[mimsy]

Not sure whats up, but the boys who are now about 8 weeks old smell like maple syrup. I'm not complaining. But I'm a bit curious about it and want to make sure it's not from some nutrient deficiency or too much of something. Everyone is active and being normal other than increased play wrestling but I'm thinking that is just an age thing. The cage has to be cleaned every other day due to their being 8 of em.

It also makes me wonder about a post on another non-pet board I was on that someone said their apartment smelled strongly of maple syrup and she couldn't figure it out cause she didnt' have any maple syrup or anything smelling like it. I now wonder if she may of had uninvited guests hiding out.

 

[PawsandClaws]

My boys have a honey nut cheerio smell to them. Kiwi smells like maple syrup sometimes. Would not worry too much about it, boys just have a smell to them. I like it, personally,

 

[mimsy]

It's probably not something to overly worry about. But I do guess it has something to do with maybe proteins, some of the amino acids not being absorbed. I know their are metabolic disorders in humans which can cause that. I doubt it's anything that serious with the rats, but I do think it's probably food related in some way. I don't do ribs very often, but we have had them several times the last couple weeks and the fur kids get the bones. So I wondered if perhaps the more than usual quantities of bones did it.

 

[PawsandClaws]

We feed pretty low protein and they hardly ever get bones. I still notice the smell.

 

[ratbasket]

I think most rats smell a little like some sort of food... my girls smell like corn chips

 

[Ratpax]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maple_syrup_urine_disease

 

[mimsy]

Ya I'm aware of that rapax, but that is human related and normally noticed at birth. It's also has a lot of very awful symptoms including coma and death. With rats it's just the smell none of the bad symptoms, so it's doubtful that it's as serious as the human metabolic disorder. However, it does suggest that it's something to do with amino acids or some such not digested completely, or maybe they are but the excess is excreted. It seems that rats may naturally not metabolize certain organic acids (something anyways that would cause an aroma compound in their system) or their bodies are fairly adept at getting rid or them. In that human disease it causes those infants to produce sotolon, which is something that is used in artificial maple syrup (found naturally in molasses, aged rum, fenugreek ect).

Anyways just trying to figure it out. Seems that there must be a cause.

 

[pjhugs]

I read somewhere that rats smell like grape soda. This is my first time having rats but my two boys don't smell like grape anything. Whether it's the puffed grains I give them as a treat or not, I like the sweet oaty smell my boys do have.

 

[Isamurat]

young boys and does tend to smell quite sweet. You'll find that at around 11 to 12 weeks thete smell changes to a more earthy adult buck smell as there coat gets coarser.

The smells to look out for on rats is a sickly sweet smell which could be diabetes (unlikly in young rats), pear drops type smell and infection smell (once you've dealt woth an abcess you will know this smell anywhere). Those are times to get the rats checked out

 

[Jessiferatu]

I think most rats smell a little like some sort of food... my girls smell like corn chips

Lol, my Jax smells like corn chips! Which I think is hilarious for some reason. All my other boys have the "grape soda" sweetish-musky smell. My girls actually smell quite different, it's harder to describe. Almost floral.

 

[2ratshack]

My boys also have a sort of syrupy musk smell to them.