Habitat Cleansing
Your pet's cage should always be kept clean. How often you need to
do so depends on the number of pets you have, the kind of
caging, and the type of bedding. Because of the ammonia build-up
in aquariums, these should be cleaned once or twice weekly for
1-2 females (guys usually need cleaning a little more) and of course, the more
animals you have sharing the residence, the more you will have to clean.
You have to remember that the rat's sense of smell is about
100x more sensitive than ours, so if we can smell urine,
we definately need to change it.
Once the old bedding is removed from the cage, the cage
must be washed with disinfectant, rinsed off very
throroughly, and dried before the bedding is replaced with fresh.
I have heard that many people use bleach (1 part bleach to
10 parts hot water), hydrogen peroxide, and many others. I was once told that
Lysol Spray is a great cleaner. Well, I went off to the store and bought some.
They said to spray the cage until it was wet and let it sit for 5-10 minutes to
be sure to clean. Well, here I go spraying like crazy. Before long, I was running
out of the bathroom because I couldn't breathe!! And I knew if I couldn't breathe,
then my poor little girls weren't staying in that cage tonight! lol
They slept in a huge card board box for the night while I gave the aquarium plenty
of time to air out. Remember to always wash away the disinfectants thoroughly to prevent
fatal results.
Now all you need to do is make sure the insides of the housing
are dry, and replace the bedding.
Scurry back to the Rat's Nest
And This Little Piggy Ran All The Way Home -- Back To Daphne's Domain
