I am having a bit of a problem with my Short Tailed Opossum, Reggie. His feces absolutely REEK (I should have expected this due to his diet, but for some reason it didn't even occur to me) and I am having a very hard time keeping the area around his cage from not smelling to high heaven. This wouldn't be a problem, but his cage is in my sister and I's bedroom and it just is NOT working. At all. He is 10x more stinky than my ferrets (+ six dirty litter boxes) could ever hope to be.
It is getting to the point where I need to figure out how to eliminate the smell, or he is going to have to be rehomed.
I think a large portion of the problem is that the only place he defecates in his cage is where his wheel is at...and since his wheel is mesh, when he poops and pees on it, it stays on the wheel and gets mushed around before it falls off. Then when he runs on it, the smell of the feces and urine (both on and under the wheel) gets fanned throughout the entire room.
I can completely clean his cage and scrub the wheel and it smells okay, but all it takes is for him to crap once (always on his wheel) and the entire room reeks again.
Do you think changing the type of wheel he is using (so the feces and urine either just slides right off or falls through wire baring) help with the odor? Is there anything else I can try?
He honestly doesn't smell *that* bad. Probably Sugar Glider stinky (similar diet), or male mouse stinky. But that combined with the ferrets and the fact that my room is shut up 24/7 to keep the ferrets in and the cat out...it just is not working. I would feel really horrible if I rehomed him just because he "stinks" (especially since other than that he is absolutely perfect), but I don't know what else to do.
It is getting to the point where I need to figure out how to eliminate the smell, or he is going to have to be rehomed.
I think a large portion of the problem is that the only place he defecates in his cage is where his wheel is at...and since his wheel is mesh, when he poops and pees on it, it stays on the wheel and gets mushed around before it falls off. Then when he runs on it, the smell of the feces and urine (both on and under the wheel) gets fanned throughout the entire room.
I can completely clean his cage and scrub the wheel and it smells okay, but all it takes is for him to crap once (always on his wheel) and the entire room reeks again.
Do you think changing the type of wheel he is using (so the feces and urine either just slides right off or falls through wire baring) help with the odor? Is there anything else I can try?
He honestly doesn't smell *that* bad. Probably Sugar Glider stinky (similar diet), or male mouse stinky. But that combined with the ferrets and the fact that my room is shut up 24/7 to keep the ferrets in and the cat out...it just is not working. I would feel really horrible if I rehomed him just because he "stinks" (especially since other than that he is absolutely perfect), but I don't know what else to do.