A Question about Smell (cages vs. bins / racks)

No problem!

I found fleece to be absolutely horrible with trying to keep a colony, the smell was terrible. I switched to rabbit food (Small World rabbit food from Wal-Mart, $7 per 25lb bag) for the substrate in my quarantine and breeding cages, which is extremely cost effective and keeps down smell. I don't use it in the main cages because I don't have scatter guards and it would be all over the floor. The mats I use are bath mats so they are extremely absorbent and they aren't even comparable to fleece in smell. You wouldn't know I had rats unless you were standing in front of their cage (if you were blind folded) because the smell is so manageable now. I only have one male currently though, so that may be what is saving me!

Maybe you could find them things to mark so they will mark the bars less? I use soda boxes that have holes cut into them for the rats to hide in, chew on and mark all over. Paper towel and toilet paper rolls also make good toys.

I've had my rats back and forth between Mazuri 6F and Harlan Teklad 2014 or 2016 for a while now (as 25% of their diet) and I haven't noticed a difference between the two as far as smell for pee goes. Native Earth only has 2% to 4% more protein so I am not sure where your problem is stemming from. I've never used Native Earth though. Maybe you should try changing them to a diet with less protein?

Harlan Teklad nutritionist information about protein and rat health: http://www.theratshop.com/article_in...?articles_id=1

Thanks for the information again Lore. I do give them boxes (cereal and other food boxes) and tubes to play with and mark. I think the number one issue is the girls peeing on the sides of the cage. The boys smell way less than they do.

I may try securing some cardboard to the sides of the cage and see if that helps to give them somewhere else to pee.

I may try the bathmats... When I had fleece in their cages, they absolutely destroyed it also, so I'm sure they would find a way to destroy the mats as well. Do you use the ones with the rubber backing?

Thanks again for your help!

I don't find any difference in odor between cages or bins/tubs. The biggest different I see is in the bedding used and how often it is changed.
I've used cloth bedding, and hated it. Too much work, it has to be changed out daily, and the rats eventually tear it us. Paper bedding works, but is expensive. Wood shavings are cheap, but do the trick. My biggest complaint about wire cages is rats make a mess. If you don't vacuum or mop all around the cages every time you change the bedding, there will be smell because you haven't eliminated the odor causing material. Bins are better in that respect, because everything stays better contained. I make a bigger mess adding clean bedding than the rats themselves do.

Thanks for your input Sorraia. They do tend to scatter bedding everywhere. I am glad that we decided to put down vinyl floors (easier to sweep / mop) for that reason.