Photo credit: Matt Baume via Flickr – CC License
Rats definitely have a distinct aroma, but it normally isn’t detectable from a few feet away. Surprisingly, female rats are often described as smelling fruity and sweet. Males may smell like nachos or corn chips! With that said, their pee is more the smell that rats are known for. Cleaning their cage regularly can help with this.
Eau de Rat
Here are some words that come up a lot if you ask fanciers what their rats smell like:
- Musky
- Sweet
- Hay
- Honey
- Fruity
- Corn chips
- Popcorn
Their smell is the strongest after they’ve just groomed themselves and have wet fur. Sort of like the wet dog effect, but not nearly as strong!
Pet rats also smell like pee
Almost every rat fancier will probably agree that their pet rats smell like pee. Most rats have an unfortunate habit of dribbling as they walk.
You can litter train rats to discourage this behavior while they’re outside their cage. Some rats will also choose a litter box inside of their cage if you use two different beddings. But to some extent, the pee smell can be hard to avoid.
You are what you eat
The way your rats smell also depends on what you feed them. Rats given a diet of fresh foods tend to smell better than ones who eat processed foods. They will even smell like mint if you feed it to them. Not all rats like mint, though!
Male vs. female rat smells
Males and females smell differently.
Females are more likely to be described as sweet, fruity (especially after they have just groomed themselves), or honeylike. Females generally don’t have a very strong smell, so you need to put your whiffer pretty close to smell it.
Male rats are muskier and have a stronger scent in general. Popcorn is a word that comes up a lot – so does corn chips!
Baby rats can also have a stronger smell than adults.
Comparison to other animals
Personally I find that rats smell a lot better than dogs! Their smell certainly isn’t as strong or as detectable from far away. Their cages are probably on par with cat litter when they aren’t cleaned for a few days.
The smell also isn’t as strong with rats as with rabbits, hamsters, or guinea pigs. (Of the smaller pets, I would say ferrets have the strongest, most detectable smell.)
Rats are a lot cleaner than you might think!
Rats enjoy being clean and will groom themselves and each other throughout the day.
Some rats are very particular about where in their cage they pee. They might pick one corner, a specific item like a towel, or a litter box if you provide one.
Other rats are much lazier, or maybe more spiteful…
What to do with stinky rats
Most rats don’t need to be bathed unless they’re too old or ill to groom themselves.
With that said, I did have one male rat who loved to lay in his own pee. (He was a special one for sure.) I would give him a wipe-down with a wet face cloth from time to time to freshen him up.
You can give your rats a plastic tub or small bowl of water to help them clean themselves if they’re getting stinky.
How to get rid of pet rat smell?
- Litter train your rats to keep the smell of their waste (mostly) contained inside their litter box. Rats will still scent mark, but a litter box does help!
- Scoop out the poops from their cage daily, and replace the bedding in their litter boxes. If your rats aren’t litter trained, sometimes they’ll still use one corner of the cage for a bathroom.
- Use a more absorbent bedding for their cage. Although you’ve probably seen lots of beautiful cages online that are lined with fleece, it’s not very absorbent and gets stinky within a couple of days. Because the pee just sits on top of fleece, your rats might be rolling in their own pee (ew).
- Opt for cage fixtures that are absorbent, rather than plastic. Plastic needs to be wiped down daily as the pee just sits on top (like with fleece).
- Deep clean their cage once a week. If you have a large group of rats, you might have to clean it more often.
- With that said, sometimes the answer is to clean their cage less. Both males and females scent mark their enclosures. If you clean it too often, they’ll just have to mark more to keep up with you.
- Air out the room by opening the windows if it’s nice outside. Rats can be temperature, sunlight and draft sensitive, so try to keep their cage away from the window itself.
- Use an air purifier. This actually goes a long way towards minimizing the rat smell in a room.
To sum it all up
Rats definitely have their own distinct aroma. Whether the Aroma of Rat is pleasant or not depends on who you ask. Personally I prefer the way they smell to dogs, but you’ll have to go sniff one for yourself 😄
