The Dreaded Bath

In most cases, you may never need to bathe your rat. Rats are very clean and "clean" themselves regularly. But rats love to get into stuff. They might get into your garbage and get covered in coffee grounds or maybe end up getting some of their own poop on themselves. Or, like what happened in my case, a rat could get mites. They are little, tiny brownish-orange critters moving around their fur. You can barely see them, but if you look close, you’ll notice them moving around. When I discovered mites on Oscar, I gave him a bath in kitty medicated shampoo, then took him to the vet. The vet said that I did exactly what he would have told me to do (and for that advice, it cost me fifty bucks).

So there are many instances where you may have to bathe your rat. Here’s the way I do it:

Make sure you have a nice, dry towel ready, kitty medicated shampoo (or similar pet shampoo), a cup and maybe a towel to kneel on. I have bad knees (dating back from when I was a catcher in high school) so I have to have a really soft place to kneel on.

First, I fill the tub so that one end is a little deep (barely to what would be the rat’s shoulders) and the other end is shallow. The water is luke warm. You want the water to be just right. You don’t like jumping into a tub of really cold or really hot water and neither do your pets. A lot of people prefer using a plastic dish bin or bucket in the sink. I like the tub because it’s harder for them to get away and there’s a little room for them to move around if they want.

Put on a sweatshirt with long sleeves. Believe me, even if it’s a hot day, make sure your arms are covered. If you don’t, you’re going to get scratched. The first time I gave my rats baths, I did it in a T-shirt. By the time I was done, both arms were covered in scratches. You can even wear rubber gloves if you want too, but I usually don’t. I think it’s better for the rat to feel the warm, human skin rather than cold rubber, but that’s just my opinion.

Get the rat. Place him gently in the short end of the tub. In most cases, the rat will run around the tub, splashing in the water. At least, the first time they’ll do this. If it’s a rat who you find out hates water, the second time and every time after, will do everything he can to try and get out of that water as soon as he’s put in.

Let him get used to the water for a minute or two. Pet him a little and let him know everything’s fine, but don’t let him climb up your arm to get out. Take the cup, scoop up a little water and pour it on his back. I usually do a little at first and then gradually bigger cup fulls. I try to keep the water out of his face.

In some instances, like with my rat Oscar, I’ll end up holding him out of the water with one hand while pouring the water on him with the other.

If they’re really scared, they’ll poop in the water. I’ll usually scoop it up with the cup and put it in the toilet behind me. Oscar is the water-poop king.

Once he’s all wet, I’ll put a little shampoo on my hand and gently rub it into his back. Again, with Oscar, I’m usually holding him out of the water (he really hates the H20). Get the shampoo all over, as much as you can, keeping it away from his eyes and nose.

This is where the sweatshirt really comes in handy. He will try and climb up your arm. He will try and jump out of the tub altogether. He’ll try and latch onto the shower curtains. He’ll do everything he can to get out of that blasted water. Don’t let him out. After you’ve lathered him up and scrubbed him well (this is important if it’s for something like mites), take the cup and gentle rinse him off, pouring water on him the same way you did initially.

Make sure all the soap is out. Once you’re sure that he is totally soap free, pick up him and put him in your dry towel. Rinse him off. Most rats usually like this part.

Dry him off pretty good. My rat Oscar looks really funny when he’s being dried. All his fur sticks straight up and he looks like a white porcupine. But once he’s clean, he loves to ride around on my shoulder in all his pleasant-smellness.

Felix, Oscar’s brother, on the other hand, doesn’t like a bath, but takes it like a "man." He tries to get out like all the rest, but doesn’t poop at all, sits there as I lather him and rinse him off, all without making a noise.

Luke is a little baby. He whines and yips and does everything he can to try and get out.

The whole bath process for the water can be as little as a two minute process. If you’re just cleaning them up, it can even be shorter.

I now usually give my rats a bath about once a month. The vet said it cannot hurt them. In the case with mites, it’s a good idea (of course, the best thing with mites is to get them checked out by a vet). Oscar’s always getting poop on himself and the others find ways to get into stuff so they require a bath sometimes. But I like their smell afterwards too and it’s a lot easier to let them run around my bed when they’ve just taken a nice bath.