What is the cleanest rodent?

The cleanest rodent is often considered to be the pet fancy rat or the chinchilla, depending on how you define cleanliness, but many experts say chinchillas and pet rats are among the cleanest rodents. Chinchillas are known for being extremely clean because they take dust baths rather than water baths to keep their dense fur free of oils and parasites, they produce dry droppings with little odor when their cage is cleaned regularly, and they groom themselves constantly. Pet fancy rats, which are domesticated Norway rats bred for temperament, are also very clean animals, they spend hours each day grooming themselves and each other much like cats, they can be litter trained to use a specific corner for droppings, and they do not have the strong musky odor that many other rodents have, though males may have slightly more odor than females. Guinea pigs are also relatively clean, as they groom frequently and can be litter trained to some extent. Hamsters and gerbils keep their nesting areas tidy. In contrast, wild mice and rats are considered dirty because they constantly urinate to mark territory and live in sewers and garbage areas, but domesticated rodents kept in clean cages with weekly cleaning are quite clean. Overall, if you want a clean pet rodent, chinchillas, pet rats, and guinea pigs are often cited as the cleanest due to grooming habits and low odor.