Bath?

Do any of you guys give your mice/rats a bath normally? I picked up one of my males and I guess he got some grease on him from my hands that I didn't see. I filled up the sink with water and washed him off. Didn't really seem that happy :rat:

Just curious

Usually if I buy a young rat from the pet store intending to put him/her into our colony I bathe them. I hate the pet store stink, I want to make sure they have no buggie "friends" on them and I think it helps them have a neutral smell so they don't smell of strange rats once I introduce them to mine.

Yeppers...especially our male "pets" their costs get oily and stinky. My older males are used to it by now and tolerate it...the young kids still put up a fuss :D

Just be sure you use VERY gentle soap, like Johnson's Baby Shampoo or Ivory dish soap. And keep them warm so they don't chill before they dry / groom themselves dry.


I would bathe Scabbers and Butterscotch every once in a while. They didn't like it, but it was still new to them.

I'll also bathe mine once in a while. I use cool water with Novalsan. It's completely non-toxic, so it doesn't hurt them if they start to lick themselves while i group bathe them.