Rats and Mice Odor?

Question

I don't own any rats yet, but at the moment, i have a male mouse. (he is alone because he always beat up his cagemates) i clean the cage every 5-6 days, but he still smells quite a bit. i don't mind, and my mom tolerates it.

when i ask for pet rats, i know that my mom's logic will be something like this - that one little mouse stinks to high heaven, two rats must be ten times as bad!

i am pretty sure that the above statement is untrue, and i would just like some assurances. so, anyone who has kept both male mice and male rats, which animal smells worse?

also, what are some ways to cut down on smells, so that i can bring them up as a counter when my mom brings up her argument?

Answer 1

Why do male mice smell? Well, if you had a little more then a year to find as many females as you could and reproduce your genes you'd put up a big stink too. Mice only live 1 to 2 years.

Seriously, it's a throwback to his wild cousins. The strong musky smell of the male mouse is his natural perfume. It's his announcement to the world as to how macho he is. When he is in his prime and all through his breeding age, his pheramone-laden musk tells all other male mice what fine shape he is in, and tells the girls that they should pick him as the father of their babies.
http://members.tripod.com/marinebiology2001/id10.htm

Interesting, a female prefers the male whose scent she smells on another female:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/03/060322183814.htm

The problem with cleaning out his cage is that it makes him feel insecure, because he's so dang macho (and this would also explain his desire for fighting), and so he scent-marks his territory even more. Your cleaning method is correct, Ready, in that other mouse-keepers also clean out their cages every 5 to 6 days. But try this to see if you can cut down on the odor. Just clean out his pee/poo corner every day and wipe down that corner with vanilla extract. Leave his cage set up a little longer so he feels more at home and he won't need to remark his territory so much. Try switching to a highly absorbant paper product bedding.

Male mice are territorial and some prefer to live alone, with some exceptions.
http://www.fancymice.info/keepingmales.htm

Many rat-keepers, including myself, describe their female rats as smelling like grape soda, and their males smelling like warm taco chips. Males do have this musky smell and they do mark their territory more then females. Keeping their cage clean by cleaning every day to every three days will keep the poop and pee odor down.

From my own experience, Ready, and to keep your mom happy, I would strongly suggest that you start your rat-keeping with two female rats. Females have little to no odor. An open-barred cage, absorbant paper bedding and the same kind cage cleaning method as for the mice will work for the rats. All of this will help to keep the cage odor down.

Unlike mice, you can litter box train your rats:
http://search.yahoo.com/search?search=litter+box+train+your+rats&ei=UTF-8&fr=ks-ans&ico-yahoo-search-value=http%3A%2F%2Frds.yahoo.com%2F_ylt%3DAqFmYLsucJ9Ju1A_wytuo5cazKIX%2FSIG%3D111gjvvgj%2F*-http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2Fsearch&ico-wikipedia-search-value=http%3A%2F%2Frds.yahoo.com%2F_ylt%3DAjrR1DDgyctRMOV346dKZz4azKIX%2FSIG%3D11ia1qo58%2F**http%253a%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FSpecial%253aSearch&p=litter+box+train+your+rats

Thank you for posing this question for us. I too have always wondered why male mice have such a strong odor and this research for you led me to the answer.

spazrats
"my life has gone to the rats"

Answer 2

My friend had a pet mouse, I took him out and he peed on my hands. it took several harsh scrubbings, over several hours, to get that smell off of my hands. Ive had rats for years and the only time I can start to smell them is when I've let their cage go a little too long with out cleaning it (2 weeks or more...but I don't do that anymore, now im pretty anal about making sure they get a clean cage every week). Tell your mother the size has nothing to do with it. for example I have 3 male rats in one cage, and a hamster in another cage. When cleaning time comes, the one hamster in his own cage always smells far worse than my 3 rats. Your mom might not believe you because you've never owned a rat. Show her the answers you've gotten to this question. Different people, from all over, who obviously dont know each other from the man on the moon, all agreeing on one common thing - Rats dont stink. Obviously we have nothing to gain by telling you that they dont smell, so it must be true.

If you're considerin getting one, make sure you get a cage made for rats. No tanks! tanks will hold in any odor they have, because theyre not properly ventilated, and rats loooove climbing. Cant climb in a glass tank. Make sure you give them a big wheel to run on, and a nice comfy bed to sleep in (mine have a big plastic igloo, they love it).

Answer 3

I have 3 male rats and I clean their cage daily to help keep odor under control. Mice are about as stinky as they come in my opinon, unless you are looking at spiny mice. I loved my spiny mouse! He was super friendly and they hardly stink. I kept him on carefresh and I could probably go a month without cleaning him (I cleaned him every 2 weeks).
Vinegar and water is what I use to clean with. It's inexpensive and can really get rid of urine residue and smells!

Answer 4

We have 3 rats, I've never owned any mice. I can tell you that rats are very clean animals, ours sit and clean themselves every time we put them back in the cage after playing. I can also tell you that with a little time and patience you can potty train rats to use a little box. 2 of ours are potty trained and I just dump and refill the litter box every couple days.

Answer 5

well, i myself have had 4 rats at one time and have kept them well smelling. something that you can do to keep the smell away, is to buy the white soft bedding that you can get at a pet store. it might be a bit revealing of their bathroom trips, but it makes all the difference. another thing that you might try to do is use some ivory soap and scrub the cage and bin. this helps tremendously! if you get every corner it gets all of their dirty hair and pee droplets that they have ALL OVER. Tip 3, would be to bathe them every 2.5-4 months. use very mild shampoo from hotels or other sources that you know arent strong. the reason for this is if you use strong shampoo(shampoo that gets all of the grease or hairspray), it will make their skin dry and itchy. i have had this experience and they did not like it. just fill up a sink about half the length of Your rats body. (or mouse) use moderately warm water. comfortable enough for them. be careful not to let their face to get in the water. it will burn their eyes. then scrub all over their body including under their arms, bottom, tail, etc. scrub it all off and dry them quickly with a very soft towel. this works great! in fact i just did this today! their fur looks immaculate and they feel soft and smooth. by doing this, you are scrubbing all of the odor and previous odors that stick to their scalp and fur. it really works and i encourage you to try it! good luck with persuading your parents!

Answer 6

I've had mice and I have 13 rats....rats there's no smell if the cages are kept clean and they're so friendly and loyal! The tiny little cute mice were gorgeous but a bit stinky!

Answer 7

mice smell a lot worse than rats do. i used to have a tank full of mice and they had to be changed every couple of days. my two male rats cages get changed about once a week, more if needed. they are meticulously clean animals. they will tend to use one corner of the cage as a potty.

Answer 8

Let me put it this way: Rats Rule; Mice Stink! Literally, but I have 2 rats, and we can go for a week or 2 without changing their cage, and can't smell 'em =D

Answer 9

We have had both rats and mice as pets, and the mice had a far worse smell. We built a "rat condo" for our rats, it was well ventilated (glass aquariums are the worst!). Rats are not as jumpy and are fun. We trained ours to do a maze.
Any excrement is going to smell if not cleaned. That is why humans use toliets! :)

Answer 10

You should see my basement!