really stinky poo's

[britters]

I just got my first female in march and she's been in qt at my moms house since. (Only because my boys got a little sick and i was dealing with that.) When ever i go over to change her cage and play with her i can't help but to notice how horribly smelly her cage is. I even scrubb the cage everytime i change it, I was thinking it was just the new type of food she was getting, but its been about a month now.  She eats the same stuff i make for my boys which is subee's mix and my mom gives her fresh fruits and veggies during the day.
I'm moving to my new house in a few weeks, and she will slowly be introduced to my nuetered boys. i'm just worried about her poo being a sign of somethign bad healthwise, and don't want to risk getting my boys sick again.
Is there anything that can be causing her poo to smell so bad? should she be on a different diet?

[looneycartoonie]

I know you said that her droppings smells bad and so does her cage, but are you sure that it's not her? If it's her cage then all I can this that you need to just change the bedding more often. If the cage is too small for her then you'll be sure to smell the ammonia smell from the urine really quickly. You can always use fleece with a litter box to see if that helps to keep the smell down. I don't think that there is anything wrong with her diet, but what type of blocks are you feeding her? The type of food that you feed them have a lot to do with their overall health (such as smell, coats, etc). I know that with my rats if I feed them too much broccoli they tend to have really soft stool and sometimes it smells worse than usual. What types of fruits/veggies are you feeding her?

Anyhow you should really check your girl to see if the smell is emanating from her. Just pick her up and feel if she has an abscess. Some are known to smell really bad. Put your finger in her ears to see if she has any build up of ear wax. Smell around her face and body to see if she has any bad odors. There could be a vaginal infection, eye infection or any type of infection that could be causing a smell. New environments and stress are also known factors that can cause smells on new rats. Since she's new, if it is the stress that's causing it, then it'll clear up once she's more comfortable.

If you still can't figure out an answer, them maybe a vet visit is in order. Better to be safe than sorry right? 

[britters]

i  don't think its her that smells, just her poo. I cleaned her cage on wednesday and it was fine and went to my parents house yesterday to check on her and it smelled again. My mom has been feeding her some grapes, a strawberry once in a while, peas, corn, cucumber (really its just whatever my mom has on hand at the time.)

I already have her on fleece bedding but she somehow manager to pull it all up and stuff it inside her igloo. I tried a litter box too but since im not at my moms all the time i can't teach her correctly how to use it, and my mom won't touch poo.
Its just wierd because i never had this problem with my guys and i thought maybe it might also be a girl thing, guess not tho.
I'm going over to my moms again today to sniff her out and make sure she's not the one reaking.

[Vibrissa]

I could be wrong (and others who are more expert will correct me asap I am sure, and that is a good thing ), but I don't think she needs to have grapes or cucumber.  At least I quit giving mine grapes and never gave them cucumber, but that is just from what I have read about giving dogs grapes, plus their poo seemed to get loose after grapes.  Too many fruits without a balance of protein could cause a problem, too. 

[britters]

hmm... i didn't know about the grapes or cucumbers. I should go look at the what not to eat forum again. thanx

[Vibrissa]

I may have been thinking of dogs, too, though. 

[Addicted2Rats]

You can't give dogs any amount of grapes or raisins because it can cause kidney failure.  I haven't heard that it applies to rat also though.

Deb

[looneycartoonie]

I don't know if it's bad to feed them grapes and cucumbers, but I agree that too many fruits/veggies without enough protein can make their stool soft. What type of block are you feeding?

[strangeduck]

Grapes are okay as a treat, but not a staple in her diet.  Is she double rex?  The reason I ask is all my double rex rats have stinkier poo and seem to pass gas more often.   However, I'm thinking that maybe she's getting too much veggie...not enough grain and protein?  Lots of broccoli and cucumbers and what not can cause lots of gas, which aside from being really stinky, can cause lots of discomfort.  Maybe cut back a bit on the fresh veggies and see what happens.

[Vibrissa]

Also, a little bit of food grade/quality diatomaceous earth (NOT the kind for swimming pools) mixed in food is healthy and eliminates odors.  Many people take it daily in water, many feed a little to their pets, many to their horses.  It has been found to be beneficial and not at all harmful.  It is also called fossil shell flour.  But I remember a time my rats had stinky poo and a change in their diets took care of it.  Not sure what I did at the time--maybe eliminate soy milk. 

[britters]

i give her the subee's mix with dogfood, every once in a while we give her an egg or a little bit of chicken.  Should i also be giving her blocks too, or just change her diet? i thought you didn't need to give them blocks if you had the mix as a stapple.
I'm still fairly new to owning rats i've only had mine for about a year and i never had a problem with my boys. So if i'm doing something wrong please let me know, because i want my little ones to be healthy.

[Vibrissa]

Oh, I just thought of another thing--(forgive me, the older I get, the longer it takes to remember these things)--but I had two females that had stinky poos too--the entire time they were in quarantine--I was worried it was always going to smell that way=but after about a month, they got better and better--and I think it was that they adjusted from whatever they had been eating with the foster person to the diet I was feeding them--and they got to smelling fine.  I think that may also help--give it time with their better diet with you.  Just my experience that I finally remembered lol.