Cleaning Your Pet Rats’ Cage

Why pet rat cage cleaning is so important

If you smell any odors coming from your rats’ cage, it means you waited too long to clean it. Just think, whatever you can smell is 100X stronger (and more damaging) for your rats. Rats’ sense of smell is so refined they can detect the scent of land mines and tuberculosis.  Not only that but rats can smell in stereo!

If feces are not disposed of daily, the resulting bacterial growth may be harmful if inhaled or ingested. Urine build-up over time produces ammonia fumes which can trigger respiratory disease. Any damp bedding, litter or cloth can harbor fungal growth. It’s highly recommended that you litter box train your rats. Using litter boxes makes it much easier to keep your rats’ home in pristine condition.

By keeping their cage clean, you’ll help your pet rats live longer, healthier lives. Diseases (such as mycoplasma) and parasites (such as mites) can be prevented or at least lessened by regular cleaning.

Cleaning Routines

Daily

• Replace all soiled bedding and litter with fresh bedding and litter
• Besides a visual inspection, perform a sniff test for all cloth items – A sniff test is just like it sounds….Put your nose right up to the cloth and if it smells anything other than fresh, remove and replace it.
• Empty water bottles and refill with fresh water
• Remove any food not eaten

Twice Weekly

Vacuum (or sweep) and dust the room in which your rats’ cage is located:

• • While dusting, place a cover over the cage so dust gets doesn’t get inside.
  • If the room is carpeted, place your rats in their travel carrier and take them to another room so the loud vacuuming sounds don’t disturb them.

Weekly

• Thoroughly clean all water bottles using a bottle brush and dish detergent. Rinse fully. Water bottles and sipper tubes can also be placed in the top rack of your dishwasher for “double cleaning”. Again, be sure to rinse completely even after they’ve been washed in the dishwasher.
• Take everything out of your pet rats’ cage
• Wash the cage (if needed). You will not need to wash the cage if your rats’ cage floors are always completely covered—such as with fleece. You only need to wash your rats’ cage if it has particles from feces and/or food or any other organic matter built up on it. If the cage itself has not accumulated organic material, you can proceed to the disinfecting and skip the washing.
• Disinfect

How to wash and disinfect your pet rats’ cage

This video shows step by step how to wash and disinfect your pet rats’ cage. A few updates since this video was made are:

1. I am now recommending that your rats’ cage be disinfected weekly. (In the video I said to “deep clean every 1-2 months”.)
2. It is not necessary, as stated in the video, to wash your cage with detergent prior to disinfecting. As mentioned above, you only need to wash your cage with detergent if there’s caked up organic material on the wire of the cage.
3. Instead of using Oxyfresh Cleansing Gelé , I’m now recommending that you use diluted bleach (16 parts water : 1 part bleach) when disinfecting. Another product that’s been brought to my attention that’s both effective and safe is CleanSmart.

If you prefer written instructions, continue reading below:

Supplies Needed

For washing the cage (if needed):

• Scrub brushes (assorted sizes), toothbrushes for smallest areas. Even if you don’t need to wash your cage, it’s still a good idea to wash and scrub any plastic litter boxes you’re using before moving on to disinfecting.
• Spray bottle filled with diluted dishwashing detergent. (Squeeze out enough detergent to cover the bottom of an empty spray bottle, then fill to the top with water) –  Dawn dishwashing detergent  (which also helps wildlife) works exceptionally well due to it’s grease cleaning capabilities. As noted above, this detergent is only needed to clean off caked organic materials or for scrubbing any plastic litter boxes you’re using.)

For disinfecting the cage:

There are several products you can use for disinfecting your pet rats’ cage.

Bleach: Mix 16 parts water to 1 part bleach in a spray bottle. My current vet whom I admire and trust greatly advocates using bleach for disinfecting. Until the last few years I was very reluctant to use something as strong as bleach, but I’ve decided to go with what my vet is recommending. Because the bleach is so diluted I can barely smell it myself while I’m using it. As long as you rinse well after using it, I’ve found bleach to be both safe and effective. It has not harmed my cage at all either.

Other products that may be used:

• CleanSmart – One of my website readers asked me about using this product to disinfect her pet rats’ cage. I’d never heard of it so I emailed my vet. My vet wrote back “I think it is fine to use hypochlorous acid. It’s very effective and safe.”
• Oxyfresh Cleansing Gelé is no longer available. Oxyfresh cage cleaning spray may be a good substitute. It contains Stabilized Chlorine Dioxide. On Chewy’s website, it’s noted that “Chlorine Dioxide is known as a disinfectant; however, we have not done the required testing with EPA to classify as such for disinfectant, antibacterial, antiviral, and fungal.” It’s notable that this website shows promising information about the capabilities of Stabilized Chlorine Dioxide.
• Have several bath towels on hand for drying your cage, litter boxes and any wheels or other toys you’re disinfecting.

For machine washing cloth items:

• Free & Clear Laundry Detergent (unscented and hypoallergenic)
• Bleach (add 1/2 cup or follow label recommendations)
• If you prefer not to use bleach, white vinegar (add one cup to washer) helps cut through odors.

Preparation

• Prepare a small cage or carrier to place your rats in while you clean. You can have them in a cat carrier, collapsible cage or any spare cage you have on hand. For babies, you need to have bar spacing and gaps closer together. This carrier works well for temporarily housing/transporting babies. Make the cage or carrier comfy for them with a small litter box (if they’re litter trained), a box for sleeping in, soft bedding, food and water. A few chew toys thrown in is always a good idea, too.
• Take everything out of the cage including your rats.
• Place your rats in the travel carrier/extra cage. (I tell them it’s their “hotel room”.)
• Use free & clear laundry detergent in your washing machine to clean all cloth items. Add 1 cup of distilled white vinegar to your wash. (The vinegar helps cut through residual urine odors.)
• Throw away anything that can’t be cleaned such as cardboard boxes or items made of wood.
• Clean hard plastic items such as sputniks, other types of hideouts and toys the same way you clean and disinfect the cage.
• Decide where you want to clean your pet rats’ cage – The best place is outdoors. If this isn’t an option for you, smaller or medium size cages can easily be cleaned in a bathtub or shower stall. If you have a larger cage and are unable to clean it outdoors, you can still clean it in the room where it’s located. Place a large plastic tarp underneath and around your cage to avoid getting water on your floor. To rinse, use rags or washcloths soaked in a bucket or large bowl of clean water.

STEP 1 – Wash (if needed)

Spray the entire cage using your spray bottle filled with dish detergent diluted with water. Use your scrub brushes to scrub in each direction to loosen up and get rid of all dirt and debris. Start at the top of your cage and work your way down so you won’t knock any dirt onto an area you’ve already cleaned. It’s very important to get rid of all dirt particles before using your disinfectant. If you skip using detergent first to get rid of all the dirt, the disinfectant won’t be effective on the actual surfaces of the cage. If your cage has a bottom tray, remember to spray and scrub it as well.

STEP 2 – Rinse

Rinse off the detergent thoroughly. If you’re able to clean your cage outdoors, a garden hose works perfectly for rinsing. If you’re cleaning your cage indoors, turn on the shower to rinse. A detachable shower head with a hose is helpful.

STEP 3 – Disinfect

Rinse cage and all other items thoroughly prior to disinfecting. You do not have to dry after rinsing.

Spray the disinfectant onto all surfaces including the bottom tray.

Leave the disinfectant on for at least 10 minutes.

STEP 4 – Rinse

Rinse all surfaces thoroughly.

STEP 5 – Dry

Towel dry.

If you’re cleaning your cage outside, (and if it’s a warm, sunny day,) leave your cage out in the sun for an hour or so after towel drying.

For extra thoroughness, you can use the same methods above to clean the walls surrounding your rats’ cage.

Time to Redecorate

Once your cage is back in its normal spot, fill it with new boxes, freshly washed bedding and hammocks and clean litter boxes. All that’s left is to return your rats to their home. They’ll love checking out their redecorated digs!