Hello, and welcome to the forum!

The main cause for smell is most likely that the shelves are wood. Wood absorbs odor and urine very well, which means that it will reek no matter what. My suggestion would be to take the wood out and replace the shelves with something easier to clean. You can get plastic letter-trays to use instead, secure them to the cage well, and then you can even put some litter in the trays to help absorb urine. This is sort of what I am talking about; https://www.walmart.com/ip/Officema...fficemate-2200-Series-Front-Loading-Desk-Tray-Plastic-8-1-2-x-11-Black/21437440

Male rats are typically more laid back than females, but they also seem to smell a tad more, possibly because they are more likely to mark their territory than females. I've also found that they're not as big on being litter trained purely because they are more laid back, haha.

To get them to stop throwing the litter pan around you will need to secure it to the cage somehow. I do this by melting holes through the plastic (in a well ventilated area far from the rats, of course), and then running a sturdy wire through the holes, and attaching it to the cage. It makes cleaning it out more difficult, but it also will stop them from playing with it.

Rats are very smart, and very easy to train! All of my boys knew to come when called by 3 months old. The big thing here is food, the ultimate motivator! Simply call their names (individually) and when/if they come over, immediately reward with a tasty morsel! Nothing too big though, you want to keep them coming back! Just keeping repeating this and, over time, they will pick up on it.

Good luck with your new family members! If you have the time, we all love to see pictures of the ratties <3

 

Unfortunately, it'll be hard to get rid of the urine smell on the wood, as wood absorbs the liquids. Is there a way for you to remove the wood trays and replace them with something else? It's really hard to litter train male rats to pee in a litter box since they tend to mark things with their urine. I've trained my boys to poop in a litter box by placing it in the corner that I saw they usually pooped in. They use it probably 80% of the time. Whenever I clean their cage or see that they poop outside the litter box, I place some back into the box.
I've trained one of my boys to come to me by having him associate the sound of treats in a cup being shaken. When I let him freeroam, I shake the cup and he understands that if he comes to me that he'll be given a treat. When I see him coming to me I also make a kissy noise, so usually when I'm not sure where he is I'll make a kissy sound and he'll poke his head out from wherever he is. My other boy however has not caught onto coming when he hears the treat cup, or kissy sounds. I just let them freeroam and they both walk over to me every now and then to see what I'm up to. I just listen and watch them to make sure they're not getting into anything. (They love to try and stash food under my bed..)

 

Welcome to the forum

Definitely get rid of the wood. Toss it. Shelfs suck anyways IMO. Hang hammocks, baskets, ropes, perches, lava ledges, etc... and make for a fun climbing cage.

What type of cage are you using?
What bedding are you using?

Bedding is the key for odor control. I use aspen and prefer it for good odor & ammonia control. But there are lots you can try.

How often are you cleaning the cage? Every 5-7 days is ideal for most cage set ups. Make sure to clean in the little nooks and spaces as well. Also clean around the cage well as urine can go through the bars and "hang around" on the walls/floor causing odor.

For letting them come out of the cage. Just secure the room. Block any spaces they can get behind or under like beds/dressers. You can buy playpens or make them. Try making a playpen out of coroplast or posterboard.

 

Thank you for all your suggestions. I think I need to look for some plastic shelving. I need to get them as least one shelf as they like to curl up together and go to sleep. I'm having to clean the cage almost daily which is not ideal. I am a bit apprehensive about using anything other than the recycled paper pellets that the pet shops use as I believe some other bedding causes respiratory problems, any further advice on bedding would be appreciated.

 

I really hate shelfs lol So I am biased They are just pee collectors! ha! Giving them hammocks in place will probably be a more comfy sleeping spot.

It is kindof a double edged sword. You do not want to clean too much either. Over cleaning can stress everyone out and it also makes them work harder to try and get it to smell like them. So they mark more, so the smell is actually worse! Partial cage cleaning inbetween full cage cleanings can help some.

I've never used paper pellets myself. I know sunseed makes a brand that is often recommend.
Aspen is truly safe. I have an insane number of rats, I breed. None of my rats get respiratory issues on it.

 

Thanks I've order some Aspen will look at the hammocks etc when little girl with me as I suspect they will have to be colour co-ordinated.ha

 

Definitely check out some cubes/hammocks/tunnels to hang in the cage, you can use them instead of shelves because rats can climb really well to get to wherever they need to go (Unless they're sick or very old) You may be able to find some plastic shelving that you can put into the cage instead of the wood shelves, but getting some hammocks is probably easier since they can also use them for sleep/lounging
As for bedding, a lot of people have recommended "Yesterdays News" which is a paper based type bedding with barely any dust. It's made with recycled paper and is supposed to be good with absorbing liquids. (Which is nice, because we all know that unneutered males are pretty stinky sometimes)
Here's a link on other bedding ideas, but aspen should be fine! (As long as you don't use anything with cedar or pine)

 

As for bedding, a lot of people have recommended "Yesterdays News" which is a paper based type bedding with barely any dust. It's made with recycled paper and is supposed to be good with absorbing liquids. (Which is nice, because we all know that unneutered males are pretty stinky sometimes)
Here's a link on other bedding ideas, but aspen should be fine! (As long as you don't use anything with cedar or pine)

Apparently Yesterday's News recently changed their formula so that it now contains pine, which means it might bother a rat's respiratory system.