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Originally Posted by Alty

I potty trained my dumb hamsters

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What does that mean?

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Originally Posted by Wondergirl

What does that mean?

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I litter box trained my hamsters.

They actually sell teeny tiny litter boxes for hamsters, gerbils and rats. When I bought one the pet store employee laughed and said "good luck".

But all three of our hamsters were litter trained. It even came with a teeny tiny scoop, like a cat litter scoop. It was really very cute. You can even buy special litter made for hamsters.

I did feel a bit silly whenever I took the "fit in my hand" litter box out of the cage and used the scoop as big as my thumb to clean it, but they learned. Love hamsters, cute as a bug, but not that bright. Mice and rats are much smarter. So, if you can train a hamster to potty in a litter box, I know you can train a mouse or rat. Heck, the bunnies are litter box trained too! :)

I see. You just worked with their habit of always going potty in one specific corner and instead of scooping waste, you could actually remove a container of waste, empty it, wash it, and put it back.

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Originally Posted by Wondergirl

I see. You just worked with their habit of always going potty in one specific corner and instead of scooping waste, you could actually remove a container of waste, empty it, wash it, and put it back.

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More like scoop it. It really was a tiny potty place, like a very tiny cat litter box, or bunny litter box. It was made to fit in a corner. Actually, it was really easy to train them. Hamsters, like rats and rabbits, usually pick one corner to potty in. Figure out which corner, put the litter box in that corner, and they go in the litter box.

I'll have to find a picture of the litter box we bought for the hammies. It really was very cute. Tiny! A very miniature version of a rabbit litter box, that fits an entire rabbit. Well, the hammy litter box fit a hammy, and the litter was made for the hammies, came in a bag the size of a lunch bag, and lasted for months. It was so small. I actually bought it originally because I thought it was so cute, came with the teeny tiny litter scooper. But it worked. Whodda thunk?

Found a picture of one of the litter boxes I bought for one of the three hammies we had. The exact one.

Attachment 41085

I Googled and found some. We had a number of hamsters when my sons were small.

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Originally Posted by Wondergirl

I Googled and found some. We had a number of hamsters when my sons were small.

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They really are adorable, which is why I bought one. But they actually do work, and you don't really even need to train the hamster. Just put it in the corner where he potties, and he'll use it.

Rats are much smarter than hamsters, so I'm very sure they'd figure it out even quicker. I would suggest a bigger litter box though. Doesn't have to be store bought, you could use a disposable container, one that's big enough for the rat to sit in, put in some hamster or rabbit litter, and away you go. :)

My cats love mice so they would probably love rats too. :)

A litter thingie would save a bit of work in cleaning rats' homes.

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Originally Posted by Wondergirl

My cats love mice so they would probably love rats too. :)

A litter thingie would save a bit of work in cleaning rats' homes.

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It really does make a huge difference with caged animals.

Cats aren't caged, but a litter box really is helpful.

For animals like hamsters, rats, rabbits, animals that are caged for the majority of the time, a litter box is even more important, unless you're a super diligent pet owner that cleans the cage daily. I do, but I'm not the norm. Also, my work is cut in half because my bunnies potty where they're supposed to, except for Oreo, but she's a rare case.

If a hamster can learn to use a litter box, a rat can, and it really well make the owners life easier, and the pets life better. Less mess, less cleanup, a cleaner cage, a happier animal, and a happier owner. :)

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Originally Posted by odinn7

Perhaps you think she died from being alone but I guarantee you, it wasn't because of that.

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Well I had asked an expert on rats and he said she died of loneliness even though I paid tons of attention to her but I don't know if your right or he is

He probably was saying the easy thing since he didn't know what she really died of. It wasn't loneliness.

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Originally Posted by Brianna01hermy

Well I had asked an expert on rats and he said she died of loneliness even though I payed tons of attention to her but I don't know if your right or he is

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Trust me... I've had numerous rats, mice, hamsters, guinea pigs... all sorts of things since I was a kid. None of my rats ever died of loneliness. I am going to guess that this "expert" you talk about didn't have a real answer for you so he simply agreed with the loneliness thing. Lots of things can kill a rodent. I have found that rats tend to get cancer fairly easily... but loneliness, no.

Teeny, tiny diapers (sorry, I just came back to this).

I am looking into cockatiel diapers.

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Originally Posted by Brianna01hermy

Well I had asked an expert on rats and he said she died of loneliness even though I payed tons of attention to her but I don't know if your right or he is

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If the expert was a salesperson in a pet store I am not the least bit surprised. There is a thin line between "expert" and "hired yesterday with no experience" in some of those places.

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Originally Posted by JudyKayTee

Teeny, tiny diapers (sorry, I just came back to this).

I am looking into cockatiel diapers.

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Do you REALLY want to be a diaper-changing slave?

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Originally Posted by Alty

Found a picture of one of the litter boxes I bought for one of the three hammies we had. The exact one.

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Alty, I love you but you have entirely too much time on your hands. For whatever reason I am vastly amused by the thought of you scooping hamster litter - I really do need to find something to keep myself occupied.

I'm looking at the dogs and wondering if I had a doggie litter box for a dog that weighs 150 pounds how large a scoop I would need.

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Originally Posted by JudyKayTee

if I had a doggie litter box for a dog that weighs 150 pounds how large a scoop I would need.

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A shovel from Home Depot.

Odinn beat me to it. A shovel would work. Personally, I'd like to teach my dogs to use the toilet. I know you can teach cats to do that, so why not dogs? It would save so much pickup time, and mess. If I could also teach them to scrub the toilet when they're done... hmmmm... I may be onto something here!

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Originally Posted by odinn7

Rats don't need companions to stay alive.

Also, at this point, if the OP were to add another rat to the cage, there likely would be fighting over territory.

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If you introduce them correctly they wouldn't fight (i.e. don't just drop them straight in) and as they are herd animals then they do need to be in groups. A human can't substitute as they won't be able to communicate with the rat.

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She didn't die of loneliness.

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She probably did as rats are herd animals so she would have had no one to communicate with. Even if there was a trigger like a small illness since, so to speak, there was no one to live for she wouldn't have recovered.