Does the smell usually reduce over time?

by SarahAdams Thu 03 Dec 2020, 12:32 am

The first month (Aug) I had my three males, the smell in their room was so intense it even came out down the hall. I moved them into big bin cages last month and it got it even worse, Maybe because they were agitated in new homes?

Anyway for the last week or so I've noticed quite a bit of reduction in the odor and only smell it when I enter their room. Is this a usual thing? Is it because they're getting older (I have no idea how old they are) or that they are now comfy and secure in their permanent homes and don't feel so motivated to mark so much? My 4 rats never smelled a fraction as bad as these wee stinky boys did. Laughing

by River Thu 03 Dec 2020, 3:33 am

Yes, I've read the same! They mark a lot in their new homes but eventually they settle. I think it decreases with age in general as well, but I could be wrong. The first two weeks were rough but now I don't really notice it despite his enclosure being in my room.

I've been adapting my cage cleaning habits to help decrease the marking. When I do a full-clean I'll leave some of his old bedding in there so he doesn't mark as much, and I try to go a little longer between full-cleans. I noticed it keeps the smell down because everything is more 'familiar' so cleaning a ton was counterproductive in our case. I have had some family members check to make sure I wasn't just going nose blind, and he really has just stopped stinking as bad! Laughing

by SarahAdams Thu 03 Dec 2020, 11:21 am

Okay, good. At the beginning I'd nearly be in tears imagining guests coming in (especially now with the windows all closed) and being hit in the face with a strong Eau de Souris! Even the air purifier in their room didn't seem to do much.

I just change their litter in sections so they don't think they have to get busy and mark all over again and I alternate cleaning their hides/houses. It's only the wheels I have to scrub every other day. They just love to run and poop and pee while doing so!

Anyone have an easier way to remove the flattened, hardened, stuck-on poops from wheels than my wet/scrub, wet/scrub method?

by chiroptera Thu 03 Dec 2020, 1:49 pm

SarahAdams wrote:Anyone have an easier way to remove the flattened, hardened, stuck-on poops from wheels than my wet/scrub, wet/scrub method?

Soak them. If you put the wheels in some water for even 20 or 30 minutes, everything will wipe right off with no issue at all. Someone else here recommended that a while back on a thread, and I figured "oh, that might help a little!" and tried it - and it made a world of a difference.

by Sponsored content

Does the smell usually reduce over time?

Does the smell usually reduce over time?

Re: Does the smell usually reduce over time?

Re: Does the smell usually reduce over time?

Re: Does the smell usually reduce over time?

Re: Does the smell usually reduce over time?