This article is from the Winter 1997 AFRMA Rat & Mouse Tales news-magazine.

By Nichole Royer
As the weather gets colder, our critters all start searching for a snug place to keep warm. Though they may be in our heated homes, they still like to build secure nests.

My own rats have decided on a particular “nest house” which they consider to be the best. It is called a Ferret Castle, and is made by the same people who make Canine Castles dog houses.

Designed just like the dog houses, this critter castle is one-piece extruded plastic with a large doorway. This makes it easy to clean, just needing a quick hosing. Though the rats have chewed it some, it has lasted very well, and they love to hang out on top of it (particularly when it is hot).

When I first gave this to the critters, I filled it with a layer of Sani- Chips®, which they quickly removed. They like to pack their house with shredded paper, or better yet, hay. This rat house construction makes it draft free and very snug, so it is ideal for those cold winter nights.

My own rats prefer this critter castle over all the other nest boxes I have given them, and, except for some chewing, I agree. Ferret Castles can be purchased from Pet Castle Co., Rotocast Plastic Products, Inc., (800) 351-1363 and cost $29.95.

By Nancy Ferris
For this stuff, my dogs got to play “lab animals.” I have a cement backyard, which is actually a glorified dog run. I sprayed this stuff on the heaviest used area and noticed a definite decrease in odor. I got brave and used it on a couple of areas of the carpet that a certain dog uses (I think as a spite thing when I leave him alone). I sprayed the carpet, went outside for a few minutes, and the odor is gone. I NEED MORE OF THIS!

By Nichole Royer
I gave this product a try on my mouse cages. Unfortunately, since it is a spray, the net result was that it simply made their cages damp, and didn’t seem to do anything for the odor. Since this would not be good for the animals, I went ahead and cleaned out all the cages. I did spray Duffy’s cage (my stinky mouse) with this stuff before putting the shavings in, and it did seem to help control the odor (though not as well as Gentle Touch). An interesting side note: while removing Duffy from his cage he happened to “mark” my cloth watchband (Yuck! Stinky Stinky!). I happened to accidentally spray the watchband with Odor Gone while doing Duffy’s cage. Ten minutes later, no mouse smell!