Bathing rats...?

Question

tips, suggestions, how to's...

Answer 1

I fill the tub, just enough where they can swim, but not too much, as they should be able to stand with their head above water with little to no effort. Water should be lukewarm (make sure it's not too hot, or too cold! Don't want them to get sick or hurt in the process of the bath).

I use Dawn original on my male rat, since males tend to get oil build-ups, and it helps keep the oil at a manageable limit. I use Johnson's Baby Shampoo for the females.

Let them swim and adjust to the water (especially if they've never been in water before!), but supervise them to make sure they don't jump out of the tub. Swimming is also a great exercise, by the way.

Apply a small amount of rat-friendly ''shampoo'', then lather (don't get the head wet, and don't lather it with shampoo, because the ears are sensitive to water!) Rinse, then wrap the rat in a towel. Rub gently to semi-dry, and put them in a CLEAN cage (no point in bathing them, if they go into a dirty cage afterwards) to groom themselves dry.

I bath my rats usually once a month, or every time I clean the cage (2 weeks, but only if the rat smells at the time).

Don't rush the bathing procedure, you want them to have fun during this, not be afraid of it.

Answer 2

I have tried to bathe a rat by filling a little tub with water and the rat really freaked out. I wouldn't recommend that because it really scares them. The best way I found is to just turn on the tap to lukewarm water and hold the rat under the running water. If your rat is very tame and trusts you alot, he(she) will feel more comfortable in your hands while you are bathing him(her). Make it a quick bath and wrap your rat up in a towel right away when done.

Answer 3

Well I have my two male rats, and they sure need baths! So this is what I do:
1. Turn the sink water on, make sure it isn't too hot or too cold.
2. Talk to your rat, to calm it down.
3. Wet it's back and belly, not it;s face or ears! (it could get sick from this)
4. Use a mild hand soap or special rat soap (I use mild hand soap) and rub it on their fur, and gently scrub with the tips of your fingers.
5. Rinse gently, make sure ALL soap is off!
6. Dry off with a towel, do not use blow drier, make sure it is compltely dry before releasing him.
Some rats will squeak during this, most likely you are not hurting him, he just is scared. I have a rat who squeaks like crazy, while the other one is just fine. However, I know for a fact they will try to get out of your hands when you are bathing them! So put your hands around their middle section, don't squeeze too hard, but enough to control them. Sometimes switching hands often helps.
Hope this helps!!!

Answer 4

Our boys get more of a gentle "shower" in the kitchen sink. I make sure the water temp is comfortable & the pressure is low, hold my dirty rat in one hand, back feet supported on my wrist, & work quickly. I seldom need to wash higher than the shoulders for the boys & the girls usually don't need more than a tail-cleaning. If anyone's face is grubby I clean it with a damp cloth.
You can get shampoo for small animals, but I use cruelty-free baby shampoo. Rinse until you're sure all the shampoo is gone, then rinse again. Then comes my favorite part-- drying time. It's a really nice opportunity for some extra bonding time & it's obviously the rat's favorite time, too. A flea comb can be used to smooth the coat 7 remove loose hairs.

Answer 5

At one time I had 12 rats at one time. I would pick a day and give them all a bath. I used the kitchen sink. It was easier to reach them. I ran a small amt. of luke warm water and would bathe each one at a time with baby shampoo. Most of them really enjoyed the extra attention. I would wrap them in a towel and hold them next to me until they were dry. This took quite a bit of time. You don't want to do it too ofter or it will dry out their skin.

Just talk to them a lot with bathing them and have fun!

Answer 6

When I had my rats I bathed them with tearless baby shampoo. I held him under the tap with one hand wand washed him with the other. If the rat has fleas just leave a good amount of lather on for about five to ten minutes. This suffocates the varmints.

Answer 7

Beacause my rats tended to freak a little in water, I used to bathe them in the kitchen sink. I would put only about a half inch of water in the sink and put in the rat and gently use my hand to wet him. Then I used regular antibacterial hand soap (once I used a dab of Dawn, but he was really dirty) I cleaned his body and tail throughly but very gently washed his face and avoided his eyes. Then I used my hands to wash the soap of his face and the sprayer on the sink (on a gentle) to wash his body.

Be sure to promptly wrap the rat in a towel and keep him/her out of drafts until he/she is completely dry.

Also, for in between baths, I use baby wipes to just clean the fur a little if they get in to something. My rat Lily likes peppermint candies but manages to get her hands and fur sticky, so I usually lightly clean her with a baby wipe after:)

Answer 8

i hav had plenty of rats in my life what you should do is fill the bath up so its head aint under the water so it can breathe and just watch it as it swims round then at least itl b clean

Answer 9

I use antibacterial soap which was recommended by my vet. Use luke warm water and rinse well. He said it helps to prevent fungi on their feet and tail.

Answer 10

uhmm... why would you want to bathe a rat? .. then clean themselves
... or is that hamsters..?

EDIT:thumbs down for not knowing the answer..? thaaannnkkkss..not

EDIT: wow more thumbs down? gosh how many more can i get? lmaoo