Do rats....smell? - General rat info, please!

[Molly'sMama]

My little sister has decided,after the very heartbreaking loss of our cocker puppy :'( , that she might like to start over with pets, and get a small furry


She's very keen on a rat ...

...my mother is not.


My mother is of the mindset that they have a bad smell -when we had mice, despite them being clean and healthy ,they always had that clinging mice-y smell,and so is a little against it , and is pushing for her to have a hamster

Is it also true that they form a bond with people? Because we thought that was cute

Thanks !

 

[Anglebracket]

Yes they do smell. I've only ever had boys; females might smell less. They do become quite tame with regular handling, sit on your lap etc. They are also quite clever and like to play with things (e.g. empty toilet roll tubes).

I think that they are fun pets but do smell. Also, it is possible to become allergic to them (If I remember correctly the allergen is a protein in their urine).

 

[Hairy Old Cob]

Cage cleanliness is a must as their own urine affects their chests and breathing as they dont have a sphinter muscle they dribble spots of urine.

 

[meandmyself]

They do smell. Boys are worse than girls.

I had a pair of boys I was looking after while their owner was working away. I actually became allergic to them and ended up feeling quite poorly.

Hamsters are similar and don't smell as much!

 

[YasandCrystal]

we have 2 lady rats and they are lovely They have a very large cage with all sorts of hammocks and shelves in there and whilst they do smell a bit if regularly cleaned out I don't find it bad.
Rats do continually urinate - it's their way of marking their territory, so the more you clean them out the more they pee

All worth it though - so friendly and loving. We have a Joey (a doper rat, named before we knew he was a she ) and a Ella (a fancy rat)

 

[Molly'sMama]

Hmmm.
Well. We'll have to have a think then Maybe a nice ol' Syrian hamster?
Would you say rats smell worse than mice? x

 

[sandi_84]

I had two boys and they were the best little furries ever!
Yes they pee all the time (I had specific rat wrangling clothes and a towel for the couch - which they enjoyed chewing immensly ) but as long as you keep the cage clean they don't smell bad as such, just animal like. You know how horses have a distinctive smell but it's not a bad one? Kind of like that but a rat smell

They are fantastic pets, very cuddly and playful! My two loved "shoulder surfing" - sitting on your shoulder and watching the world go by And they helped a few of my friends over their rat-phobia too, by the time they'd spent 5mins with one plonked on their lap they were in rat love heaven

Do get a pair (of the same sex!) if you decide to get rats though as they are quite sociable and would get depressed if kept alone
And buy yourself a really nice big cage and add in lots of levels, things they can climb, hammocks and chewable things. You can make lots of home made toys with blocks of wood, toilet roll inner tubes, wooden balls from a craft shop etc and have hours of fun playing

They are extremely intelligent and you can actually teach them to do tricks too I once was told you could toilet train them but I'm not so sure about that one and tbh I never tried

Also hamsters are bitey little *****s Rats IME will only bite if they get a fright or as I learnt once - if you accidentally poke the tip of your finger through the bars and they think it's food

 

[Deleted member 104317]

We do, they're fab! (Especially if you're lonely like me xD) I haven't found that mine smell if you clean them out regularly and with disinfectant. They keep themselves very clean

 

[mulledwhine]

I found my mice were far more stinky than the rats ever where, the males do smell more though

 

[Kadastorm]

I have 2 boy rats and they are pongy smelly ******s and need to be cleaned out every couple of days.
however, they are fab pets, loving, clever and fun to watch. my cats and dog are petrified of them, they are boss!

 

[AMW]

my kids had them, brilliant pets. Harry was a husky rat, grey back with white belly and face and was just lovely, he was so friendly and just loved people. She used to put him in the barbie remote control car and he was like Stuart Little lol. He ran about the living room in the evening, knew his name, loved whatever you were eating, spare ribs from the chinese were his favourite, even the dogs liked him. he was cleaned out very regularly so didnt really smell We cried buckets when he died xx

 

[Molly'sMama]

She got a hamster -.-

I'm going to be working on persuading them to let me have a rat after summer

 

[mulledwhine]

Hamsters are cute, but soo boring I had a few as a child and they never got very interesting

 

[meandmyself]

My hamsters have always been awesome!

 

[Floxie]

I have 2 boy rats and they are pongy smelly ******s and need to be cleaned out every couple of days.

This might well be your problem, sorry! They shouldn't need cleaning out more than once a week (mine go 12-14 days) - cleaning every couple of days will kinda have the opposite effect, specially with boys who like to mark their territory - every few days all their safe, familiar-smell things are getting removed and they're probably going mad trying to make it smell like home! It might seem a bit pongy the first time but it's worth sticking it out and trying to hold out and get into the habit of only weekly cleans - they'll feel secure and, hopefully, won't feel the need to be so stinky A decent dust free bedding like finacard will help too (wood shavings are terrible lol)

That said, baby rats really pong, but that's mostly cos they should have their diet supplemented with more protein as they grow. They're fairly rank Make up for it in cuteness, though.

Do try and go to an ethical breeder if you can - it won't cost you more than a pet shop, and you'll know your rats were bred from known lines selected for health and personality, and you won't be supporting a trade in farmed rodents. This is an excellent forum for advice, info, and sourcing local breeders: http://www.fancyratsforum.co.uk/

(I find mice smell a lot more, and you don't get the same interaction as you do from a smart rat. I've always found hamsters to be evil too! My vet hates them, because they're usually poorly handled (when the kid gets bored of them), vicious, and incredibly tiny and hard to hold on to and get a good look at!)

 

[Pigeon]

What about Guinea pigs!! Love them. Not nearly as intelligent as a rat, but adorable and they live longer. The short lifespan of a rat would be difficult for me. Our two are seven years old now, and still feisty... They smell a bit like horses, they don't have that rodenty smell that hamsters etc have. Ours live outdoors in a hutch but go out in a run on the grass during the day. I've also always wanted a house rabbit. I think you can train the rabbit to use a litter tray, correct me if I'm wrong!

 

[flirtygerty]

My daughter rescued a baby rat from being a snakes dinner at college, he was such a nice creature, liked swimming and having cuddles, she also had a few hamsters, every last one bit her and they are nocturnal. A rat every time for me

 

[ribbons]

My daughter had gerbils as a child. No smell at all. Very friendly and happy to be handled. Hamsters can be a bit boring and grumpy.
The gerbils were huge fun. Always busy. We had cages and glass tanks connected with pipe work. The tanks were used for digging tunnels which we could watch them constructing.
I wasted many hours just watching them. Fascinating little things.

 

[Pinkvboots]

Get a guinea pig best small pet I have ever owned, mine has always lived inside and is cleaned out every other day and you never notice any smell, I have recently been using wood pellets for his bed and they are brilliant and very cost effective, his 6 years old now and is still going strong has always been friendly will sit and cuddle for hours on the sofa and his never tried to bite anyone.