How often do you bathe your ratties?

[LeslieMarie]

I'm just curiouse how often you all bathe your ratties becuase I'm not sure how often to bathe mine. Their last bath was about a week ago. So, how often do you think I should bathe them?  

[Crazy4Rats]

Mine just had a bath about 5 minutes ago, actually.  

I try to bathe mine about every month or two months. I am (severly) allergic to them, go figure, I break out in hives when ever I hold them. It helps a lot if I bathe them frequently to get out the buck grease and other items that cause my allergic reactions.

I'm allergic to rats and horses (amung other things), and I am obsessed with them...go figure.  

[LeslieMarie]

Okies.  

[Ree]

Don't bathe them very often, as you'll strip their coats of natural oils and whatnot...

Unless mine get wiffy or greasy (WHY stash the baked potato in the tunnel you use to get into your hidey house?!) they don't get baths... They've all had about three, maybe four baths since I've had them (Sept 01)

[hyper_muse]

I suppose your rats dont need baths. Of course if they have honey all through their coat (Trust me, you dont want to go there! ) you would want to give them a bath.
I bathe my rats when one of the babies decides to wee in their house and it forms a puddle and thet all soak it up with their coats and it smells rotten!
so once they have slept in their wee so many times that i cant live with their smelly fur, they go for a dunk in the drink.
probably happens once in 1 1/2 to 2 months.

[Suebee]

Actually, with my current crew, they have never been given a bath (they'll be two years old in Feb). Technically, they really don't need them... unless, of course, they are covered in raspberry jelly. LOL!

I used to give regular baths to past groups I have had, and it was just too much stress for both of us. I do what I can to keep their coats healthy through proper diet, and don't seem to have any problems.

[tunes]

I don't bathe mine either.  I wouldn't have thought about doing it because they don't really get into anything that causes their fur to get yucky.  I have let them "swim" in the summer, just for fun, but no shampoo was involved.

I wondered about this - I have chinchillas and I read somewhere where rats could benefit from the same type of dust bath that chinchillas take.  I thought it would not be a good idea because of all the respiratory issues that rats have, but supposedly it is very good for keeping the oils in balance on their coats and also helps eliminate odor.  I think it said once every couple weeks, whereas the chins get it every day or every other day, but still.....

[lillynbailey]

I have only had my girls for about 3 or so weeks, but decided to try bathing them the other night.  It actually went very well and for the most part they seemed to enjoy it, especially dunking themselves in the water  .  I used a small animal oatmeal shampoo.  They were very soft and smooth afterwards.  I wouldnt do it that often due to possible irritation or dryness, but once a month or longer is nice, gives them something different to do and they smell pretty.

[devaney]

Normally, I bathe mine a few times a year. I also normally bathe them the first day I get them, especially when I take them home in a cardboard box with no shavings and they pee! Sometimes my hairless rats get a little wild (I always use shredded newspapers in their cages) and they start to look a little gray after a while so I bathe them a little bit more, but not too much because I don't want to dry out there skin. I use small animal shampoo in Cucumber Melon so I love to snuggle them after a wash. They smell so good!

[BabyBlue]

I bath them once in awhile, when they get real stinky. I have a Ruud cage and they like to pee from the top level onto the others below, and that can get ugly sometimes But I dont like to give them baths unless they really need it, cuz it is no fun for either of us.

[amymckee]

Mine only get baths when they get really gross or have skin problems. "Rat" got a bath every 2 weeks because he had bad skin and for some reason he gave me horrible allergy problems. I also had to bathe Scooter when he couldn't balance enough to groom himself.

Usually I just take pet wipes and clean off the extra gunk if they need it. I don't give the others baths. It's just too much stress for an animal who likes to pee in its own bed. If they don't care, for the most part I don't either.

[Dianna]

I don't usually bath my rats either.. unless they are really dirty from food fights or they need a mite/flea bath. Other wise they seem to be just fine with grooming themselves and each other.

Dianna

[lillynbailey]

Stress on both you and the rat??  My girls didnt seem to mind at all, they loved the tub and playing around in the water, and they didnt seem to mind being shampooed up any more then normally being held.  Maybe I just got different personalities  

[Mirabell]

The only time I have ever bathed my rats is right after I rescued Templeton (my very first boy!).  Imagine how surprized I was to find that he was not a "mustard yellow with brown head" rat, instead he was a "grey and white hooded!"
Since then, I haven't given anybody a bath.  I do give them 2x a week some bread with olive oil, and you can really tell when I have forgotten!  They become walking billboards for dandruff shampoo!  At least, that is what it looks like to me.

[amymckee]

Stress on both you and the rat??  My girls didnt seem to mind at all, they loved the tub and playing around in the water, and they didnt seem to mind being shampooed up any more then normally being held.  Maybe I just got different personalities  

My rats hate any water that is forced upon them. If I leave out a pan of water and ice cubes to run through, they love it. The spray bottle is a game to them. If I leave out a full glass of water, Pepper will get on the edge and dunk her head in all the way past her arms. If I fill the bath with a half inch of water and put them in, they freak. If I do give them a bath, I hold them as tight as I reasonably can, and go as fast as I can.

[HSH Rattery]

Since I'm allergic, the girls get a bath once a month, and the boys I usually do too. (unless they are unusually greasy, in which case I'd wonder if it was something in their diet)

[LeslieMarie]

Okay lol. Last time I bathed my ratties I didnt use shampoo or anything. It was there first bath and I just wanted to see how they liked the water. My mom works at the hospital and she brought me a little one oz. bottle of Johnsons baby wash so I can give them a bath. I think I'll wash them with it tomorrow and then not give them another bath for a month or two.

[AngelZOO]

I have to bath my 2 boys at LEAST once a month, I know this is much more often then recommened for your average rat, but these boys have the worst cleaning habbits I've ever seen. They are always sooo stinky, marking all over eachother, completely covering their blankets and hammies in pee and feaces so that I have to change it every day and... well you get the idea it's REALLY bad.

And honestly, since I have been bathing them more often, they have been itching LESS, I mean I really don't see them do it anymore, Their coats are finally getting softer, instead of feeling all brittle and wirey.

These new 4 girls, their coats are soft enough, I will bath them once while they are here.