Should I Bathe My Pet Rats

The question whether or not we should bathe are pet rats is debatable. Some people are of the opinion that rats are dirty and that they need to give rats bath on a regular basis. Is it necessary? Well, I give my rats bath semi-occasionally. I do not have a set schedule on when to bath, it's more when I see the necessity to. There are reasons on when you should bath your pet rats.

Reasons for bathing rats: 

• Dominance urination.
• Because they're sick.
• Overwieght, injured, ill, or elderly.
• Odor Control.

Wrong reasons to bath a rat: 

• Showing. Everyone wants their rat to look good in a rat show but also understand that bathing is stressful for most rats. Most rats do NOT enjoy baths. It's a stressful thing for them even if the bath is for their own good. The main issue I have with bathing rats is that it feels like it's more for the owner's pride in showing their rats and the desire to win. Winning a rat show has no benefit to your pet. My main priority is health.
• Regular cleaning. Your pet really do clean themselves meticulously. Bathing pet rats to often will result in drying out the natural oils in their fur. For the majority, rat baths are not necessary. If you're doing it more than once every several months without any reason (such as the ones listed above), you should probably cut back.

Ways to maintain healthy fur

My two male boys rats have very coarse fur. They're always little puff balls after a bath but as days go by, their fur becomes coarse again. Here are some suggestions to get your pet rat looking his best. 

• Feed them olive oil with some bread. I have heard this does wonders from helping your rat's fur to be smooth and soft to helping with dandruff.
• Biotin is a supplement that helps with fur and skin health.
• Condition them in olive oil. I've done this once and it really does do wonders. If you bathe your rats for rat show purposes, try this first as an alternative to bathing. You don't need to drown your rats in olive oil. Just a little amount if your hand will do. You can use a wet towel to wipe the oil out (or your rats will lick out whatever you don't get). It will lose all purpose if you wash your rats.