Can I Bathe My Female Pet Rat?

Question

I just bought a 2 month old female rat. I've been told that I should give her a bath once a week. She seems really clean and I've also heard that it could kill them.

Is it ok to bathe her? If so what soap do I use? should I use water?

Answer 1

Rats should not need to be bathed. They are very clean and take good care of themselves with constant grooming. Generally, you should only need to bath them if they've got something in their fur which they shouldn't ingest or if there are medical reasons.

Bathing a rat is unlikely to kill it! (Although most do absolutely hate water so you are likely to get shredded by frantic claws!) It is very stressful for rats which hate water and so if they are already ill or weak it may worsen their condition.

Personally, I wouldn't bother bathing her unless she has got herself messy.

If you do need to give her a bath, use a very mild small animal shampoo or fragrance free gentle baby wash. Be careful to avoid the eyes, nose, mouth and ears. Make sure you use water which feels a bit too warm rather than a bit too cold (rats have a higher body temperature than us). Rinse all the bubbles out as well as you can so that the rat doesn't end up ingesting any shampoo and help it dry off with a gentle rub in a towel, especially if it's a cold day.

Also, have you considered getting one of her sisters as a cage mate? Rats do get very very lonely if kept on their own and do best if kept in same sex pairs or small groups. They are very social and need one another to sleep with, play with and to groom each other. Keeping two rats does not need much more time, money or space than keeping one. And you get hours of entertainment watching them play together :)

Answer 2

you son't have to bathe her that often. it could actually cause her to have skin problems by removing the natural oils. use a mild kitten and puppy soap on her when you do bath her. you only need to give her a bath if she gets really dirty or gets something in her fur that you want to get out. fill the sink with warm water, dip her in up to her neck, careful not to get water in her ears and mouth, rub a little bit of soap on her avoiding her head, and then dip her back in the water to get all the soap off. make sure that she is fully dry and keep her in a warm place until you are sure that she is dry all the way. you may have heard that it could kill them because someone got water in the mouth and it went into the rats lungs or they didn't follow what i have written above for bathing and the rat got a respiratory infection (which rats are prone to). i hope you are not using a pine or cedar bedding as they release phenols which are toxic to rodents. you can use an aspen bedding which is hard wood, paper, or corn cob bedding.

Answer 3

there is no need to bathe your rat. they are fastidiously clean themselves. though they are capable, if not excellent swimmers, pet rats are bred from laboratory stock & are therefore sterile, i.e. they have practically no immune system. if wet, you would have to dry them to avoid pneumonia (which they are susceptible to anyway, two of mine caught it & i lost one despite 3 days intensive vetinary care). can you dry off your rat without breaking it's tiny bones? i think not. trust your rat's nature to clean itself. just be sure to clean it's cage regularly. at the very least 2 or 3 times a week. they remove their own bedding daily & only use a specific area of the cage for toileting, and won't go in a dirty cess-pit. also, they do pee as they go, hence the need for regular & constant change of bedding/flooring. never use saw-dust. wood-chipping for flooring & straw or tissue for bedding. never!!! use news-paper as the ink is poisonous to them.

Answer 4

It is fine to bathe your pet rat. You should be able to buy a small animal shampoo at your local pet shop, depending on what country you are in I guess.
However If you cant find special soap, don't use human soap.