Do rats smell as bad as mice and hamsters?

[SmileyDJingles]

I'm thinking of getting rats, but I live with my parents and my Mom is worried about the smell. I told her that: If you could smell the rats then you are keeping the cage way to dirty and they would get sick.

My Mom has had mice and hamsters before and knows how bad they smell. And I know how bad mice smell, man they STINK!!

I plan to get males if I get rats and I know they smell a little more than females, but I think males will work best for me.

Could you guys/gals explan for my Mom how rats are differant in how they smell then mice and hamsters? I'll send my Mom a link to this.

[Stace87]

I have found them to smell less than both mice and hamsters.

[jessika]

I've had mice, hamsters, gerbils, and ferrets.

Personally, I've found that rats are mostly odorless. There's a lot of factors that can contribute to how 'clean' they smell. They will smell somewhat like the bedding you use for them. So whatever you buy, make sure it's a smell you're ok with, and a type that will be good for your rat!

Cleaning your cage is important, too. If you clean the cage, there's not a smell. You should always be on top of cleaning the cage, too, because if you neglect cleaning it your rat could get really sick. With gerbils and hamsters and such, it's not really needed as often, which might be why your mom associate gross smells with hamsters. Gross cages = smelly pets!

If anything, you can give them baths, tho you really don't need to! I haven't done it yet for mine, as mine are sicky and I'm just trying to keep them warm and comfortable till monday to get them to the vet. :[ But, I've heard that rats like to take little baths! I think you can buy whipes or just wash them with a washcloth, too.

I hope this helps! :]

[SmileyDJingles]

Thanks this helps a lot!

If I get rats I plan on using fleece as bedding. I wash clothes every two days, so I could change the fleece every time I wash clothes. I plan on litter box training them too.

[Ridley_89]

My gf keeps mice while I have my rats and the room the mice are in stink compared to my rats cage.

A rats cage will stink after a while if you don't clean it especially if you have males but mice seem to have a completely different smell that is alot more strong even if you clean the cage as often as a rats cage.

[Jaguar]

Rats stink nowhere near as much as mice and hamsters. But they do have a smell, especially boys, but it's not a dirty pee-cage smell, it's a musky man-rat smell If you are timely about cleaning their cage and litter train them, you'll be fine. My two large boys are in a large rabbit cage completely lined in fleece, litter trained, and I can get away with cleaning their cage every 3 or (pushing it) 4 days. I would not recommend washing the liners with your clothes though. Stray poop, soaked pee, food crumbs, stray litter, etc. is not what you want to be wearing. I wash my liners on a small hot short-cycle with a little bit of mild detergent and no fabric softener. Like I said, I have my boys right in my bedroom with me and I can barely smell them from where I'm sitting, which is about 4 feet away from the cage. Once your mom meets the rats, she'll likely fall in love and forget all about the smell Good luck!

[SmileyDJingles]

Thank you so much everyone! You've convinced my Mom that rats are okay!!!

Thanks!!

[littlematchstick]

Congrats!! There's lots of stickies here at the top of each section that will give you lots of information for your new little furry kids!

[Jaguar]

Congratulations on getting your ratties!