[Whiskers]

[align=center]I just got my rats and I want to potty train them. So, here's a list of questions....

1. What kind of litter works best?
2. Can you use cat litter or do you have to use rodent litter?
3. What kind of litter box works best? (Little hamster litterbox, big ferret litterbox, tupperware, etc.)
4. What training technique works best? (My rats don't poop in one corner. They poop everywhere.)[/align]

 

[Forensic]

This is what worked for me.

1) Yesterday's News. This was their 'bedding' before, so it was what they were used to pooing on.

2)This is a cat litter, but the clay and other types of cat litter aren't usually recommended (YN is rolled paper).

3)I use shoebox sized plastic. The bigger the better, especially at first.

4) I did the same things with my boys who pooed in one spot and those that pooed everywhere. I put the box at the end of a ramp and moved the raisins into it until they figured it out. Mind, this is the litter they were used to, so they basically knew what it was for and essentially trained themselves.

Some rats won't do it.

I'm so lucky all of mine did.

 

[Whiskers]

[align=center]Right now I have CareFresh bedding in the cage, a big ferret-sized litter pan, and I bought some rodent litter for training them to poo in the litter box.

But the litter box is big, I only have 2 rats, the litter is pretty expensive, and the litter comes in a small package. So I'd use about half the litter in the package to change the litter pan one time. That means I'd have to buy a lot of the litter and spend a lot of money on it to potty train them.

So should I put the CareFresh bedding the the litter pan since they're already used to pooing on it then put a different bedding on the cage floor? Or should I keep the CareFresh bedding on the cage floor, use the the rodent litter in the litter box until it runs out, then buy Yesterday's News and put it in the litter pan? Would switching the litter to Yesterday's News confuse them? Can I buy Yesterday's News at Petsmart/Petco or do they not sell it there? And how much does it cost for a big bag of it? Also, since it's called Yesterday's News, I'm assuming it's like newspaper, right? Well then can I just rip up some newspaper and use it as litter?


Oh yeah, and how often do female rats go into heat?[/align]

 

[Forensic]

Um, well, they might possibly be able to learn that the BOX is where they go. You'll have to move all the raisins in and they can be hard to find in Carefresh. You could switch to carefresh in the box and fabric on the floors.

Switching the litter probably wouldn't confuse them much, since they aren't using the box right now anyway. Yesterday's New is tightly rolled recycled newsprint, so it's quite absorbent. Newpaper may not be quite as absorbent and some dyes can be bad for the rats (you can call the paper and ask if they use vegetable dyes (I think those are the ones you want)), but you can certainly try it. PetSmart and PetCo both sell Yesterday's News. Go look in the cat section, rather than getting the 'small animals' version.

I think females go into heat every five days? Not quite sure.

 

[mopydream44]

I think females go into heat once every 12 days, if I remember correctly.

 

[twitch]

i thought it was once in 7 that they went into heat... i could of course be completely wrong though. never really wanting to breed other then a passing interest i don't think i read much or very closely when it came to this. but i know its a lot in month compared to humans or dogs or even cats which i have a much firmer knowledge of when it comes to reproduction.

 

[mopydream44]

I'm really not too certain either. I thought I had read 12 on this forum but I think I'm mistaken. I don't know where I got that number but I can't imagine I pulled it out from no where.......well actually knowing me I COULD have lol.

I tried to find the info but no luck yet!

 

[Forensic]

This is what I was thinking of: http://ratguide.com/breeding/basics/statistics.php

 

[Whiskers]

Um, well, they might possibly be able to learn that the BOX is where they go. You'll have to move all the raisins in and they can be hard to find in Carefresh. You could switch to carefresh in the box and fabric on the floors.

Switching the litter probably wouldn't confuse them much, since they aren't using the box right now anyway. Yesterday's New is tightly rolled recycled newsprint, so it's quite absorbent. Newpaper may not be quite as absorbent and some dyes can be bad for the rats (you can call the paper and ask if they use vegetable dyes (I think those are the ones you want)), but you can certainly try it. PetSmart and PetCo both sell Yesterday's News. Go look in the cat section, rather than getting the 'small animals' version.

I think females go into heat every five days? Not quite sure.

[align=center]Well I got the white colored CareFresh, so it's really easy to find the raisins. Also, I don't really want to have fabric on the floors because I the laundry takes a loooong time in my house (and I don't do the laundry, so I couldn't just wash the fabric).

I'll check for Yesterday's News the next time I go to Petsmart or Petco. Should I put the Yesterday's News on the floor, then CareFresh in the litterbox? Or the other way around?[/align]