Cage

How do I get my rats to stop peeing outside the cage?

I have two rats, and they don't pee when I let them out, or anything, but instead of peeing inside the cage they go up to the top level of their cage and pee so it goes outside the cage. Its really gross. I have plastic under the cage so my floor dosn't get hurt, but its still really gross. How do I get them to stop?

Public Comments

1. You need to potty train them. any box will work. Put it on the floor of the cage. Now when they pee or poop in that litter box reward them with a treat. DO NOT put bedding or litter anywhere but in the litter box or they will get confused. Or simpler yet just get an aquarium.
2. .....................some diapers.................!
3. im guessing you have a wire cage then, so i'll suggest an aquarium, that's what we did with our gerbils, bcuz of that very same problem. if not you could potty train them, to one of those ferret corner boxes or something. good luck!!
4. my hampter did that i just put up stuff around the cage so he couldnt get it ever where...he eventually stoped
5. Unfortunately, while rats can be trained to use a litter box, they can usually only be trained to use it to poop. They'll still pee wherever and whenever they want-- that's just what they do. I don't know that there's anything you can do to stop them from doing it on the top level. However, if there's one spot that they usually pee from, you could try putting a little box there and hopefully they would keep going in that spot and the box would catch it (and maybe they'd even learn that the box is the place to go.) Putting them in an aquarium is NOT a good solution. They'll have much less ventilation inside of an aquarium, so you'd have to clean it much more often to keep them healthy, and they'd miss the extra space and bars to climb on.
6. Hey Rita, Would you pee in your bed? Didn't think so. Your rats are being tidy by not peeing in their house. A litter box might help, try putting some dirty litter (from the bottom of the cage) in it and keep everything else super clean. They'll figure out that that's the bathroom. Girls are more likely to pee in it than boys, although both genders are pretty good about pooping in the box when given the option. I'd recommend using twisty-ties to secure it to the cage so it doesn't get dumped over. I would not recommend an aquarium, unless you do a cage with an aquarium bottom and two or three levels of wire cage on top so they can get some fresh air. Amonia can build up in an aquarium, and it isn't good for their little lungs. Also try buying a rubber mat from OSH or Home Depot or whatever and keep it under the cage. Wipe it clean every so often.