Overall, the most questions that I get pertain to people with smelly mice. While there is no sure fired way to get rid of the smell 100%, there are many ways to keep the odors down considerably.
The Culprit
Male fancy mice are the primary culprits of cage odors. Female mice still produce odors, just as the males do, but their scent is not as strong, nor as offensive. Male mice have very strong urine that is oily and sticks to surfaces. When fancies move around, they leave an oily trail wherever they go. This trail acts as not only a territorial marking, but helps them to attract a mate. Female fancy mice tend to smell better than males, as they do not normally mark and do not produce the same oily urine as the bucks. Alpha females may mark when in groups with subordinate females.
How to Minimize Odors
Aromatic beddings are not the way to get rid of mouse odors. Such wooden beddings are dangerous to mice, humans, and other household pets when inhaled, and frequently when they come in contact with skin. Wooden beddings are very irritating to the touch and many people are allergic to cedar and pine beddings to begin with. Paper-based, cellulose bedding is the best bedding to use to control odors and to keep your animals healthy and sanitary. Products such as Carefresh and other paper product beddings control odors better and are highly absorbant.
Using an absorbant bedding does not mean that you only have to clean cages every once every 2-3 weeks. Every mouse cage should be cleaned every 3-5 days to maintain a healthy environment for the mice. Improperly or uncleaned cages can lead to health problems such as mycoplasmosis, increased ammonia vapors in the cage air, skin and coat problems, allergies, etc.
The cages must be dissinfected at every cleaning. There are special products (Kencare, etc.) out on the market that claim to be safer to use for small mammal caging systems. However, I have found that such cleansers do not get the cages as clean and can be more expensive than your basic bleach and detergent soap. I believe that detergent soap is a must for cleaning cages. Some oil stains are very difficult to remove, and a soap that cuts grease and oils is the only way to remove the odors 100%.
The Mice STILL Stink
As in the case with many mice, the cage will continue to smell awful even after the most stringent cleaning regimen. Some make the mistake of cleaning the cages of male mice more often when they find that the odor does not diminish, and may actually increase after a good cleaning. In many cases the males only increase their marking power after a cleaning, as their cleaned cage is now neutral.
- Avoiding Re-marking: I have found that removing the bedding in the corners of the cage every 2-3 days can help reduce the odor greatly. Mice mark the boundaries of their territory often. In a captive environment, this scent marking usually occurs in the corners. Simply scoup out the litter in the corners and replace it with fresh bedding. This cuts down the amount of marking that takes place.
Wiping down the inside aquariums walls with hot water and a rag will also help to remove urine streaks and feces that have become stuck to the glass.
- Chlorophyll: Instead of using this in the bedding, I use human consumption quality dietary chlorophyll concentrated drops in the mouse water bottles. Chlorophyll is very good for mice, and is a natural deodorizer. When ingested via water by humans, it deodorizes ones breath and gas.
Chlorophyll is the natural dye found in green plants; it is what makes plants green. It has been given a bad wrap after being used in pine bedding to supposedly help to keep odors down. When taken orally, it adds vitamins and minerals to the mouses' diets.
Dosage Information:
Up to 15 drops per every 6 oz. of water, or as directed on the label: To get the proper dosage, just cut out 1/3 of the human dosage suggested.
Odor Eaters
- Glade Plug-InsŪ: When you have company over, these can be a livesaver. Most Glade scents will cover up mouser odor very effectively. Keep in mind that you can no longer strongly detect any odor when smelled continuously for more than 60 seconds. With this in mind, you may not be smelling anything, but someone else may get a whiff of something new and unpleasant when they enter the mouse room.
- No-ScentsŪ: I was asked to test this product by a fellow mouse person. I was very impressed with the initial results after using this product for approximately 3 days. However, in the following days, I noticed that the No-ScentsŪ, sodium stearate/ethanol odor eating cake turned brown and stopped absorbing the odors in the room. I was also disappointed with the fact that it did virtually nothing for the odors in larger rooms. My mouse room is about 14'x13', and it absorbed odors very minimally at the peak of its performance days. I also found that the cake did not truly abrsob the odors, rather, it collected dust and filled the room with a semi-fruity scent that covered up the mouse odors.
On the other hand, this product is very safe, and it did not make anyone sneeze, become lightheaded, etc. from inhaling its scent. Overall, this product is very safe to use in closed rooms and close to cages.