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ElectricSquire posted:I was reading a book recently where one of the footnotes mentioned that a researcher who was being interviewed in the book had previously done experiments that involved dressing male rats in tiny pants and seeing how the type of fabric affected their mating habits. Apparently rats in polyester pants don't get laid as much as the ones in cotton. Who knew?
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Nov 18, 2010 02:32
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Our rats found some bubble wrap tonight, the kind with the gigantic bubbles as big as their heads. They went crazy and had all the bubbles popped within about 2 minutes. Then squidtarts got them some regular small bubble wrap and Wrinkles and Trudy tried to pop as many bubbles as they could before Joan absconded with the sheet. I think she took it into the couch. So yeah, they're getting bubble wrap for Chrimbus.
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Nov 18, 2010 04:07
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That is awesome o_O I have to try that.
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Nov 18, 2010 05:12
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RazorBunny posted:I was reading a book recently where one of the footnotes mentioned that a researcher who was being interviewed in the book had previously done experiments that involved dressing male rats in tiny pants and seeing how the type of fabric affected their mating habits. This book sounds rad.
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Nov 18, 2010 08:12
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The bubblewrap reminds me. How bad are rats about stealing and stashing things? Or turning furniture into their new home? Because if they're anything like ferrets, oh god... You wouldn't believe the holes in the bottom of my couch.
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Nov 18, 2010 15:22
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Two of mine stash their food as soon as I put it in their cage. I came in from class one night and couldn't believe they'd eaten all their food while I was gone, but the fat one was just sitting on it and keeping it all for himself in a corner.  I picked up a Superpet cage for $20 off of craigslist last weekend. Whoop whoop, now I can take them home over break instead of finding a babysitter! My mom is terrified of them, so we'll see how it goes. Has anyone else taken rats on a long car ride (8 hrs)? They'll have the whole cage to ride in and I'll be putting a sheet down over my car seat. Is there something I should do to make them more comfortable? I found pictures of them the other day when I was taking pictures of a spider.  Is that food? Are you food?  Go away.  Quick, make a run for it!  
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Nov 18, 2010 22:55
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Yeah one of my little brats stashes anything and everything the minute it hits the food bowl. Half the time he stashes it under the cage wires where he probably won't ever be able to get at it again. Little moron. Also, unrelatedly... is it normal for a tumor to, say, fall off? One of my older boys had a nasty one and there wasn't really anything I could do about it, since I couldn't afford surgery or anything (and on a 2 year old rat, I'm not sure how worth it that it would be...), and then it just kind of came off one day. I'm not really complaining since he's moving around a lot more freely now, but... yeah. neongrey fucked around with this message at 23:17 on Nov 18, 2010 |
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Nov 18, 2010 23:15
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Dr. Spaceman posted:This book sounds rad. Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex, by Mary Roach. Read all four of her books, they are all well worth the price.
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Nov 18, 2010 23:41
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Our rats always have rat blocks available, but at night before I go to bed I always put in the second bowl with other supplemental foods. Lately the menu has been frozen peas, frozen lima beans, dried pasta, and Total 100% flakes. The following things happen every night: 1. Wrinkles eats almost all the pasta pieces immediately because they are her most favorite food in the world 2. Joan and Trudy eat all of the frozen lima beans and peas and leave the shells of the peas in the bowl 3. Wrinkles finishes the pasta and goes to the bowl and eats most of the pea shells. So I thought it would be nice if I just left the pasta and Total out so Wrinkles could eat something other than just pea shells. Boy, that was just about the saddest thing. Trudy and Joan immediately grabbed some lima beans and ran away, then Wrinkles got to the bowl. She pawed around in there, looked up at me, and ran to the cage door like "where's the pasta, dad?" I tried to get her to go up to the bowl again and get a pea or lima bean out but she did not care. So I put the pasta in there. That's just the kind of rat Wrinkles is.
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Nov 20, 2010 05:41
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lol I love when they sleep on their face
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Nov 20, 2010 09:08
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I was pulling the Thanksgiving turkeys out of the deep freeze to start thawing today and discovered a bag of leftover Harlan Teklad rat blocks tucked in a corner. They've got to be over a year and a half old, but they've been frozen at a pretty low temperature, so I would guess they're still good. I had considered donating the stuff after van Buren died, but none of the local shelters were interested. What should I do with this stuff?
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Nov 20, 2010 22:41
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I'm sure squirrels would appreciate it as a nice boost to their winter diets maybe
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Nov 21, 2010 00:04
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Superconsndar posted:I'm sure squirrels would appreciate it as a nice boost to their winter diets maybe I hate the loving squirrels in my neighborhood  But yeah, that's probably the best use for it. Maybe it will keep them away from my bird feeders.
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Nov 21, 2010 00:11
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RazorBunny posted:Maybe it will keep them away from my bird feeders. Who are you kidding
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Nov 21, 2010 03:34
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Explosions! posted:Has anyone else taken rats on a long car ride (8 hrs)? They'll have the whole cage to ride in and I'll be putting a sheet down over my car seat. Is there something I should do to make them more comfortable? We used to take the family rats with us on trips when I was a kid, though rarely over three hours, but they should be fine. Assuming that they're shoulder-hangers like mine were, you can even take them out with you for a walk at a rest stop. Rats probably don't give a crap about fresh air (though ours seemed to enjoy having their cages hung up out on the porch) but it's a good excuse for some leg-stretching.
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Nov 21, 2010 09:11
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All my rat guys love fresh air! They get excited whenever I even open a window. I don't think they'll mind a car ride.
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Nov 21, 2010 10:28
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I've taken my rats on a 8 hour car ride before (though it should have been more like 5.) They didn't mind at all and actually just slept the majority of the time edit and well I've also brought gerbils and a rabbit and dogs (though not all at once). Everyone loves road trips !!!!
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Nov 21, 2010 15:51
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A question for you guys, I was googling to try find the answer to this, then realised PI could probably tell me. I have one boy rat who is about 9 months old - he's smaller than my year-old male rats and he has very soft fur and is a very floppy squishy rat. He has the normal gigantic rat-balls, and he is otherwise active and healthy. The only difference is he's deaf. Do you think there is any reason for his soft fur and small stature or is he just lucky? Here he is being a rat  Next to Jack  \Bonus Dexter and Leo  Click here for the full 1424x1068 image. Big Bug Hug fucked around with this message at 23:45 on Nov 21, 2010 |
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Nov 21, 2010 23:40
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Serella posted:Who are you kidding Only myself 
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Nov 22, 2010 01:20
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So it's less than two weeks til I get my girls! http://northernlightsrattery.wordpress.com/2010/11/18/baby-photos/ Black berkshire girl 1 and the black variegated girl are coming home with me! I'm really pleased as I wanted one of the variegated babies but originally looked like the breeder was going to keep them all. The blue variegated girl is absolutely beautiful. I was wondering if someone could give me some more info about freezing bedding? I'm not 100% sure what bedding I'm going to go for - I've been looking at Carefresh but it's really expensive for a small bag, so I've also been looking into equine beddings that are reccomended for small animals (this for example: http://www.megazorb.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=3). At any rate, mites sound like a really annoying problem and I'd like to avoid them whichever bedding I get, so I want to understand a bit better about freezing it! How long do you leave it in the freezer - I assume not that long? I'd be worried about it getting damp when I took it out to defrost, so I'd really love some more info about this and what people tend to do.
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Nov 22, 2010 16:47
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Chakattack! posted:How long do you leave it in the freezer - I assume not that long? I'd be worried about it getting damp when I took it out to defrost, so I'd really love some more info about this and what people tend to do. I leave mine in the chest freezer overnight. I've never had any dampness issues when I take it out to defrost. As for that equine bedding, what's it made of?
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Nov 22, 2010 17:59
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The megazorb bedding is made from "natural fibres" - I'm not sure whether that means wood or not, but I'm aware of the problems that phenols cause and it's something I want to avoid. I found the reccomendation for it on this website: http://www.erodent.co.uk/Bedding.htm - they seem to be aware of the problem with wood shavings too so I'm fairly confident it wouldn't be harmful. I'd probably call them and find out for sure before buying any though.  I'm willing to spend money on my rats, I'd just rather be thrifty if it's possible, so am trying to avoid really expensive commercial beddings. On a side note I'm in the process of painting my second hand cage (with non toxic child friendly paint!) and it's looking great! So much cleaner and fresher.
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Nov 22, 2010 21:03
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I used Megazorb with my boys and had no issues. It's cheap, comes in huge bags and does the job well. Only downside is the pans for the Explorer cage are faaaar too shallow, so I ended up with mountains of the stuff all over the floor. Nothing a hoover couldn't fix though. As far as I understand it is just mushed up paper. I didn't bother freezing it either. Good luck, those are some very pretty babies
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Nov 22, 2010 23:36
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Hello! I'm in the middle of this and I was wondering if there's a quick way to tell if a pregnant rat has given birth yet. I've been listening for squeaking (babies are noisy!) and looking for bloody bedding, but if there any other indicators that are obvious at a glance, that would make things easier. There are a couple specific things I'm curious about. One is, would a recent mother stay away from giant rat piles? I'd imagine she'd try to set up in a corner away from the others, but I don't actually know. Another thing is would it be ok to poke/move them? Sometimes the babies are completely hidden, but I don't want to be moving pregnant mamas around if that's a problem.
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Nov 23, 2010 06:37
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Erotic Thomas posted:Hello! I'm in the middle of this and I was wondering if there's a quick way to tell if a pregnant rat has given birth yet. I've been listening for squeaking (babies are noisy!) and looking for bloody bedding, but if there any other indicators that are obvious at a glance, that would make things easier. Check to see if she's been nursing. The area around her nipples will be wet if she is. If it's at all possible, separate the babies and mother from the other rats. Rats prefer to give birth alone because other females will attempt to steal and nurse their babies (it's a hierarchy thing, they'll still try even if they can't feed them) and if she's in with males, she'll be *immediately* reimpregnated otherwise. Being around other rats while nursing a litter is incredibly stressful and it's one of the only things I've seen lead to litter abandonment and cannibalism in rats. You can absolutely move the moms and/or their babies. Rats are very resiliant, protective mothers and won't cannibalize at the drop of a hat like some other rodents will. In fact, you *should* be handling the babies if at all possible the second they're born, as it will hugely contribute to socialization later on. If you have multiple rats giving birth in a cage at the same time, you'll probably find that the babies have all been dumped in one big pile that the mothers are fighting over, resulting in a lot of babies not being fed enough, if at all. Just divide all of the babies of roughly the same age among the mothers who are nursing when you separate them. They won't notice that they're not necessarily their actual offspring and in a situation like this there's no real way to tell.
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Nov 23, 2010 16:57
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Superconsndar posted:Check to see if she's been nursing. The area around her nipples will be wet if she is. Thanks, That's all great to know! The ones that have been processed are sorted by sex, and the confirmed pregnant females are in their own section. So unless a male breaks in (only happened once!), that's not a problem. It's good to know that it's ok to move them around. You mentioned females trying to steal babies, though. That being the case, should one not immediately assume that the female with the babies is the mother? One case in particular that I'm thinking of is a female and her litter was removed from a female general population cage, but the vet on site said the assumed mother still looked pregnant.
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Nov 24, 2010 06:09
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Erotic Thomas posted:You mentioned females trying to steal babies, though. That being the case, should one not immediately assume that the female with the babies is the mother? One case in particular that I'm thinking of is a female and her litter was removed from a female general population cage, but the vet on site said the assumed mother still looked pregnant. Yep. Any females around will claim any babies they see regardless of who they actually belong to. They'll fight over them and constantly move them around and constantly attempt to steal them from each other and the result will be a big ol' pile (or a few slightly smaller piles) of babies who aren't being properly fed and a bunch of stressed, crazy moms (or wannabe moms) constantly squabbling over them. If the "mom" still looks pregnant (and the babies are under 2-2.5 weeks old) then she probably is, and those are probably not her babies. If they're older than that; it could be a previous litter she's still nursing while already pregnant with the next. 
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Nov 24, 2010 06:19
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I'm sure I wasn't the only one to make a special ratty platter of a tiny bit of everything from the bigass Thanksgiving meal today. Vasquez immediately started trying to stash mushy mouthfuls of casseroles and dressings into her favorite corner.
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Nov 26, 2010 04:45
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Squid posted:I'm sure I wasn't the only one to make a special ratty platter of a tiny bit of everything from the bigass Thanksgiving meal today. Vasquez immediately started trying to stash mushy mouthfuls of casseroles and dressings into her favorite corner. If I had rats, they'd probably get tiny platters of what I make at every meal. Having animals with strict diets is no fun. 
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Nov 26, 2010 18:19
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Serella posted:If I had rats, they'd probably get tiny platters of what I make at every meal. Having animals with strict diets is no fun. Thats what I do. I wont eat anything without saving the rats something. I get stared at when I wrap up bones in a tissue to take home. At work if I see someone throw a sammij in the bin I`ll dig it out and take it home. People waste so much loving food it`s unbelievable. I catch a lot of flak for feeding my rats junk but I want their short lives to be the happiest. I don't give them too much sugar and never give them anything spicy. Don't want them pooping everywhere
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Nov 27, 2010 12:16
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I don't think giving them bites of everything could be considered junk. I do the same, and I think its pretty balanced. Besides the odd rat-sized biscuit I make them...
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Nov 27, 2010 23:55
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Slidje posted:Thats what I do. I wont eat anything without saving the rats something. I get stared at when I wrap up bones in a tissue to take home. This is how I feed my rats too. I rarely even make grain mixes anymore and 90% of what they eat is what I eat. If I happen to not have anything to give them for whatever reason I'll just cook some oatmeal or toss them some veggies. I only resort to grain mixes if I happen to have a large number of rats for some reason. That's how I've done it for years and mine do great.
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Nov 28, 2010 00:12
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Big Bug Hug posted:A question for you guys, I was googling to try find the answer to this, then realised PI could probably tell me. Is he a Fawn? I love the coloring! As for the size- rats vary as much as any other animal. I had a litter of 12 recently and a few varied dramatically in size and have stayed that way as they've grown up. My "big boy" is still huge in both length and width. Likewise the runt never really hit his growth spurt and he's still itty bitty. It's possible he was a runt and that's why he's smaller. Fur types vary as well. I find that in my lines my non-dilutes have coarser fur than my REDs and PEDs. Probably just a coincidence, though. Btw, how do you know he's deaf?
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Nov 28, 2010 06:48
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Haha, everyone that meets him asks me that. He doesn't wake up if you call him or make noises near him. He doesn't react to loud startling noises that make the other two jump. Doesn't respond to anyone's voice or people calling his name. He does however respond to tapping on the box he's hiding in, tapping the couch next to him or similar to get him to come. He's always the last one to wake up for food (you have to poke him) But I haven't had a vet tell me he is deaf or anything, I am just assuming really. Can you think of any other theories? Also, he has berkshire markings but I am not quite sure on his coloring. I keep trying to pin it down. Fawn, cinnamon, argente?
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Nov 28, 2010 07:41
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Big Bug Hug posted:
Yeah, that's a fawn.
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Nov 28, 2010 07:50
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Yup, sounds deaf to me! Is he ticked? It looks like he is from the first picture you posted but it's hard to tell for sure. If he is ticked and has red eyes (which from your pictures it appears he does) I would bet Fawn. He's a little too orange to be cinnamon in your pics. I actually have a little lady who's confusing me right now. Until she opened her eyes I was SO sure she was Fawn. Then BAM! Black eyes (totally appeared red or ruby before they opened!). I was so excited, too. Fawn is my favorite color! But she's still beautiful! Just not Fawn.
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Nov 28, 2010 07:56
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He has ruby eyes, I think, at least they usually look slightly red in the light. They look black normally. I'm not 100% on "ticking" - he has some darker hairs in there which you can see if you look closely. Here's a photo I took without flash, it looks darker than he appears in person. And his belly patch is white
Big Bug Hug fucked around with this message at 08:07 on Nov 28, 2010 |
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Nov 28, 2010 08:02
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Yeah. Again, that's just a fawn with some darker ticking. Basically, a poor fawn. Definitely ruby eyes. He looks somewhere between fawn and cinnamon because he does have some excessive darker ticking- making him just a very poor fawn. Peace Fire posted:I actually have a little lady who's confusing me right now. Until she opened her eyes I was SO sure she was Fawn. Then BAM! Black eyes (totally appeared red or ruby before they opened!). I was so excited, too. Fawn is my favorite color! But she's still beautiful! Just not Fawn. Post pics. I'm interested in how a baby who formerly appeared to have red or ruby eyes could magically have dark eyes after opening, it's rarely an ambiguous thing. If there was any ambiguity, it's most likely she's a very dark ruby. Post pics and I can tell you what she is.
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Nov 28, 2010 08:07
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Superconsndar posted:Yeah. Again, that's just a fawn with some darker ticking. Basically, a poor fawn. Definitely ruby eyes. He looks somewhere between fawn and cinnamon because he does have some excessive darker ticking- making him just a very poor fawn.
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Nov 28, 2010 08:12
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Superconsndar posted:Post pics. I'm interested in how a baby who formerly appeared to have red or ruby eyes could magically have dark eyes after opening, it's rarely an ambiguous thing. If there was any ambiguity, it's most likely she's a very dark ruby. Post pics and I can tell you what she is. Well I'm pretty sure at this point that she's Cinnamon Pearl, though genetically there is no Pearl that we know of (and we can trace back about 4 generations on both sides for this line). Mom's an agouti and Dad's a mink so originally I believed this litter to be a mink, agouti, blue and PED carrying litter. Possible colors would be mink, lilac, agouti, cinnamon, champagne, fawn and silver fawn, given the pedigree behind it. We figured somewhere along the line Pearl was thrown in and not documented. But just in case you're better at eyeing colors than I (and I'm horrible at it due to my eye sight to be honest) here she is at about a week old:  Sorry about the bad pic. Her eyes appeared much lighter than her agouti brothers and matched her beige brother so I thought she was going to end up with ruby eyes like him. Then... Here is her 4 week photo: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_joOa-Im9Mrk/TNye2hDhOhI/AAAAAAAAAGw/QS75t2crus4/s1600/mars1-raven.jpg (sorry to make it a link, I didn't know SA didn't resize images and it's HUGE) Again, sorry for the bad pic. She's one of my keepers so I never updated her at 6 or 8 weeks but she is much darker and more orange-y now. Along with the beige banding at the base of her fur and silver guard hairs I'm fairly certain now that she's cinnamon pearl. I will take another pic of her tomorrow though to see what you think. I've been meaning to do this for the buck's breeder, too, so this will be a good reason to stop being lazy and do that. But while we're playing the guessing game, any ideas on this guy (from the same litter): 
Peace Fire fucked around with this message at 08:56 on Nov 28, 2010 |
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Nov 28, 2010 08:53
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