Ok i saw that some of you are using vanilla in the water bottles to keep down the urine smell, and some say it works. my question is there are 2 kinds of van. extract one imitation and one pure-which is 35% alcohol..I assume that the one that works is the pure one since it must have something to do with the alcohol and not so many impurities? If im wrong Im gonna have a bunch of drunk happy rats..lol

I don't know which one, but it sure would be interesting to find out.

Imitation vanilla

Imitation vanilla

Why imitation-any reason-just wondering

That's what I was told when I started raising rodents. Not sure why. It does help a little bit, but it's not going to eliminate the smell.

I used the stuff of the shelf in the supermarket and didn't really notice a difference. It might cut down, but it definitely won't eliminate the smell. My two cents is that the sweetness probably makes them drink more which obviously makes them piss more.......which equals more odor.

I've never used vanilla in the water. I've heard of a few people reporting that it gummed up the lines after a while. They may have been using way too much though.

I do use just a bit of unscented bleach in the water. Without that my waterlines grow a sort of slime in them which gathers at the valve and stops the flow of water. The chlorine prevents that entirely.

I keep my rodents in an outside building though, so their natural odor with regular cleanings is tolerable and I've never had the incentive to try the vanilla.

Tried it a few years ago and made no difference

Vanilla won't change the chemistry underlying the ammonia issue and its presence in the water will probably aid biofilm formation in whatever the water is held or flows through.

I bet the rodents think it tastes great! :cheers: