Cleaning & Disinfection

Keeping your rat's cage and environs clean is absolutely vital to their continued good health. This basic husbandry issue can be the key factor in many serious health concerns for your rat - respiratory, parasitical and general stress management - as well as contributing to other health concerns by stressing their immune system to the max. Additionally, a smelly cage is not very pleasant for the people who share the area, and can really add to allergy concerns.

It's very important to completely clean a cage at least once a week. Spot-cleaning during the week (changing hammocks and fabric toys, wiping up any visible urine puddles, changing corner litter pans if the rats are litter pans) will help, but a full clean-out needs to happen at least every 7 days, or as soon as you can detect odor. If you can smell it, your rats have been inhaling it for longer! Good, high-quality bedding will help stretch the amount of time the cage can go without cleaning, but 7 days is really the maximum.

Empty the pan and throw away the bedding. Then use HOT water (the hose just won't cut it!) and spray down the cage. I use a washing machine hose (which is temperature resistant so I can grip it safety!) with a multi-sprayer hose nozzle on it, screwed to my shower in place of the showerhead. The cages go in the bathtub and I really spray them down, using the jet setting to really spray loose the crud from ramp joints and corners. Then the cage gets sprayed with a good, strong cleaning agent like Simple Green, Nature's Miracle or a similar product. I use a handled scrub-brush to loosen and get rid of anything clinging to the bars, and then I hose all the remains away.

Then use a disinfecting agent, such a very diluted bleach, nolvasan, or chlorhexidine. Why? Well, there's a lot of bacteria that you just can't scrub off. Over time, it builds up, causing an odor to cling to even a clean cage, and can act as a medium to grow infections for your animals. Use a spray bottle to mist a diluted disinfectant solution onto the cage (make sure you have good ventilation in the room!) and allow it to sit for a minute before doing a very thorough rinse with the hot water.

Let the cage dry before you put fresh bedding in, as damp bedding can grow mold and mildew. Clean the area around the cage, including where it sits, and the wall behind it. If you notice odor in the area the cage sits, a disinfection may be in order there too!

Make sure you wash any hammocks in hot water and soap, but don't use a dryer sheet when drying them, as they contain chemicals and restrict the absorbtive abillities of cloth. Wash all their washable toys in hot water and soap as well, and throw away chewed up cardboard boxes and toys.

Put fresh bedding, clean hammocks and toys into the cage, and put your rats back into their new, clean home!