|
 poor Linus. I know that HELP Getemoffme! Look.
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2010 03:43
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 15, 2024 07:42 |
|
|
eig posted:
Thats so loving cute I'm almost in tears
|
|
#
?
Dec 5, 2010 00:11
|
|
|
now you know how i feel EVERYTIME I WALK INTO MY APARTMENT and then agan WHEN I WALK INTO MY ROOM.  rats everywhere!!!!
|
|
#
?
Dec 5, 2010 02:18
|
|
|
I got a program on iPhone with all these dumb filters and so I've been using it to take pictures like these
|
|
#
?
Dec 5, 2010 02:23
|
|
|
Well, I scattered a few handfuls of the lab block along the railing in front of our picture window. Haven't spotted any squirrels checking it out yet, but we were putting up Christmas lights today, so they probably stayed away because of that. If they don't eat this stuff, I may just stir it into the compost heap and call it quits.
|
|
#
?
Dec 6, 2010 03:22
|
|
|
Cassiope posted:Y'all are really making me want some rats. I went to a neat little pet store and got to carry around a baby rat for like half an hour. She was so sweet and kept licking my fingers. My dog would eat them though I'm glad you think so, I personally think it was worth it and would gladly get some more if I can find a permanent place to say  Also, dogs can be trained to live with rats, so I'd check up on that if you're really intent on getting one.
|
|
#
?
Dec 6, 2010 21:51
|
|
|
Wrinkles really wants these Baby Cheez Doodles
|
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2010 00:11
|
|
|
Tias posted:I'm glad you think so, I personally think it was worth it and would gladly get some more if I can find a permanent place to say Yeah, I'm also in a pretty nomadic stage of my life right now (last bit of college). Having a dog is expensive enough both time and money-wise. I'm not going to let myself get any rats until I'm in a more stable position. When I do get them (one day) I'm going spoil the crap out of them. I love pimping out huge rodent cages When I had a chinchilla he had a $200 cage that was taller than me and had all kinds of fun toys. When I moved out my mom gave the cage away though.... Until then I shall live vicariously through all of y'all. So post lots of pics for the poor rat-deprived people here.
|
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2010 00:34
|
|
|
Cassiope posted:Yeah, I'm also in a pretty nomadic stage of my life right now (last bit of college). Having a dog is expensive enough both time and money-wise. I'm not going to let myself get any rats until I'm in a more stable position. When I do get them (one day) I'm going spoil the crap out of them. I love pimping out huge rodent cages I'm living in Japan right now, and I kind of count myself as lucky that rats aren't commonly sold as pets around here. If they were, I would likely end up buying a pair and have to stay until they passed away.
|
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2010 03:03
|
|
|
Having a dilemma. I adopted a pair of rescue rats a while ago, and I had posted that one of them is a biter. Well, two months later I have been nothing but sweet to him and he has started biting me more than ever. It's come to the point where Skippy will run up to me when I have them out for playtime and just chomp down really hard for no reason. I've tried squeaking, tapping him on the nose, or just putting him back in the cage, but nothing has helped. I've tried giving him space at first, then spent a lot of time trust training, and I always shower him with treats and headscratches. But he is still a huge dick and I'm tired of being bitten for no reason. It really hurts  I think he might have been mishandled when he was young, and I am fine with having a shy or nervous rat, but he seems genuinely mean. The sad part is I LOVE his brother Jif. He is the opposite, basically a total sweetheart that gives me kisses and is happy to hang out with people. I am just worried that if I give Skippy back to the rescue that Jif will miss him too much, even if I found him another friend. It makes me mad that I am spending all this time caring for a dick rat though when there are like those 1000 potentially nicer rats in San Jose that need a home. I'm not really sure what to do
|
|
#
?
Dec 9, 2010 09:03
|
|
|
I'm not an expert, but have you considered neutering him? I know small animal surgery can be risky and expensive, but if he isn't responding to any training and his biting might be caused by hormones and being territorial and aggressive, maybe it's something to think about? I think it's great that you're trying so hard with him, it must be really frustrating. I think though that if you give him back he might find it difficult to find a new home if he's super bitey, which is the only reason I'd suggest thinking about neutering him.
|
|
#
?
Dec 9, 2010 15:41
|
|
|
Chakattack! posted:I'm not an expert, but have you considered neutering him? I know small animal surgery can be risky and expensive, but if he isn't responding to any training and his biting might be caused by hormones and being territorial and aggressive, maybe it's something to think about? He already is neutered :/ That's part of the reason why I think he might never get better. The thought of giving him back to the rescue makes me feel really bad, but then the thought of having to leave him in the cage as much as possible also makes me feel bad. He will bite me basically everywhere but my face (thank goodness) when he is on my bed. When I have let him free range he doesn't bite me as much, but he starts going nuts on shredding my furniture. This would make sense if I didn't give them tons of boxes and chew toys to play with each day, as well as much out of the cage play time he can get before he starts biting.
|
|
#
?
Dec 9, 2010 19:39
|
|
|
Oh, I'm sorry, that makes it even harder then. You sound like you've done everything possible and have tried really hard with him. Maybe some people with bitey rat experience would be more help than me - I only posted to suggest neutering as I've heard a lot of similar situations where it's helped. When he bites you, does it seem like it's triggered by anything or does he literally just try biting all the time? Would he approach you to bite you if you weren't trying to handle him? I've heard that true aggression in rats is quite rare, does it seem like he's attacking you or just defending himself out of fear?
|
|
#
?
Dec 9, 2010 21:38
|
|
|
I have had two biters, an aggressive female and a poorly-socialized neutered male. I received the female as an adult, and because she bit as a baby, the original owner never handled her and reinforced the behaviour. I put on some leather winter gloves that her teeth would not easily puncture and went after her everywhere in her cage, letting her bite away. I took away her hiding places. Touching her, poking her, everything I could do to agitate her without causing any real harm. I would pick her up and put her down frequently with the gloves. When she wore herself out and stopped nipping I would pet her gently and give treats. I also did some forced socialization with her. Gradually over a few weeks of this she stopped biting entirely. I received the male as an adult from the SPCA and never knew any of his history. I doubt he had been handled much, if at all. He was not aggressive but just really did not understand how to interact. He like to nip at things, especially fingers. I would smear liquid treats (applesauce, pudding, peanut butter, etc) on a blunt butter knife, offer it to him, and he came to dislike the sensation of his reflexive chomping down on the metal. Eventually he learned to lick the treat off of the knife instead of biting at it. After I was reasonably confident I started using my fingers. With him, also, I did some forced socialization. I never had another problem with him. I may just be lucky but both of them went on to become very gentle, sweet pets.
|
|
#
?
Dec 9, 2010 22:55
|
|
|
Aw, thanks for helping me out guys. I think he is definitely "a poorly-socialized neutered male." I got in contact with the rescue I adopted him from and the woman gave me some tips I am going to try out, like having a separate time out cage and not letting him use his biting to dictate how I act. I would feel really bad if I gave up on him without trying everything. He will come after me even if I completely ignore him, so it makes it hard to predict when he will bite. But then when I put him back in the cage after he bites he BEGS to come out again. Sometimes too he will sleep in his cage all smushed up next the bars, as close as he can get to me. If I am sitting in my chair he will be in one corner, and then if I am on my bed he will be in the other corner. So sometimes I think he likes me and is a little cutie, and then other times he is a little dick out for blood. The rescue woman also brought up the possibility that he has a brain tumor or something else going on, which could be the problem given how different he is from his brother. So I guess I will keep trying and hopefully report back with good news in the future.
|
|
#
?
Dec 9, 2010 23:42
|
|
|
I've been playing around with safe high-whites with my feeders because I started with a couple of RB based high whites, I like BEW's, and genetics is fun so why not. After starting with one recessive-blazed berkshire and two pet store PEWs, I've gotten extreme high whites in less than six months. I thought I'd share my keepers from my last batch of babies. I recently did a huge cull and this trio now makes up the entirety of my breeding stock; they've got all I need to lead to the markings I want. Female 1, a mink RB split-cap. My ultimate goal is BEW's, and as a mink she has ruby eyes, but she should produce some black eyed offspring so she's useful in spite of her eye color:  She's also got really nice overall conformation which is cool. Female 2 is also a RB split-cap, obviously black. She's snipey and ugly and has very poor conformation but again, useful for her markings.  This is the male, who is a black patched with near perfect conformation.(His head is not as long as it looks, I swear.)  I'm tempted to keep him as a pet but so far I've managed to stave off that temptation. They are all ultimately feeders(hence the reason I'm holding the girl's tails, they're not really socialized at all,) I'm just having fun with genetics in the process because why not.  I hope everyone is still okay with me occasionally posting my feeders ITT. They may not get handled much but they get the same care as my pet rats and have pretty happy lives. I'm very much looking forward to getting my first BEW's, and I should only be a litter or three away from it.
|
|
#
?
Dec 10, 2010 00:02
|
|
|
Superconsndar posted:I hope everyone is still okay with me occasionally posting my feeders ITT. They may not get handled much but they get the same care as my pet rats and have pretty happy lives. The perils of having such tasty and nutritious pets I guess. I do like the markings you're getting so far and I'm curious to see how they turn out. And by that I mean I hate you for posting feeders and the only road to forgiveness involves lots and lots more pictures, especially of your cutest babies.
|
|
#
?
Dec 10, 2010 01:50
|
|
|
So I signed up to a breeders waiting list a few months ago after wanting to get rats for about 2 years, and they emailed me last week to say they've had babies and there are two boys for me! I'm incredibly excited, they're both dumbo's, one bareback rex and one smooth hooded. The breeder seems incredibly professional, breeding firstly for health. They will be ready to pick up at the start of January, i've read this thread and the links and lots of other sites and books so I can guarantee when I take them home I can give them the best possible life. I was wondering if there is anyone from the UK who could recommend a good place to buy a cage from?
|
|
#
?
Dec 10, 2010 02:02
|
|
|
Raella's incision from the mammary surgery has healed well, but she's took a turn for the worse. I noticed late last week that she's come out of the surgery with something that might be neurological? I thought it was from pain, but now that everything's healed, its something else. She drags her back feet sometimes when she walks. She also seems weak and in general less healthy. Not only that, but she developed myco on Tuesday and I started a zithromax regimen (I had some unmixed powder on hand at home) and intended to bring her into work to see the exotic vet on Thursday, thinking it wasn't serious because I had Wednesday off (I work at a clinic). But then around 7pm Wednesday night she suddenly went into respiratory distress. Really, really sudden. She was breathing FINE up until that point and then all of the sudden she was gasping for breath!? It was serious too, she was making that horrible clicking noise that they make right before they die sometimes.  I spent that entire night in and out of the bathroom with her, steaming her lungs up with the shower and gave her some dark chocolate to open up her airways a little, and ran the humidifier full blast. She made it through the night and I took her to work. Unfortunately we don't have an oxygen tank and I can't afford to take her to a specialized place so we're doing what we can. She's now on .4mL zithromax once a day and .2mL injectible baytril PO BID. That's all we can do for now. She's not happy about being in the cage and is constantly trying to get out. In my experience of having rats, this always happens. When they start having severe respiratory issues, they have problems with being in the cage. I think they feel constricted or something? It always happens, they sort of freak out about being in there and then get stressed and open mouth breathe worse, so I'm letting her out until I go to sleep. Ugh. I have on hand euthanasia drugs (telazol and the euthanasia) in case she gets worse, and will give her some SQ fluids before I go to bed. I really hope it doesn't get to the point I have to euthanize her. I hope she pulls through. As for the back leg dragging, the vet didn't really know why that was going on, we're focusing right now on attacking the mycoplasma. At this point it's either she will get through this and live maybe a few more months, or she will crash and die. And the worst part is, I have a wake and funeral to go to tomorrow night and Saturday, so I'm having a coworker watch her... And what if she crashes while I'm gone? Ugh. I'm so worried. She's my last rat. I won't have any for a couple years after this and will have to live vicariously through this thread.
|
|
#
?
Dec 10, 2010 04:39
|
|
|
neongrey posted:The perils of having such tasty and nutritious pets I guess. I do like the markings you're getting so far and I'm curious to see how they turn out. i'll post pics of the next litters the second they're born. Right now I'm just waiting on these guys to breed which is taking a while because for SOME REASON when you house a male with females permanently they don't breed automatically and take a bit longer. I have no idea why this is so, but it has been my personal experience. While males who are normally housed with other males will automatically attempt to mate with the first female plopped in front of them, they tend to get lazy about it when they're housed together 24/7. I'm going to give it another couple of weeks and if the females don't start showing signs of pregnancy I'm going to separate them for a week or two and then reintroduce them to see if that does that trick. It usually does.
|
|
#
?
Dec 10, 2010 04:47
|
|
|
Honestly, it baffles me how anyone can have rats as pets in this day and age without having to come to some kind of terms with a) rats are really good food for a million different animals, and b) rats are really good research animals. I wouldn't want my rats used for those purposes, but I'm totally cool with people eating dog, too, so long as it's not my pet. vv But then I guess there are all kinds of crazy rat lady fora out there which just can't deal with that fact. I guess there are worse things to get pissy about but there's also a million better, too... meh.
|
|
#
?
Dec 10, 2010 06:02
|
|
|
I thought this was a pet rat thread. Feeders are needed for other species, can't and won't argue that, but that is why I don't keep those species. Don't want to seem like an rear end, but I don't want to read about feeders in a pet thread.
|
|
#
?
Dec 10, 2010 16:32
|
|
|
Traumatic posted:I thought this was a pet rat thread. She puts up really interesting info about genetics, conformation, and health though. It's relevant to all rat breeding whether it be for pets or feeders. I don't mind seeing pics of cute rats that are being well taken care of whether or not they are feeders.
|
|
#
?
Dec 10, 2010 16:52
|
|
|
Yeah I've got pet rats too and bred for show/did rescue for years. If I ONLY posted feeders ITT then yeah, but I post pet stuff too. Donut (who lives alone because he has decided he is a people rat and not a rat rat) just got a new cuddle cup because he ate his last one. He thinks it is the best thing. 
|
|
#
?
Dec 10, 2010 19:02
|
|
|
Superconsndar posted:Yeah I've got pet rats too and bred for show/did rescue for years. If I ONLY posted feeders ITT then yeah, but I post pet stuff too. Every time I look at this thread it makes me wonder how people can be scared of rats when they're so drat cute
|
|
#
?
Dec 10, 2010 19:18
|
|
|
Shebrew posted:Every time I look at this thread it makes me wonder how people can be scared of rats when they're so drat cute I don't know, when I ask this of people who are apprehensive about touching my rats I always hear the same EXACT response. "IT'S THE TAIL, I CAN'T STAND THE TAIL!"
|
|
#
?
Dec 10, 2010 22:31
|
|
|
People who meet mine assume they are going to bite. I think I've had exactly one bite and that was because I was mistaken for food Maybe the giant balls have something to do with it too.
|
|
#
?
Dec 10, 2010 23:27
|
|
|
Traumatic posted:I thought this was a pet rat thread. You can always put people on ignore if you don't want to read what they have to post.
|
|
#
?
Dec 10, 2010 23:35
|
|
|
Dupree9973 posted:I don't know, when I ask this of people who are apprehensive about touching my rats I always hear the same EXACT response. "IT'S THE TAIL, I CAN'T STAND THE TAIL!" This is what I always hear! They're like *SHUDDER* EEEWW THEIR TAILS! I don't get it at all. I love twirling ratty tails around my finger while they chill on my shoulder. Good lord...this thread is making me ache to have a rat again. It's been years, but I had them all the time when I was younger. I am sooooo tempted to get a pair. I've got two 7 & 8 month old kitties, but cats can learn that the rat is not food...right?
|
|
#
?
Dec 11, 2010 00:52
|
|
|
Liz, absolutely. It might be slightly more difficult when they don't grow up with them, but I have an 8 month old cat who loves my rats and treats them like kittens. If I get baby rats again while I have my cat, I'd probably just keep them fairly seperate and closely watched until the rats were big enough not to be a single cat snack-sized bite.
|
|
#
?
Dec 11, 2010 02:05
|
|
|
I grew up with cats, and the rats always seemed to do a good job of thoroughly nipping any noses that strayed too close to the cage bars. It made for cats who knew better than to hassle a big sassy rat.
|
|
#
?
Dec 11, 2010 02:08
|
|
|
I really don't trust my cat around mine yet. My breeder rat was raised with cats and shows no fear. My pet store rat will literally fly across the room if the cat so much as pokes his head in the door.
|
|
#
?
Dec 11, 2010 04:29
|
|
|
I just got some rats last week ( )! They are probably maybe the most adorable things I've ever seen. So I went to the store to try and grab everything I needed to follow suebee's rat diet, but I'm having trouble locating the right kinds of cereal (puffed wheat/puffed rice? With no sugar I'm assuming?). Everything I found had sugar added. I couldn't find Total either, but I'm kind of hoping that since I was at Target, maybe Wal-Mart or someplace else would have something else. I couldn't find the soy nuts either I'll try to get pics up soon though. They are sweethearts. I had to resort to pet store rats because there are no breeders to be found anywhere across this entire state, nor did petfinder or craigslist ever yield any results in the weeks I was checking them, but I'm surprised to find that they're completely sociable and friendly... pretty much from day one. I was holding them comfortably the next day after I brought them home. I think they might be sisters because they're almost identical in size and color and seem very comfortable with each other.
|
|
#
?
Dec 11, 2010 22:29
|
|
|
The breeder who i'm getting the babies from just sent me a picture, only a week old! Getting them on the 16th of January, I can't wait!
|
|
#
?
Dec 11, 2010 22:41
|
|
|
Aww! Itty bitty! I really liked that about going with a breeder, seeing the baby photos of them growing up. I still haven't actually got my rats, because of the snow here in Scotland. My breeder lives at the very north of Scotland and has had to postpone coming twice now. I might be able to get them next Friday if I drive two and a half hours to meet her but I think it's supposed to snow again on Monday so if the roads get bad again it won't happen. I'm really bummed out, I've been waiting so long and I just want my rats. I spent this evening decorating their cage, and I just want girlies to put in it.
|
|
#
?
Dec 12, 2010 01:33
|
|
|
redjenova posted:I just got some rats last week ( Heh, I just went and bought stuff for my rats' mix. Do you happen to have a Bag N Save around you? I'm gonna guess not, it's a midwest grocery store chain, and I can find everything that I need there. The brand of puffed wheat I use is Quaker, it's sugar free, etc. The brand of puffed rice I used to use got recalled and was never continued, so I use Kashi whole grain puffs. It's weird that you couldn't find Total, though.
|
|
#
?
Dec 12, 2010 03:04
|
|
|
Startled Fuzzy yesterday and she ran and dove into an already full tiny kleenex box and refused to get out 
sadus fucked around with this message at 20:53 on Dec 12, 2010 |
|
#
?
Dec 12, 2010 08:50
|
|
|
No matter the size of the box or the number of rats, they will ALL fit in there. Its the rules.
|
|
#
?
Dec 12, 2010 09:50
|
|
|
Big Bug Hug posted:No matter the size of the box or the number of rats, they will ALL fit in there. Its the rules. I guess mine were broken, then, or something, because when they grew out of their original nest box they would just take turns sleeping in it. Then when I replaced it with a larger one they took to sleeping on top of it 
|
|
#
?
Dec 12, 2010 17:55
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 15, 2024 07:42 |
|
|
Hmm maybe its because I give them cardboard boxes and change it every couple of days. Its always super exciting! Even when its the exact same size/shape box they got last time!
|
|
#
?
Dec 13, 2010 22:15
|
|