Can Rats Be Potty Trained? A Complete Guide

Rat nibbling on snack

Is your rat’s potty habits causing you problems? Well, then you’re surely wondering whether you can potty train your rat, in the same way as other animals, such as cats or dogs! Our beloved rat companions are originally wild animals, and some of their behavior might be less than ideal for life in a caged environment. Regardless if your rat likes to throw parties at night, bite your hands a little too often, or has a habit of defecating outside of the cage, you’ll want to change that behavior. In this post, I’ll answer all your questions related to potty training your rat!

Can Rats Be Potty Trained?

Yes, rats can be potty trained. Most rats can be potty trained in just a few weeks by using some quite easy techniques. Rats are smart animals, and by rewarding them when they go potty in the right place, you’ll quickly teach them where their toilet is.

Rats are highly trainable animals, allowing you to shape their behavior to your liking, within reason, of course. This can come in very handy when you, for example, want to change where your rat goes to the toilet. With some dedication, you’ll be able to potty train your rat quickly. Most rats can learn this in only a few weeks. Actually, the most important factor is how persistent you are. Your pet rat won’t magically understand where you have decided their toilet is. You’ll need to do your best to show them. 

If you think about it, the fact that we can train our rats is pretty amazing. After all, we are completely different animals, who can only communicate with actions. But by persistently showing our rats what behavior is correct, and what is wrong, we can effectively change their habits for the better. The keyword here is “persistently”. This process takes a lot of patience. You won’t be able to potty train a rat in a day. You’ll see great results if you stick to it, though.

How To Potty Train A Rat – My Best Tips

Okay, so now you know that potty training a rat is possible. Hopefully, you understand the commitment required to do it efficiently too. By following the techniques below, you should be able to get this done in just a few short weeks! Personally, I was able to potty train my rat quickly as soon as I figured out how to do it! At first, I was struggling, but I figure this was due to being new to all this!

The best way to potty train a rat is to place a litter box in one of the cage’s corners. Then put pellets of feces in the litter box as soon as you notice your rat has done his/her needs outside of this designated container. Reward your rat when you notice pellets in the litter box.

This was the method I used, and the one that seems to be the most effective among other rat owners. This is what I suggest you start with, as it will often do the job. There are variations to this technique though. For example, putting multiple litter boxes in different corners of the cage, and seeing which one gets the most attention. When you’ve established this, you can begin removing the un-used ones. This way, you’ll end up with the one container your rat prefers.

Many people use real rat litter boxes when potty training but you don’t have to necessarily. You can use a variety of containers, lunchboxes, cardboard boxes, etc. If you decide to go for multiple boxes spread out in different corners of the rat cage, you might want to use cheap plastic containers at first, and then swap in a real rat litter box when you’ve established your rat’s preferred placement.

Don’t be afraid to give out treats! When your rat goes potty in their litter box, try to reward the behavior with a treat! The goal here is positive reinforcement, a well-known method of training animals. As you won’t be able to communicate your excitement with words, use treats to make your rat feel good about themselves. This is the cornerstone in any type of training, regardless of what you are teaching.

Also, you should differentiate the litter box from the rest of the cage. Try to use different “flooring”, to avoid confusion. You wouldn’t want to take a dump where you sleep, and the same goes for our little rodents! 

Ideally, your rat will urinate in the litter box as well. This might be a little harder, as many rats continue to pee where they want even after litter training. If this is important to you, you can teach this behavior too, but it might take a little longer. One trick some people have had success with is putting a little rock where you’d prefer your rat to pee. For some reason, rats seem to love peeing on rocks. Weird right? Anyways, use this to your advantage!

While you’re at it, you might need some tips on sprucing up your rat cage? If so, check out our post on keeping your rats warm and happy!

Conclusion

Potty training a rat might seem like a daunting task at first, but rest assured: it is possible. It isn’t even that difficult when you know how to do it correctly. Within a few weeks, any rat should be able to pick up on where their “toilet” is. 

Before I got my first rat, I used to worry about this part of ownership. I’ve always been somewhat of a neat freak, and I certainly didn’t want a pet that would cause a mess. Luckily, I was able to nail potty training, and with this guide, I hope you will, too!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.