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uwimage posted:OK....My 17 year old's girlfriend has her heart set on him getting 2 or 3 rats. He's never shown interest in pets besides our dog so I know it's her and he's pussy whipped...I get it. Here's my question, how high maintenance are rats? I've never had an interest but I did have a gerbil around 9 years old...that litter smelled like piss all the time, I'm guess 2 or 3 rats would create a lot more. How often does the cage need to be changed? I've got 4 and replace their various litter trays daily, and their bedding daily. I replace all the litter in the bottom of the cage every 2 weeks, and do a full top to bottom cage clean once a month. Fresh water and food top-ups daily, plus regular replacement and washing of fleece and other cloths they chill out on. Rats are lovely but they're a lot of work, not as much as a dog and they don't need as much attention, but they do need to be looked after daily, and they ain't cheap. The rats themselves are cheap, but a cage big enough for 3 isn't, and the constant rotation of food and litter (they piss on everything) is costly. Plus they're very susceptible to respiratory infections leading to vet bills and nebuliser purchases, and THEN they get cancer and die. So, yeah, lovely animals, but if he's not in the mindset where he could look after a dog full time, probably shouldn't have rats.
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Jan 26, 2019 23:35
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Jaded Burnout is totally correct there. Properly taking care of pet rats definitely requires a good deal of upfront investment in a form of a proper large cage, and while they're not very high maintenance in the day-to-day, they will probably require many vet visits unfortunately. Rats make for amazing pets in many ways but they're absolutely not suited for a careless owner. You should explain that in detail if you can.
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Jan 27, 2019 00:11
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They're not hard work but they're pricier than you'd expect. Clean them out whenever you smell a bad smell. You'll probably like them a lot more than you think though, I agreed to get them to keep my girlfriend happy and now I would die for them.
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Jan 27, 2019 00:25
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Thanks goons! I'm just not sure he's ready since he can't bring up his dishes daily, has to be reminded to take out the trash/recycling (one of his chores for allowance), at 17 still hasn't gotten his license but he's awesome at school so it's hard to say no. I'm going to be stern until he is consistent with his daily responsibilities; I respect his choice in a pet but I also think he's too close to having many options with college to make this kind of commitment. I'll keep browsing this thread and try to educate myself more. I know lots of people love domestic rats but my only experience with them are from NYC...eww! I screamed with my highest girl voice as a dude.
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Jan 27, 2019 01:06
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They live like two years then die of something bizarre and surprising, they're not a huge commitment. I don't think anyone here cares about your son being a weirdo but if you need him assassinated GIP is probably the better place to scope out. And yeah, if I got savaged by a pack of wolves that would be bad but I don't mind my mother in law's lhasa apso. Context is cool!!
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Jan 27, 2019 03:26
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Lunchmeat Larry posted:They live like two years then die of something bizarre and surprising, they're not a huge commitment. Can I have your MIL? Mine stayed with us for 3 months, took a kids bedroom, offered to help with bills...asked me to print 12 months of cable bills because she didn't believe me when I said it was about $150 a month, refused to pay for anything including food, brought a kick rear end 55" samsung curved TV, amazing lazy boy chair...bolted, I had to pay for movers, no TV, no chair but she sold them quickly when she moved back to Alabama....bitch sold the $2000 electric lazy boy leather chair for $150...could of left it with us...my wife, her daughter loved it...No, I'm not bitter...oval office.
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Jan 27, 2019 05:34
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this site doesn't deserve my cute pet pics
Guy Mann fucked around with this message at 13:33 on Feb 24, 2019 |
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Jan 27, 2019 06:05
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how about you get me the rats instead 
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Jan 27, 2019 06:20
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uwimage posted:Can I have your MIL? Mine stayed with us for 3 months, took a kids bedroom, offered to help with bills...asked me to print 12 months of cable bills because she didn't believe me when I said it was about $150 a month, refused to pay for anything including food, brought a kick rear end 55" samsung curved TV, amazing lazy boy chair...bolted, I had to pay for movers, no TV, no chair but she sold them quickly when she moved back to Alabama....bitch sold the $2000 electric lazy boy leather chair for $150...could of left it with us...my wife, her daughter loved it...No, I'm not bitter...oval office. 
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Jan 27, 2019 18:10
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I love you.
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Jan 27, 2019 22:36
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Two rats chomping on a chew block and one drinking water and I CAN'T HEAR THE TV IN FRONT OF ME THEY'RE SO LOUD
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Feb 3, 2019 11:28
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why another tumor. why why why
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Feb 3, 2019 18:09
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I'm sorry, Snoo. 
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Feb 3, 2019 20:04
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The Snoo posted:why another tumor. why why why Im sorry, is it affecting her quality of life?I have a rat that's basically half tumor at this point but she still gets around, plays, enjoys life, doesn't seem to be in any pain because of it, and her family helps her keep clean, but her age makes a lumpectomy too risky so we're monitoring her :/
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Feb 10, 2019 08:48
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I'm hoping it's just been a false alarm (the area in question is her butt cheek; I'll have to give it another look at tomorrow), but any other tumors with them we plan to just kinda ride them out because they're coming up on two years old. this rat has had three surgeries already.
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Feb 10, 2019 10:40
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she does have a lump on her butt cheek such an awful place for it. it's still very small but I know these things grow quickly. she's not even two years old yet and she's now had 3 mammary tumors, an abscess, and a tumor in her uterus. I was hoping the spay would calm down the tumors but maybe it was too late. we also got a second pair of rats. they're slowly coming around to us. we've taken for granted how sweet, calm and friendly our first pair are. also their poop smells SO BAD. is this a normal thing when they adjust to a new diet and environment? I haven't given them anything besides their oxbow triangles and some cheerios, along with a little yoghurt during some of the trust training.
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Feb 14, 2019 21:13
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It's probably just their tummies adjusting to the new diet and/or the stress of a new living situation. I've had that happen with new rats before. Give it another week or two, at least, to see if the problem goes away on its own (it always has in my experience.) I'm sorry about the lump news. That sucks, but sometimes the sweetest rats come from tumour prone strains. Falstaff fucked around with this message at 23:21 on Feb 14, 2019 |
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Feb 14, 2019 23:18
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Velcome to Rat Siberia, comrade
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Feb 15, 2019 10:38
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Jaded Burnout posted:Velcome to Rat Siberia, comrade Aww, smooshed right under his friends' big fuzzy butt. 
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Feb 15, 2019 10:58
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 Our little fatso decided that she needs to have surgery, and then became very unhappy when her stitches broke. It was a pretty stressful week, but she's been extra cuddly now and hopefully everything will be a-ok when we take her to her check up.
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Feb 19, 2019 20:38
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awww. one of my lads is showing possible pneumonia signs so I've got him booked in at the vets. goddamn rats they just fall apart.
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Feb 19, 2019 20:55
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Kuule hain nussivan posted:
the biggest and best eyeballs for bogglin'  hope everything turns out okay!
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Feb 20, 2019 04:37
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I got a kick out of this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NS53TJDn2eI A wild rat with too much winter fat got stuck in a manhole cover, and an entire firefighting team was sent out to safely extract and release her. Poor thing's terrified, but it has a happy ending. 
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Feb 26, 2019 21:53
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aw
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Feb 26, 2019 22:00
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Aww poor little fatty. I'm glad they saved him.
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Feb 26, 2019 22:40
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all of the rats have been living together for about a week now and they get along really well except when the younger rats try to steal food directly out of the mouth of the older rats... but no serious fighting. they've all crammed themselves into a small basket to sleep together multiple times, I think that says enough. one of the younger rats has grown noticeably larger than the other. I think I had the same problem with the older rats but now they're basically the same size after finky got spayed. it's just weird. the younger ones are destroying stuff more readily than the older rats did. boxes, cardboard tubes, the linoleum flooring I have in the cage, corks, fleece/ropes, lava ledges, wood chews... they go through their oxbow triangles so fast that even overflowing the bowls before bed doesn't last until morning. both of the younger ones are still skittish, especially the larger one. makes me worried about when we'll be taking them to the vet to get spayed in a month or two; we've made a lot of progress handling them and getting them to trust us and get excited when we walk by the cage, but they're still hesitant and scared of random noises or movements.
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Mar 9, 2019 17:06
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snoo posted:both of the younger ones are still skittish, especially the larger one. makes me worried about when we'll be taking them to the vet to get spayed in a month or two; we've made a lot of progress handling them and getting them to trust us and get excited when we walk by the cage, but they're still hesitant and scared of random noises or movements. heck, mine have been around me most all of every day for the last year and they still spook from quick movements. they're also getting lazier but I don't really blame them, they're quite big at this point
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Mar 9, 2019 17:19
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put my girls in Legend of Grimrock lads
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Mar 9, 2019 19:04
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That's the dumbest thing. I love it. 
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Mar 9, 2019 19:39
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we decided to upgrade the girls to a double critter nation and the only upside I'm seeing is the double doors for cleaning purposes. other than that... most of the pieces were bent. I assume it's the fault of UPS but it took a lot of effort to get things to fit right, and the doors are still uneven. the trays were all busted on the edges, and they're warped, too. the ramps don't really sit right. there's a lot more vertical space so I'll have to make more platforms and shelves for them, especially because the older rats can't just climb straight up the walls anymore. I hope it won't be a difficult transition for them. I bought plenty of new fleece and wicking fabric for new liners, hammocks, and blankets. I need to troubleshoot some problems with how things will be attached since our current set-up had so many workarounds for the weirdness of the cage, vertical bars, etc. I'm hoping it will be worth it I have a lot to do before we can move them in.
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Mar 23, 2019 03:24
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I think one of my boys is on his last legs. Extremely lethargic, not eating or drinking when offered it directly, chest heaving, crackly breathing ;_; He's already on antibiotics so not much I can do but wait and see.
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Mar 28, 2019 17:46
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;_; <3
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Mar 28, 2019 19:57
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I've just buried my first rat.
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Mar 28, 2019 21:20
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Jaded Burnout posted:I've just buried my first rat. I'm so sorry.
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Mar 29, 2019 03:15
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You gave him a good life, the best. You did all you could, and he left knowing he had you there for him.
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Mar 29, 2019 03:30
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Rats are way too good to have such short lives.
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Mar 29, 2019 07:45
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Scholtz posted:You gave him a good life, the best. You did all you could, and he left knowing he had you there for him. I hope so. I hope I didn't make it worse by syringe feeding food and water.
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Mar 29, 2019 10:37
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I'm sure you didn't. There's a ton of research/evidence that shows rats exhibit a lot of empathy, and sharing food is one of the biggest signs of love to an animal. Either that or, due to their illness, they were too out of it for there to be any extra stress.
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Mar 29, 2019 17:54
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I have, as you might expect, stepped up the frequency of health checks on the remaining three. They're broadly OK with being hoofed out of the cage and pressed to an ear for checking breath sounds, but are there any particular ways I should be focusing on a) snagging and b) holding them to cause the absolute minimum of stress? I've read before about holding close to the chest but that doesn't seem to settle them as much as was suggested.
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Mar 30, 2019 14:32
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Jaded Burnout posted:I have, as you might expect, stepped up the frequency of health checks on the remaining three. Give them a snack maybe? I used to be able to do literally whatever with my rat boys as long as they were busy chomping away on a snack.
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Mar 30, 2019 15:05
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