I use some wood pulp (I forgot the litter's name) and change it everyday. They just like lazing around in it, and stashing food in it. Perhaps they like the litter. Unfortunately, I cannot put it all over the cage. My cage is just like the Grotto: http://www.dapper.com.au/

_________________
-=Stanza=- [Riding shoulder is:]
Sugar [Magnolias], Peanut, Willow, and Scarlet [Begonias].
This stanza is my lament. This world is my imprisonment. I know I can never be...
I know I'll never be free.
The cut that never heals...

Wed Jul 09, 2003 1:42 am

To bathe my girls I use the washtub that our washing machine drains into because it's really deep so the girls can't get out. I turn on the faucet and let them get used to the running water. Then I grab one, lather up and rinse under the faucet and repeat with the other. I think it's a lot easier to use running water than dunking them. It get's the shampoo out faster.

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

Sat Jul 12, 2003 4:27 am

I'd say you can wait on the bath, rats don't need to be bathed too frequently.

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"Hello, friends. I am a perfectly normal human worm-baby." - ZIM

Mon Jul 14, 2003 5:40 pm

Tongue-in-cheek instructions can be found at Suebee's site, RatsRule.

When we've bathed our rats, we used two small plastic storage bins in the bathtub--one for shampoo, one for rinse, both of them to catch fear poops. We run warm water into a bucket, and use a lightweight plactic measuring cup to ladle water over the rat.

Long gloves are a must (I don't use latex--I use slightly thicker non-latex dish gloves), and do your best to NOT LET GO OF YOUR RAT!

I hold the rat with my left hand, and do everything else with my right. Abita gets to hold them in her lap and dry 'em off.

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Victor, Bandit, and Sparrow's Sweeties: Neiko & Roo. Sparrow's Boys: Oliver, Arthur, and Rabskuttle. The fRAT Boys: Jim, Jack, and George.
Good night, Witter, Kono, Rat, Olie, Metro, Calle, Mr. Ratburn, Arwen, Leather, Ohana, Zoe, Misto, and Kanga.