How can i train my rat to not pee/poop everywhere when he is out of the cage?

Unless they're neutered, it's unfortunately normal for make rats to pee on things to mark their territory. It is gross, but my partner and I just saw it as them peeing on us as just them making sure other rats knew we were theirs haha.

In terms of the pooping, we managed to train them by telling them "no" when they pooped outside and put them back in the cage. You need to do this pretty much immediately so that they make the connection. Within two weeks, we've had no more accidents.

We really lucked out with the future rats because they picked up the no pooping outside role from the other rats within a few weeks with minimal effort from us.

Also, just a heads up: If rats are scared, anxious, or unwell though, they may poop also but it tends to be on the softer side. I wouldn't punish them for these as it's out of their control.

Good luck!

/r/RATS Thread