how do i bathe a rat?

Question

and is it safe

Answer 1

It is fine as long as you don't do it that often.
There is a shampoo named Bunny Bath that you can get at most pet stores. It's a pink bottle with a Bunny on it. (Go Figure)

Try to keep water out of it's ears, I think that's the most important thing to know. And rinse well.

DON'T USE REGULAR SHAMPOO OR DOG OR CAT OR ELEPHANT SHAMPOO!! Or regular soap or dish soap! ALl those are tooooooo harsh for poor Rattie.

Clean your kitchen/bathroom sink really well.
MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A TOWEL FOR DRYING AND THE BUNNY BATH BY THE SINK SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO WALK AWAY TO GO GET IT WHEN THE RAT IS IN THE SINK!
Then fill with WARM -not hot-just up to the belly of the rat as it stands on all fours. may only be 1/2 in. of water. Then wet it down....add A LITTLE of the Bunny Bath to your hands and soap up the rat.
Turn the tap on pretty low and rinse off the rat.
Put the rat on a towel....let it shake (like a dog does, blow in it's ear if it doesn't, this should make it shake), then wrap in a towel.
Sit for a bit with the rat in the towel, if it will let you....so the towel can soak up most of the water. If it will let you....you can use a hair dryer on VERY low heat with the mouth of the dryer a foot or so away from the rat. If it is a warm day....you won't need to use a hair dryer. If it is cold....don't let your rat hang out all wet. It can catch a bad respiratory infection. VERY IMPORTANT!

Answer 2

I've always bathed my rats- they smell wonderfully and it's not bad for them at all, don't be worried. I read up on the thoroughly a few years back when I decided to do it.
It's best to do it from the time they're little so they're used to it, but either way, I just fill up a sink with lukewarm water, just deep enough to maybe reach the rats belly, so not much at all, and get a cup to help with rinsing! Normally it works well if I allow them to run around a bit and get used to the water, and then I wet them with a cup of water and use baby shampoo, and then rinse them off using the cup again. When she is THOROUGHLY rinsed, I wrap her in a towel and dry her off. Some of them really like it and will grind away happily...my little girl is a real talker when she gets a bath! Good luck. :-)

Answer 3

You don't really need to ...

You can let the rat sit on your palm, then stroke it gently with a wet paper towel. Maybe you could use some dry shampoos. Careful, though, because if the rat sees or hears the running water from the tap, it'll scramble to get away, leaving lots and lots of red scratches on your hands and arms!

Really, rats pretty much clean themselves (so if you use shampoo, be sure to get it all off before your rat licks itself). So unless there's some awful stench coming from your little one, I don't think you need to give it a bath.

Answer 4

I never knew people bathe rats

Answer 5

if you have to give it a bath then do it the same way you would give a bath to a ferret, put about an inch or so of water in the tub or sink, let them play for a while then scrub them very gently with a special shampoo for rodents rinse then off very gently, then to dry them off put them in a towel-bag and gentle rub them dry.
i recomend clipping their claws right afterwards while they are still soft.

Answer 6

Actually rats are very clean and will clean themselves - just like a cat will. If it's really dirty - I would ask your Vet.

Answer 7

Mine do just fine bathing themselves....it's probably not a good idea to bathe one. It will probabaly make it sick. They are super clean animals, belive it or not! ...let it bathe itself.

Answer 8

why first of all would you bathe a rat? dont they carry rabies a deadly diesease? i would let my cat eat it or give it some rat poinson.

Answer 9

Get a big pail of water put him in it and cover ...wait 10 min or so you will never have to worry about it again.

Answer 10

Go to a petstore and ask, there are some shampoos that are made for rodents.