Rat Pee: How Often Do Rats Urinate & What Is Normal?
Rats absolutely love to pee, I’m telling you! Rat pee doesn’t exactly have the friendliest odor, making it important to keep the cage cleaned often. Unlike dogs and cats, rats pee quite often. Their little bodies move through food and water quickly, so frequent urination is to be expected.
How Often and How Much Do Rats Pee?
Depending on the situation, rats could pee every few minutes. They produce a large amount of urine it seems, as they will dribble it EVERYWHERE. They pee most frequently when they are in new, uncharted territory, or when a new cage mate is introduced into the mischief. A big, full bladder might produce a tablespoon or two worth of urine, but it is unusual for a rat to wait to urinate that long; this usually happens after a nice, long nap!
What Color Should Rat Pee Be?
Rat urine, like human urine, can vary in different degrees. Normally, it will be a light yellow. If the rat is highly active, it will be taking in a lot of water. This may result in urine that is lighter or clear. This is absolutely normal in most circumstances. If the rat is drinking excessively and is not active, that could be a sign of trouble. Older or dehydrated rats may have darker urine. To a degree, this can be expected; especially of rats who are under treatment. For a rat who is NOT being treated by a vet, it must see a vet as soon as possible if the urine is dark.
Do Rats Urinate In Their Hammocks and Beds?
This cute banana hammock can be seen by clicking on the photo over at Amazon!
Rats do love to mark everything that they own. Therefore, they will pee on and in their hammocks and beds. As gross as it sounds, it is perfectly normal. It tells other rats in the area who owns the home, and that they better respect that! They will also chew on it, so be prepared for a raggedy looking, pee dribbled ratty house after a week or two. It’s just the ratty way of life!
Oh No! Rat Urine Is Cloudy and Smells Horrible??
If urine is cloudy and has a horrible odor, the rat is most likely suffering from a urinary infection (or males could be suffering from a reproductive infection). It may even have a pungent fish-like odor and be clouded as if milk were added to the urine. Getting antibiotics is the first action the owner should take; otherwise, the condition with only become severe with grave consequences. These infections can take the lives of ratties.
Pet Rat’s Pee Is Red???
Sleeping rat has its eyes closed. Sometimes, rats will sleep with their eyes open; but it isn’t very common. Photo Credit: Starsandspirals via Flickr
Red urine is a whole different ball game than a simple infection. This usually means that there are blood cells in the urine, probably resulting from an injury somewhere along the urinary tract. On occasion, it could mean the external opening could be scratched or damaged (always possible during play and scuffles). If the urine remains red for longer than an hour, it is definitely cause for alarm. The kidneys or bladder could be severely infected or damaged, requiring emergency medial treatment.
How to Tell If a Rat Is Urinating
Generally, urine can be seen in tons of spots. If a rat is in the cage, the first option is to check the bedding for staining or obvious wet spots. If none are seen, check houses, toys, and decorations within the cage for urine trails or puddling. If this fails as well, try keeping the rat outside of the cage. Check to see if the rat is leaving little droplets wherever it goes. It helps to line the play area with white paper towels, sheets, or paper to capture the color as well.
Why Do Rats Pee Everywhere?
Dumbo eared blue rat (Squiggy) eating cheerios.
Rats are naturally territorial animals with a highly civilized social hierarchy within each family unit. They mark to not only show ownership of their turf, but to also let other rats know where they stand within the rankings. The leaders of the mischief will be the ones who mark the most, seen in the form of trails and dribbles EVERYWHERE. They will mark their beds, cage, toys, chewies, humans, couches, floors, and anything else they can rub their little mischievous booties across!
Do Rats Pee In Litter Boxes?
While rats can be litter trained, they seem to poop train easily but not pee train. The best way to get a rat to pee in the litter box is to use a pee rock. A pee rock has a slightly rounded surface that can be walked across; think a 2 or 3 inch round pebble with a rounded, flat surface. For some reason, rats are attracted to peeing on these little rocks. It definitely helps with pee training in the litter box, but immense progress is not likely.