rats smell

i change them out every saturday but during the week they start stinking really bad can any1 help give me some kind of solution i can get the smell down its getting bad

i am starting to have the same problem and don't really know how I'm going to afford the substrate bags I am having to buy cause I want to change so often..

Something I am going to try that I saw from a member on here that might help is to sprinkle a bit of some kind of a kitty litter deodorizor on the bottom of the tub first. then put some sheets of newspaper down on top of that, then put down substrate. You would think it would help and to also help with cleaning. He said that he has heard from people it can "hurt the rats" somehow, but he has been doing it for a long time now, and the rats never really make it past the newsprint anyways if he changes the substrate as often as we seem to be doing. I'll let you know if I try it and how it works out. good luck!

If you don't mind, if you find out any better options would you mind PM'ing me? I'd appreciate it! I will do the same if I find any other options as well.

Cheers,

Calen

Baking soda under the bedding works wonders:gj:

Sooo glad I'm doing ASFs lol.

Have you tried charcoal? It was suggested in another thread to open a bag and leave it in your rat room.

What about a room ionizer? How are you turning over the air in your rat room?

Regards,

B

baking soda works???

How about cleaning 2 times a week ;)

f/t ;)

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Originally Posted by LGray23

f/t ;)

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Rats still have to be raised before you can make them frozen ;)

I've tried everything imaginable. Never have found anything that works.
Baking soda, carbon, even a product called Sweet PDZ. Nothing works except a litter change.
Even borrowed one of those really expensive room ionizers from my sister, didnt' do a thing. My rat barn has a 1500CFM exhaust fan that runs for 15 minutes every hour, and that doesn't even help towards the end of the week.
They just stink.

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Originally Posted by snakesRkewl

Rats still have to be raised before you can make them frozen ;)

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Not raised by me lol

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Originally Posted by Simple Man

What about a room ionizer? How are you turning over the air in your rat room?

Regards,

B

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well right now im living at home with my parents so i have all my rats in my closet in 10 gal. tanks until i can get me a rack built for them. i dont have a lot of them just maybe 20 at the most m/f seperated from each other. i have 1 m and 1 f for my main producers these are just the offspring and im feeding them off to my bps so i dont have to spend 5 or more dollars on them each week since i have 4 bp its just easier to go that route. im using aspen bedding and it is stinking about half way through the week it starts getting bad in there. thanks

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Originally Posted by LGray23

Not raised by me lol

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i would feed them f/t but my mother dont like the idea of having frozen rats in the freezer in bags or not done tried that route she damn neared had a heart attack when she went to get something out of the freezer and laid a frozen rat that my bp killed but didnt eat so she said no more of that.

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Originally Posted by spitzu

Sooo glad I'm doing ASFs lol.

Have you tried charcoal? It was suggested in another thread to open a bag and leave it in your rat room.

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whats the difference in asfs and rats dont they still stink.:confused:

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Originally Posted by mdfreak2

i would feed them f/t but my mother dont like the idea of having frozen rats in the freezer in bags or not done tried that route she damn neared had a heart attack when she went to get something out of the freezer and laid a frozen rat that my bp killed but didnt eat so she said no more of that.

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LOL she is okay with live rats in your closet but not dead, sealed rats in her freezer....odd :P Sorry it made me chuckle. I'm not being of any use so I'll stop hijacking your thread. Good luck :)

Vanilla flavoring.......a few drops in 8 oz of water cuts the smell of ammonia in the rat urine. Been using it for years.

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Originally Posted by LGray23

LOL she is okay with live rats in your closet but not dead, sealed rats in her freezer....odd :P Sorry it made me chuckle. I'm not being of any use so I'll stop hijacking your thread. Good luck :)

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no she is not ok with the rats or snakes im only here temp. so she is dealing with it i got laid off work so i lost my home that i was renting so unitl i can get back on my feet i moved back in with her and my stepdad:(

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Originally Posted by mdfreak2

no she is not ok with the rats or snakes im only here temp. so she is dealing with it i got laid off work so i lost my home that i was renting so unitl i can get back on my feet i moved back in with her and my stepdad:(

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I totally understand, it's just odd she'd prefer live over frozen in her house, tolerating it anyways not necessarily accepting it.

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Originally Posted by LGray23

I totally understand, it's just odd she'd prefer live over frozen in her house, tolerating it anyways not necessarily accepting it.

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at first she told me i had to take them to the local reptile store to let them stay there til i found a place to live so i asked him and he said for 2 snakes it would cost me like $10/day fed once a week and everything i was like yea right i aint paying 300 dollars a month for someone else to watch them and take a risk of them getting sold or sick so she finally let me bring them here and my collection has grown from 2-4 ooops i couldnt pass up the pastel and normal for 80 bucks my bad. :D

LOL!! Well...in your defense.....there isn't a HUGE difference between 2 and 4 ;)

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Originally Posted by LGray23

LOL!! Well...in your defense.....there isn't a HUGE difference between 2 and 4 ;)

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thats what i said so now i get y dont u spend ur money on other things besides those snakes and rats thats y ur so broke all the time needless to say i spend a whopping $4 on my baby pastel since he isnt big enough to eat my rats i have to go get him 2 mice from the pet store once a week so go figure if it aint one thing its another.

The smell is why I don't breed even a small amount. I was using too much Aspen changing out the bedding twice a week.

Good luck!

Aspen bedding and corn cob bedding both absorb the orders. Find a DIY and build a carbon filter with a fan those are good also.

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Originally Posted by mdfreak2

whats the difference in asfs and rats dont they still stink.:confused:

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The smell is a LOT more tolerable, and it takes longer for it to become a problem. I have 300+ in my garage and it takes about 2 weeks after cleaning for the smell to become noticeable. Honestly the stinkiest thing in the garage is the lab block.

I use cedar bedding. Dunno if that is a factor or not.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

if you are useing shavings, that is the problem.
with rats, you need to use pellets. wood pellets absorbe so much better.
after changing, it is almost 3 weeks before they start to smell.

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Originally Posted by spitzu

The smell is a LOT more tolerable, and it takes longer for it to become a problem. I have 300+ in my garage and it takes about 2 weeks after cleaning for the smell to become noticeable. Honestly the stinkiest thing in the garage is the lab block.

I use cedar bedding. Dunno if that is a factor or not.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

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cedar bedding is the worst for small mammels.:colbert:
it causes respitory problems. it will harm your snakes over time as well.:O

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Originally Posted by snakeman13

cedar bedding is the worst for small mammels.:colbert:
it causes respitory problems.

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I know it's bad for fancy rats, but my ASFs have been on it since early December and are fine.

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it will harm your snakes over time as well.:O

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Can you back that up?

I wonder about cedar and pine as well. If the animals are breeding, and only live a short while before they are fed off, does it really matter?

Just asking - don't have an opinion either way.

Don't see how it would affect the snake for the rats to be on Cedar...

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Originally Posted by knox

I wonder about cedar and pine as well. If the animals are breeding, and only live a short while before they are fed off, does it really matter?

Just asking - don't have an opinion either way.

Don't see how it would affect the snake for the rats to be on Cedar...

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if the rats ingest cedar, it builds up in thier systems.
cedar has natural ocuring oils that stop insects from eating the wood. also has a natural water repelent, hence roof shingles.
if the insects wont eat the wood because it will kill them, i would not feed rodents brought up on that to my snakes.
the build up of the oils will deffinetly do bad to them, maybe not kill them.
just affect thier breeding ability.
to risky.

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well right now im living at home with my parents so i have all my rats in my closet in 10 gal. tanks until i can get me a rack built for them. i dont have a lot of them just maybe 20 at the most m/f seperated from each other.

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Hold the phone...you have 20 10 gallon tanks in your closet (stacked up on each other I assume)? 10 gallon tanks aren't really known for ventilation so that might be part of your problem. And seeing as they're confined to the closet, it doens't surprise me that their stink can accumulate so quickly. I would invest in some tubs if the rack is a distant goal and stack those and start cleaning 2 times a week.

Pine is fine, cedar is NOT.

I think op meant 20 rats, not 20 tanks?

sent from my EVO

Sorry, I'm a tad bit retarded. I guess I'm using pine, not cedar. :D

You're going to continue to have issues with smell until you can move them out of the closet due to lack of ventilation. Proper air exchange is key in keeping the odor under control.

I heard Vanilla works.. in their water?

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Originally Posted by Sammy412

Vanilla flavoring.......a few drops in 8 oz of water cuts the smell of ammonia in the rat urine. Been using it for years.

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Interesting... but a little confused. After mixing the vanilla in with the water, where do you put the water? Is it the water that they drink? Can you emphasize a bit for us? thanks!!

Im up to try ANYTHING! lol

You put it into the water that you give them to drink.

As long as a person cleans regularly masking the smell isn't such a bad thing, but it doesn't replace the need to clean the bedding religiously.

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Originally Posted by mdfreak2

well right now im living at home with my parents so i have all my rats in my closet in 10 gal. tanks until i can get me a rack built for them. i dont have a lot of them just maybe 20 at the most m/f seperated from each other. i have 1 m and 1 f for my main producers these are just the offspring and im feeding them off to my bps so i dont have to spend 5 or more dollars on them each week since i have 4 bp its just easier to go that route. im using aspen bedding and it is stinking about half way through the week it starts getting bad in there. thanks

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Try using CareFresh. It is much better at controlling the smell. I haven't been keeping my rat room long but I have 3- 10 gallon tanks, 1- 20 gallon tank, and 1 wire mouse cage housing 3 large rats, 5 mice and 22 baby rats. So far I haven't had much smell. I read you can train the rats to use a litter pan like a rabbit. They automatically like to poop in one corner. Just put your Care Fresh were they are pooping. I use cardboard as my base for my tanks and I give the rats paper towels, tissues, cardboard, and old clothes with holes to use for bedding I have also started using paper shredding from my shredder. The key is to use a different bedding for your "potty corner". Then I go in every day and collect the poop. The cardboard is free trash, and with three kids I have a never ending supply of "ratty" clothes for bedding.

I figured I was going to be keeping my breeders for a long time and it would be worth the time training them.

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Originally Posted by snakeman13

if you are useing shavings, that is the problem.
with rats, you need to use pellets. wood pellets absorbe so much better.
after changing, it is almost 3 weeks before they start to smell.

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We use stove pellets and aspen in the mouse cages now, and it works well. The paper products we used before did not absorb the orders as well as aspen and pellets. The aspen gives them something to make a nest with.

My wife found a pelleted bedding for horses that we get @ tsc its cheap verry absorbent and covers up smell really well

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Originally Posted by RuthlessReptiles

Hold the phone...you have 20 10 gallon tanks in your closet (stacked up on each other I assume)? 10 gallon tanks aren't really known for ventilation so that might be part of your problem. And seeing as they're confined to the closet, it doens't surprise me that their stink can accumulate so quickly. I would invest in some tubs if the rack is a distant goal and stack those and start cleaning 2 times a week.

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no i only have 4 10 gallon tanks sorry 1 tank for my mom and father rat and then 1 for males and 1 for females and 1 i just keep cleaned out to put the rats in when i clean each of there tanks out

I combine pine pellets (equine from TSC) with pine shavings and it helps alot. But like some members have suggested, you need more ventilation to help with the smell and cleaning twice a week doesn't hurt.

One thing I discovered with mice, the smelliest of them all, is to not keep anything in the tubs with them - no hides, no wheels, no toys, nothing to climb on. They pee on everything and that's what makes it smell so bad.

Now that the rodents stay on the ground they gravitate towards a corner or two to do their business. That makes it easier to spot clean as needed which really keeps the smell down until the next full cleaning.

I use aspen right now but I'm going to try the cheaper pine shavings which should also help with the smell.

Gem White Shavings. 80% western hemlock 20% douglas fir. I get it cheaper than pine, it's triple sifted so no dust and it works better than any other shavings for odor. My mice will immediately smell after a cleaning on pine, but it takes up to a week for them to smell on this stuff. It's a local product though, made in Washington and distrubuted in Oregon, Idaho and California.