Is your cage galvinized or powder-coated?

I have 2 boys (soon to be 3) and have the exact same cage you do.
I use towel bedding was doing a bedding change once or twice a week with a complete take-the-cage-outside-and-scrub-it-with-a-wire-brush cleaning on Sundays. There was rarely any smell at all. I change it more now due to Cosmo's bumbley feet. With 5 girlies, maybe you should do a complete clean more often.

Can you keep the rats downstairs? I know what it's like trying to lug a huge cage down a flight of stairs, but to save your cage, your back, and your sanity, maybe you could move them?

I do a complete cage clean twice a week, and I have 6 girls, and they don't stink hardly at all.

I think some people's noses are just more sensitive than others... I've had a 690 for two years now, and although it has icky buildup on it from urine protein deposits, I've never noticed a smell.  I mean, if the bedding is icky then yes, or if the hammock or cardboard boxes or wooden furniture needs scrubbed then I smell that, but the cage itself is fine.  The only thing I've found that gets the buildup off is an actual scrubber (not just a sponge, the type you use on nasty pots & pans but can be used on teflon so it doesn't scrape off the powder coating).

Thanks everyone for your replies and advice!

Yes, at least once a week I do a full bedding/shelf scrubbing.  I also usually refresh their bedding in between then.  The problem I have been having is that it seems like the very next day after I scrub their bars, the urine has built up and it's smellin' again.  I guess I'm just not used to having so many rats... I've never had this many rats at one time before, let alone in one cage.  I guess I'm a lot more stubborn than I thought!   When I had three girls in a cage half the size, I'd only begin to get an unpleasant whiff after two weeks, which is how often I cleaned it (although I did freshen it in between then).

Oh, how I WISH I could keep their cage downstairs... however, my parents like the idea of having pets, but they'd rather not have to look at them or have their space taken up by what they consider to be too big a cage.  Anyway, this afternoon I lugged the cage down the two flights of stairs and scrubbed it with bleach water and blasted it with a hose.... so we'll see how long that lasts.  Maybe if I can convince my parents how much easier it is to clean the cage outside, they'll let me keep it downstairs.  Honestly, I'd be glad to clean their cage every other day that way if it weren't for all the lugging.  I finally weasled my sister into helping me carry it down the stairs and it was soooo much easier, so maybe that was the problem, I just needed some help!  However, she thought it was rather torturous of me to ask to her to help, despite the fact that it took less than two minutes.

Okay, now that I've rambled on for so long, I realize how silly all this is...  thanks again everyone for being patient with me.

does your cgae have a plastic/metal tray at the bottom which you can take the actual cage off.... that might make it easier to carry if you have to separate parts because youc an turn them on  there side etc......

I noticed a smell with my girls and I clean there cage once a week but more if needed. I dont mind the smell, its not that bad but it drives my fiancee nuts. He just has a sensitive nose. I may try fabric or towels of somesort on the shelves and see how that works!

Before I forget: I wanted to ask ya'll what cleaning products you use.  I use Nature's Miracle or Mr. Clean and lots of hot water.  Just yesterday I tried warm bleach water, but this morning I could already smell them from across the room. (not that that my room is big enough for that to mean anything, lol)


Oh!  That's a really good point!  I got the cage in the spring and this problem started once the summer came.  It gets very humid in the summer around where I live, so I bet that is part of the problem.  Thanks!  Now that you mention it... it does seem to smell a bit less when the AC is on, but since my room is so small it's not much of a difference.


Wow... I never thought of that... thank you, I'll try it!


Another really good idea... I'll try it too.  Do you secure the fabric down with anything?  Because I know that my girls will drag it up to their nest, no matter how big it is.

I saw something in a pet store a couple days ago, but wasnt brave enough to try it. It looked like that crystal cat litter stuff, the directions said to place a thin layer beneath the bedding, and it would eliminate the smell by absorbing the urine.
Any thoughts?

^Thanks.  I have some alligator clips lying around... so I think I'll try that.  I'm sure my girls will love it, but we'll see how frustrated I get constantly reclipping gnawed corners...

Vinegar!  Yes!  I've heard of that before, thanks for reminding me!  I am using aspen.  Yeah, I think carefresh has a yucky smell, even straight from the bag.  

Hmmm, that's interesting.  But my problem is not with the bedding getting smelly or dirty.  It is with the urine sticking to the wire shelves and stinking horribly no matter how much I scrub.   But thanks though!

Thanks all!

Hi all
I use baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) in the bottom of the tray. I use a big handfull. It is under newspaper. Baking soda is non toxic and magic in absorbing smells. cheap too.
I wonder if the food you are feeding your rats is affecting their smell. Also, if your rats have been on antibiotics, this can make them smelly. The antibiotics kills the good bugs in their guts and they can get diarrhea. It takes awhile for the normal flaura and fauna to be reestablish.