[KalKarim]

I have just got my rats 3 days ago now, and was wondering a few things.
1. Where should I put my rats when I clean the cage?
2. How often should I clean the cage properly (I've heard some people say every week, and others say every two weeks, so I'm just not sure)?
It would also be very helpful if you could tell me a little more about cage maintenance in general if you can. I've done a ton of research, but im just making sure, and getting a little more info on this.
All help is appreciated greatly, so thanks in advance!

 

[Rats4All]

Rats get extra free roam when you are cage cleaning. Clean the litter every couple days, fleece and blankets every couple days, any plastic toys wiped down once a week.

 

[Shadow <3]

1. I put my rats in a travel cage when I clean the main cage - you always want to have a smaller separate cage just in case your rats start (seriously) fighting, or need to be separated for medical issues (like surgery), or need something to travel in for several days, and so forth. So I use this cage to keep my rats in while I clean - I have no way to let my rats free-range unsupervised and letting them stay in the cage would be way too distracting for me (or dangerous - with more rats you can't keep track of everyone and so they could get hurt while cleaning). Do what works for you but don't be afraid to keep them in a smaller cage while you clean since that's perfectly fine and won't hurt them.

2. How often you clean depends on how large your cage is, how many rats you have, what bedding you use, how much your rats mark, and so forth. I have a triple critter nation with 6 females and use 1 inch of yesterdays news in each pan and I only have to clean once a month (when I had 12 rats in it I had to clean every 2.5 weeks). Its the benefit of having a larger cage with less rats and using deep pans - its a lot less cleaning and lets me keep a lot more items in the cage. I also only clean half the bedding each time, only fully changing it every 6 months, and I find this cuts WAY down on marking and makes the cage smell much less. Of course again how often you clean depends on many factors like I listed and if you use a ton of fabric or fleece alone then you will have to clean way more often even with a big cage. I do however spot clean once a week, and this is when I wipe down cage bars and replace dirty nesting material.

So as you can see a lot is subjective and you have to find what works for you.

 

[Enne]

It would help to see your cage, then we could give better advice on a cleaning routine for it.

 

[KalKarim]

This isn't MY cage, but it's the exact same model. Mine has more toys and stuff inside.

 

[KalKarim]

It would help to see your cage, then we could give better advice on a cleaning routine for it.

I've put up a pic of the cage in the chat.

 

[Enne]

Dang, I wish we had a cage like that in the US lol.

I'd say spot clean the plastic shelves and ramps every 2-3 days otherwise they'll get caked up with urine/poo, OR replace them with something easier to keep clean. A drawback to plastic stuff is it collects urine quickly lol.

Wipe down the cage bars when you clean the plastic. I use pet-friendly wet wipes for my cage bars and plastic items. Once a month I also scrub their plastic stuff with hot water and white cleaning vinegar.

I'd fill the bottom with wood shavings and scoop out visible wet spots and poo a few times a week, then maybe once a month, scoop out a lot of it and replace with new.

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