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Those are the cutest baby rats I've ever seen!  I want one.Good job on the photos, they're adorable. Rats never sit still. The only way I get good pics is to take dozens and hope for a nice one.
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Apr 23, 2011 01:17
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So, I just got the boys home. They're exploring the cage. Jabberwoky [the hairless], seems to be the more adventurous one while Bandersnatch is a bit skittish. He freezes whenever I talk to him. Him and our big black cat just had a Mexican stand off. They won't take treats form me just yet. They figured out on the way home that yogurt treats are delicious but so far, they haven't touched the raisins I gave them as a peace offering. Oh well. I had a question though: their water bottle is really drippy. I tried putting it next to their food, and it was flooding their level so I moved it and cleaned it up. Now it's as close as I can get it to the bottom of the cage. I know I need to get a new water bottle but until I bring it home later tonight, the dripping isn't going to be bad for them, right? There's no rare wet foot rat fungus I have to worry about? Also, so they don't explode:   Fake Edit: Bandersnatch is now frozen on the top level. He is staring blankly and won't move. Is he still adjusting, or did the move break him?
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Apr 23, 2011 02:28
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FOREVER He's still adjusting - it takes a while and I'd tell you that you shouldn't worry, but it's hard not to I know. As for your drippy water bottle, do you have a soft plastic one or a hard glass one We started off with a chewproof glass bottle but it always dripped. Plastic bottles can be squeezed - fill it to the top and squeeze gently as you're putting the spout on, or give it a firm squeeze (enough to squirt a bit out) after you've got it put together and that should lower the drip by a lot.
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Apr 23, 2011 03:42
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squidtarts posted:As for your drippy water bottle, do you have a soft plastic one or a hard glass one We started off with a chewproof glass bottle but it always dripped. Plastic bottles can be squeezed - fill it to the top and squeeze gently as you're putting the spout on, or give it a firm squeeze (enough to squirt a bit out) after you've got it put together and that should lower the drip by a lot. We did this. It's not a rat waterfall anymore. Don't know if they have ventured that far down the cage yet, but I'm sure they'll be glad I fixed it when they do. Also, they just had a fight over turkey. :3 Jabberwoky liked it so much that Bandersnatch snapped out of his coma and they had a squeak fight. I love these guys!
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Apr 23, 2011 09:48
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So I think I want to swap out my recycled newspaper pellets for towels as the main bedding material. It'll be cheaper and quieter, potentially easier to clean as well. Any tips on how to best do this? Are there types of towels that I should avoid? Any good ideas how to secure the towels so the rats don't tear them off (I'm thinking binder clips or something similar)?
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Apr 23, 2011 16:14
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polyfractal posted:So I think I want to swap out my recycled newspaper pellets for towels as the main bedding material. It'll be cheaper and quieter, potentially easier to clean as well. Any tips on how to best do this? Are there types of towels that I should avoid? Any good ideas how to secure the towels so the rats don't tear them off (I'm thinking binder clips or something similar)? We eventually switched to Carefresh though because the cage smelled horrible very early (like 2 days vs. a week with Carefresh) and because our rats tore the poo poo out of it. Generally they would completely ruin at least one corner of the bottom and they'd also spend a lot of time trying to pull out excess fabric that they could reach through the bars of the cage. The cheapest bet is probably to go to Jo Ann Fabrics and get a few yards of whatever reasonably soft fabrics they have on sale. Then you can just cut it to the size you need. I'd say like $10 will get you two or three yards that you can use to make into two or three liners. I haven't really seen any place that sells towels for less than $5 each.
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Apr 23, 2011 16:34
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We've used fleece and terry cloth, but like Boco_T said, it stank to high heaven and our ladies' favorite thing to do was chew them to bits. Back when I was unemployed I was fine with changing their cage every 3 days, but now that I work full time I do Carefresh and change the shelf liners once or twice a week instead. Supposedly sewing bottom liners with two layers of cloth and some quilting fiber between them makes them less stinky, but I never tried it. ... We totally push two weeks on our Carefresh sometimes.  The shelf liners get most of the pee on them, so changing them regularly helps the smell the most.
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Apr 23, 2011 17:13
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I use scrapped old terry cloth towels and I don't bother attaching them anymore because the little shits figure out quickly how to detach them. Binder clips sound like a really good idea though. The towels plus a litter box in the corner keep the cage acceptable for maybe a week.
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Apr 24, 2011 04:57
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Great, thanks for the tips guys. I didn't realize towels would smell worse than pellets/carefresh, but I guess it makes sense since they probably aren't as absorbent. I added a towel as a shelf liner on the top floor, which hopefully will cut down on some of the noise and be more comfortable to the ratties. Still need to cut up some towels for the ramps though. Semi-related, I love how crazy the rats go when I wash/put everything back into the cage. They spend like an hour exploring all the clean items and running around like little ADHD children. Edit: Might as well include some pictures!  I was too lazy to cut the towel to size along the width of the cage, so I just folded it back across itself making a pocket. The rats are going bananas running inside the pocket  "What? We didn't shred this nice pouch into a billion little pieces. We're just innocently being cute inside the scene of the crime."   Tessa snagged a piece of pizza crust off my desk when I wasn't looking and dragged it back to the cage and up to the top floor. They proceeded to gorge themselves on carbs and go into a food coma afterwards. They only got halfway through the crust before quitting to nap.  Tessa, the mischief maker, stole a cadbury egg from my desk and ran away with her loot. She spent about twenty minutes trying to eat it to no avail - drat you candy coating!  polyfractal fucked around with this message at 01:15 on Apr 25, 2011 |
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Apr 25, 2011 00:58
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^^^ Last easter I tore the head off a peep, tore that into 5 pieces and gave each rat one little chunk. The rest of the peep went in the trash- I don't like them. Allie jumps up into the loving trash can, gets the peep and goes bounding madly across the room with it. Her front paws were sticky, and she had carpet fuzz all stuck to them. I washed her hands. That'll show her to steal peeps from the trash! (No it won't)
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Apr 25, 2011 12:01
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haha I can't imagine letting my ratties run free around the house like that. Normally we have supervised play time on my bed or the sofa. I can only imagine the mischief they'd get into roaming free 
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Apr 26, 2011 01:42
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So my survivor rat might have pneumonia. She's been losing weight, has laboured breathing, bristled fur, and is lethargic with a bit of red gunk around her eyes. Checked teeth and they are normal, and she doesn't have any bumps like tumors. Got to start calling vets.... I got a new rat for a cagemate, and I really, really hope it isn't from her. I got her from a local place that is normally really good about their rats. This....has not been a good month for me.
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Apr 26, 2011 18:11
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polyfractal posted:*faint*
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Apr 26, 2011 19:26
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The boys are getting really feisty. I took Jabberwoky out and he had a scab on his back, I think Bandersnatch might have bitten him. :/ There's some squeaking and some tussling but a few minutes later they're off doing their own thing. Is this just something they're going to go through? They're starting to get the zoomies when I get near the cage, and they're starting to learn what their names mean. When I go to get one of them out its always Jabber that runs up my arm and under my hoodie to play for about an hour--but he doesn't like being handled. Whenever I do get a hold of him he tries to run and immediately tries to get inside my hoodie again. Bander is very slow to come out of the cage, but actually lets me scratch him and will use me as a home base to explore. Do I just need more time to get Jabber to chill out, or do I get to feel little rattie pin pricks under my clothes for the next three years?
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Apr 27, 2011 07:02
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Hi, guys! I'm adopting my first pair of rats and this thread has been very helpful as a starting point for learning about what things I need to buy and think about to prepare my home for them. I found a great rescue in my area, but the females I'd hoped to apply to adopt were just placed yesterday, almost right while I was submitting my application actually. They do have some adorable looking males in, but my one worry is that the smell/buck grease might be kind of offputting - can you guys tell me what to expect? It seems like neutering them to circumvent this would be a bit drastic. Basically, I'd assumed I wanted girls, but these little fellows are melting my heart so any and all information about what the males are like is welcome.
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Apr 27, 2011 08:46
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I have three grown male rats and they have always been big lovable lazy guys. And they have never really smelled, at all. If you pick one up and smell them, they smell like doritos(yes really). They don't seem greasy or anything to me. Their cage (using recycled paper litter) I clean every 5 days or so. It rarely gets smelly at all. In short, I love male rats and maybe mine are the exception but smell has never even been a tiny issue  quote:Do I just need more time to get Jabber to chill out, or do I get to feel little rattie pin pricks under my clothes for the next three years? Big Bug Hug fucked around with this message at 09:12 on Apr 27, 2011 |
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Apr 27, 2011 09:08
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Would you suggest neutering them? I'm used to dogs where this is a matter of course and still haven't figured out what is de rigueur with rats. There's a really good small animal vet nearby who offers the procedure, so it's an option. Can't wait for my Martin's cage to get here so I can start filling it with bedding and toys 
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Apr 27, 2011 09:12
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I've found neutering completely unnecessary, its usually done if there are aggression issues once they're older, or if you want to keep females with them. Its not necessary otherwise
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Apr 27, 2011 09:25
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Good to know, BBH, thank you! These are the two charmers I'm looking at - they're both available in mid-May. One is supposedly on the active side and the other is more easygoing, so I thought that sounded like a good combination.   What do you guys think they'll look like when they're big?
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Apr 27, 2011 09:51
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Aerobe posted:
Pure, distilled cuteness
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Apr 27, 2011 13:27
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Aerobe posted:Good to know, BBH, thank you! These are the two charmers I'm looking at - they're both available in mid-May. One is supposedly on the active side and the other is more easygoing, so I thought that sounded like a good combination. They are waaaaay too young to make any assumptions about their adult personalities.  As for what they'll look like, the one on the left is an agouti berkshire, so something like this:  The one on the right is fawn, so something like this: 
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Apr 27, 2011 14:46
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Cute! My roomie wants to name them after cartoon characters and I want to name them after mathematicians. My first compromise idea? Dragon Ball Zeno.
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Apr 27, 2011 14:59
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YOU GUYS! I haven't even read this thread because I've been so distressed about my rats all dying that every time I open it up and look at the cute pictures I literally start tearing up. I'm sorry, I know the FAQ is in need of some big updates!! But guess what, I get to petsit my coworkers super cute rescue dumbo rats for a week in May. I'm so EXCITED!
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Apr 27, 2011 17:18
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Aerobe posted:Need this rat Felix & Erlend are getting on well, they went with me to visit my folks this weekend and were licky and cuddly to them as well as me
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Apr 28, 2011 01:43
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Awww...all of those pictures are adorable! We took one of our older girls in for a mass removal and spay this morning. She's still pretty groggy and has been burying herself in blankets, but seems to be doing okay other than that.
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Apr 28, 2011 05:38
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Aerobe posted:Good to know, BBH, thank you! These are the two charmers I'm looking at - they're both available in mid-May. One is supposedly on the active side and the other is more easygoing, so I thought that sounded like a good combination. The boy might end up looking something like my female  Unfortunately, she is the one with pneumonia. Vet gave her a cortisone shot, and 14 days of meds.
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Apr 28, 2011 05:39
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I was wondering if there was a rat weight chart like there is for dogs and cats, it seems unlikely, but I thought I'd ask. We need to pick up a kitchen scale anyway, so we can just do that when it comes.
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Apr 28, 2011 19:45
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Another newbie question! Is there a difference between bedding and litter? What do you people have in your cage? Do I want bedding with litter on top? Like, aspen bedding and then paper CareFresh coating it? Do I change only the litter every few days or do I change everything? Trying to sort this out before my PetSmart supply run tomorrow. 
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Apr 29, 2011 19:39
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Don't use any soft woods at all, they are dangerous to rats (despite pet stores always using it). I use a layer of recycled paper pellets (we don't have carefresh here) on the floor of the cage and just change it every 5 days or so. I put a couple of kleenex boxes on the floor and a hammock up top, and line the shelves with soft fleece. So they don't end up walking on the litter much. They generally pee off the shelves onto the litter below. Usually in the corner, so I could conceivably put a litter box there really. Why do they think they should pee from up high? No idea. When people say litter/bedding I take it to mean they use a litter box, and soft bedding like towels etc. Its up to you if you wanna do this or use a layer of litter/carefresh whatever on the bottom.
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Apr 30, 2011 00:57
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I just wanted to report that this thread's suggestions have helped a lot! I've been doing some forced socialization and some milder "pick up, put down, give treat". My ratties now come to the cage door when called (for the most part) and don't mind getting picked up too much. They'll sit on my lap without trying to desperately escape, although they still don't like to do it for very long. And they are still skittish to loud sounds but I imagine there isn't much to do about that. So basically, thanks!
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May 1, 2011 17:42
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When I first got my rats I was also really worried that forced socialization would hurt them, but it definitely helped. Also I wouldn't worry about them wanting to get off your lap, it's probably not because they want to escape, they just want to explore! I have them on my couch while i'm watching tv and they crawl over me and the couches, and occasionally just head back to their cage because that's where their hammock is
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May 1, 2011 23:11
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So, I've got a rat med question. The vet gave me baytril for the pneumonia rat who seems to be improving a lot. However, when my gf took her to the vet, she thought the vet said one syringe per day, but yesterday I noticed that the instructions say twice a day. We got 14 syringes, and I thought 14 days was a crazy amount, while 7 makes more sense. Each dose is 3ml, and I'm wondering if I should be giving her one or two doses a day. vvvvv It is the weekend. They are closed. I was going to call Monday, but was just wondering if you guys had any ideas. ZarathustraFollower fucked around with this message at 23:34 on May 1, 2011 |
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May 1, 2011 23:20
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Call the vet and ask?
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May 1, 2011 23:27
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Check with the vet obviously, but 14 days is a pretty standard course of ABs for rodents. I've rarely had one on them for less than that.
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May 2, 2011 04:35
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Melk is healing up just fine, but when sgoast was talking about her to one of his coworkers, she said that rats heal from the outside in.  Is there any truth to this?
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May 2, 2011 05:58
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Goddamn, rats are furry little machines of destruction. They are determined to destroy the poster on my wall. I'm convinced the rubber cement I used to fix the poster is driving them to new heights of destructive blood lust.
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May 2, 2011 17:08
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Rodent Mortician posted:Check with the vet obviously, but 14 days is a pretty standard course of ABs for rodents. I've rarely had one on them for less than that.
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May 3, 2011 00:11
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I'm trying to give my rats more interesting things to do/climb in their cage. The cage is 30" high with 2 shelves. They have a hammock, a leap n ledge, and a ladder in there now. I've tried some bird toys in the past and they've been completely uninterested in them besides the ladder. I like the idea of a rope but I'm not sure if they'd actually use it. I heard that rats sometimes like swings, does anyone have any experience with that, and how I would make a rat swing? (easily and cheaply) edit: I have one of them on my lap now and started petting him when he decided to rip off a hangnail and eat it, then tried to eat the rest of my skin off. Hope he doesn't develop too much of a taste for human flesh! tse1618 fucked around with this message at 03:50 on May 3, 2011 |
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May 3, 2011 03:40
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tse1618 posted:I heard that rats sometimes like swings, does anyone have any experience with that, and how I would make a rat swing? (easily and cheaply) When I had rats, I got one of those little clothes peg baskets you hang on clotheslines and hung it in the cage. They used it like a swing, it was pretty cute (and definitely inexpensive! )
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May 3, 2011 04:45
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One of my rats has a respiratory infection and has been wheezy ever since I adopted him. When he's on Baytril he is relatively fine, but once I take him off he goes back to sounding like a sick puppy after a few weeks  My vet said he might have to be on meds forever. Has anyone else had a forever medicated rat?Also, here is a rat inside pajama pants. 
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May 9, 2011 19:21
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