|
Dr. Spaceman posted: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 Yeah, my Casper was on Baytril or some form of antibiotic for the last year of his two-year life. It only ever put a dent in the symptoms for the first week of an upped dose, though. We just put him to sleep on Tuesday, half because of the respiratory complications (he was struggling to breathe on the last day-- heartbreaking to see) and half because the right side of his face had suddenly shut down (uncontrollable infections in the ear and eye, lower jaw migrating over so far he couldn't chew or brux after just a week, whiskers totally immobile)-- maybe a horribly malignant cancer. gently caress, I miss him. Good luck with yours, Spaceman.
|
#
?
May 9, 2011 21:14
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 15, 2024 05:44 |
|
|
So, what do your rats like to chew? One of ours loves chewing on the cage/litter box, even though she has chew stuff in there. Rats. Anyone have anything especially enticing to recommend? I know chicken bones tend to be a hit, but we eat meat pretty rarely.
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2011 22:49
|
|
|
Dr. Spaceman posted: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 P.S your pajama rat is cute. Amiss posted:Yeah, my Casper was on Baytril or some form of antibiotic for the last year of his two-year life. It only ever put a dent in the symptoms for the first week of an upped dose, though. We just put him to sleep on Tuesday, half because of the respiratory complications (he was struggling to breathe on the last day-- heartbreaking to see) and half because the right side of his face had suddenly shut down (uncontrollable infections in the ear and eye, lower jaw migrating over so far he couldn't chew or brux after just a week, whiskers totally immobile)-- maybe a horribly malignant cancer.  Invalid Octopus posted:So, what do your rats like to chew? One of ours loves chewing on the cage/litter box, even though she has chew stuff in there. Rats. Anyone have anything especially enticing to recommend? I know chicken bones tend to be a hit, but we eat meat pretty rarely. 
Big Bug Hug fucked around with this message at 23:19 on May 9, 2011 |
|
#
?
May 9, 2011 23:16
|
|
|
Big Bug Hug posted:Basil will chew the bars if left with nothing hard to chew - I give him a rawhide bone or strip, when I don't have bones left from dinner. He stops with the bar chewing, so he must like them Rawhide! Of course. I'll be sure to pick some up soon. Edit: Picked some up at the store tonight. They dig it  . I attached a piece of it to their rope dangly and it's fun to watch them bat at it.
Invalid Octopus fucked around with this message at 03:43 on May 10, 2011 |
|
#
?
May 10, 2011 00:40
|
|
|
Invalid Octopus posted:So, what do your rats like to chew? One of ours loves chewing on the cage/litter box, even though she has chew stuff in there. Rats. Anyone have anything especially enticing to recommend? I know chicken bones tend to be a hit, but we eat meat pretty rarely. Mine freaking LOVE to chew on paper towel and toilet paper tubes. They like to rip them up, and then stash the pieces in their beds. Also, they seem pretty fond of balls of straw-like material (I get em from the rabbit and birds section of the pet store). also, they really enjoy chewing on and stashing small scraps of cloth. I've cut up some of my worn shirts and given them some scraps. I didn't know that bones would be good for them. I'll look up some information, and probably give them some. When I go out to Ruby Tuesdays I usually get ribs. I share the bones with my dogs, but I could see if it's ok to give them to my rats, too! By the way, thank you all very much for the tips in the thread about introducing rats to each other. Thanks to them, I was able to introduce older and very used to being the only rat girl to a very young girl and her young mother. Now everyone is one big happy cuddling family.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2011 05:20
|
|
|
Good to know about rawhide. I almost bought some the other night but refrained because I wasn't sure if it would be safe for rats. Are chicken bones ok for rats? I know you are supposed to keep chicken bones away from other animals (cats, dogs) because they can break into sharp splinters, is this a problem for rats too? My rats have a few pumice stones, a wooden ball thingy, a few of toilet paper tubes/cardboard and a bunch of paper confetti stuff. They don't like the pumice stones, but went apeshit shredding and chewing everything else. They had a ball made out of thick rope twine, but quickly shredded that into oblivion. I cut up index cards to give them and small pieces of cloth like Catalina, which they seem to love stashing in their nest.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2011 16:06
|
|
|
polyfractal posted:Are chicken bones ok for rats? I know you are supposed to keep chicken bones away from other animals (cats, dogs) because they can break into sharp splinters, is this a problem for rats too? Hell yes. The sharp bones aren't a problem for them, I always crack open the bones before I pass them around. They will gnaw on the marrow but not swallow anything sharp.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2011 16:41
|
|
|
Is there a guide to the different kind of noises rats make? I try to listen to them and judge based on context. But sometimes when they chitter at me when I'm holding them, I don't know if they're content, or upset, or what. Also, information on any other kind of communication behaviors rats have would be very helpful.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2011 19:03
|
|
|
The "chittering" you hear is like a cat purr for them. It can indicate pleasure, comfort, annoyance or pain. Like a cat, take it in context. Most likely he's happy to be held. My rat Gabriel bruxes (grinding his teeth, this is the cause of the chittering sound) when someone talks to him. He gets super happy when you're on the phone while you hold him because zomg she is talking to me!  other sounds: squeaks or screams; indicate pain or fear. Sometimes just mild annoyance (ie, squeaking while another rat grooms them). Standing up is a way of posturing to another rat, they have staring contests to determine who is the Boss Rat. A rat who is hunkered down and "fluffed" out might be in pain or feeling cold. A rat that lays down and puts its feet in the air is hot. A rat that lays in a loaf with its face on the ground is a herpderp.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2011 20:58
|
|
|
CompactFanny posted:A rat that lays in a loaf with its face on the ground is a herpderp.  indeed. In his food bowl, nonetheless.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2011 21:25
|
|
|
hahaha. I love when they sleep on their face. Mine are all herpderps.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2011 06:09
|
|
|
Invalid Octopus posted:So, what do your rats like to chew? One of ours loves chewing on the cage/litter box, even though she has chew stuff in there. Rats. Anyone have anything especially enticing to recommend? I know chicken bones tend to be a hit, but we eat meat pretty rarely. Dry pasta. "CompactFanny' posted:A rat that lays in a loaf with its face on the ground is a herpderp. All of my boys are herpderps. They sleep on their faces...in a pile. Stupid stinky boys.
|
|
#
?
May 13, 2011 10:34
|
|
|
Glasgow posted:Dry pasta. Ok, I'm gonna have to go and demand a picture of this. My big girl, Olivia, is a herpderp. Now that it was pointed out, when she's asleep, I can't unsee it. Also, I never thought about giving them dry pasta to chew on. Thanks, that's a great idea!
|
|
#
?
May 13, 2011 12:20
|
|
|
My rats go apeshit for dry pasta. Just avoid macaroni. Maybe my rats are just retarded (very possible), but they have a really hard time eating macaroni.
|
|
#
?
May 13, 2011 19:04
|
|
|
My current rats absolutely hate dry pasta. They will actually go out of their way to remove all of the pasta from their mix and banish it to a corner of a cage, like they're offended that it's even in their bowl. The 2 rats I had before them loved it, though. I'm hoping the two new ones I just got a couple days ago will like it, I find it really adorable when they eat it, I don't know why. Here's the new ratties, Chip and Dale:  We also have a russian blue agouti dumbo and a russian blue agouti dumbo rex (so fluffy!) and so far they're getting along really, really well. They're kept in separate cages for the time being but so far, apart from a little bit of power grooming at the start, they're a happy little family. I love all of the pictures in this thread. Rats make my heart swoon. Off topic, but Slidje, do you remember some guy years ago whose username was Qualjyn? He's my husband. He never had rats but once we moved in together, he fell hard for them. I think he actually broke a little bit when he saw the babies for the first time. I never heard him so high pitched before.
|
|
#
?
May 15, 2011 03:20
|
|
|
We have to euthanize our rat, she is currently unable to move other than rolling over and only breathing.  This is awful. I couldn't take watching it. I need a hug.
|
|
#
?
May 15, 2011 06:08
|
|
|
I'm sorry. That really sucks You're doing the best thing for her.
|
|
#
?
May 15, 2011 08:29
|
|
|
Captain Stinkybutt posted:We have to euthanize our rat, she is currently unable to move other than rolling over and only breathing. My rats just discovered the tissue box and have been getting stuck inside. I found it pretty amusing (sorry for bad cameraphone quality): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj4aiKerOXk
|
|
#
?
May 15, 2011 18:23
|
|
|
haha. Tissue boxes are the best! Everyone gives me their empties because they know my rats love 'em They always get so excited when they get a new box.My poor rattie went to the vet earlier in the week for some baytril for his wheeziness. Last night I found an abscess near his groin. It's draining and scabbed a bit so I'm inclined to keep him on the antibiotics and just clean it. Any other recommendations from you knowledgable people? Big Bug Hug fucked around with this message at 01:09 on May 16, 2011 |
|
#
?
May 16, 2011 00:52
|
|
|
I'm so sorry Captain Stinkybutt never had to take my rats to the vet for sickness reasons, so scared when that day comes and I've only had them about an even six months.polyfractal posted:My rats just discovered the tissue box and have been getting stuck inside. I found it pretty amusing (sorry for bad cameraphone quality): SO cute. I've been teaching my rats tricks! They both know how to spin on command and now I'm teaching Amelie how to walk on her hind feet for a treat. Squiggles seems to either not be interested in training or be too afraid or something... she gets awfully timid. If I make her stand up more than several times but don't give her the treat (since she's not taking steps yet), she just gives up and starts ignoring me (or trying to spin for the treat, which is kind of funny). She also spins super slowly and cautiously, whereas Amelie is all quick and enthusiastic about it. I'm guessing Amelie is just a more eager learner? Any ideas for other tricks?
|
|
#
?
May 16, 2011 02:48
|
|
|
Bophf posted:Off topic, but Slidje, do you remember some guy years ago whose username was Qualjyn? He's my husband. He never had rats but once we moved in together, he fell hard for them. I think he actually broke a little bit when he saw the babies for the first time. I never heard him so high pitched before. Big Bug Hug posted:Tissue boxes are the best! Everyone gives me their empties because they know my rats love 'em 
Slidje fucked around with this message at 06:58 on May 16, 2011 |
|
#
?
May 16, 2011 06:55
|
|
|
Must... fit... more!
|
|
#
?
May 16, 2011 20:52
|
|
|
sadus posted:Must... fit... more! Oh my god I freakin' love rats, look at how ridiculous they are.
|
|
#
?
May 17, 2011 00:20
|
|
|
All of the rats must fit in the box!
|
|
#
?
May 17, 2011 00:20
|
|
|
So my rats are here! And their names are Bartleby and Septimus! And because everybody loves pictures, here's a bunch of pictures! Feel free to let me know what you think of my 'set-up' and tell me if there's anything you'd recommend. First their baby selves, from the rescue's website:   New home:  The clubhouse (naptime central):  Bartleby eyes his jingle-ball apprehensively:  Septimus uses Bartleby as a stepladder in pursuit of DELICIOUS VEGETABLES:  Bartleby contemplates the meaning of life, and whether or not it comes in two-ply: 
|
|
#
?
May 17, 2011 01:15
|
|
|
Fleece bedding for rats, is it the same as it is for guinea pigs? A layer of fleece over layers of towels? Does anyone here use it for rats?
|
|
#
?
May 17, 2011 13:13
|
|
|
Those are some cuties Aerobe Chin Strap, pretty much I think. I don't use it because I'd have trouble doing all that laundry. I applaud those that do, though. I've heard it gets pretty stinky, compared to litter.
|
|
#
?
May 17, 2011 15:27
|
|
|
Big Bug Hug posted:Those are some cuties Aerobe Really? Because for guinea pigs I've been told it is some of the easier things to keep the stink down because you can vacuum up the poop.
|
|
#
?
May 17, 2011 15:40
|
|
|
I tried fleece over towels once, and they just chewed holes through it and then tore everything into shreds. Since then I've just stuck with a Carefresh knockoff.
|
|
#
?
May 17, 2011 15:51
|
|
|
Chin Strap posted:Really? Because for guinea pigs I've been told it is some of the easier things to keep the stink down because you can vacuum up the poop. It's different for rats because a.) their poop isn't quite as easy to vacuum up as pigs (it tends to be more on the squishy side), and b.) rats are destructors. When I used fleece it'd be torn up and chewed through in about 10 minutes.
|
|
#
?
May 17, 2011 16:01
|
|
|
I made some fleece/towel cage liners for my girls - 1 layer of fleece, one layer of microfiber towel, one layer of fleece, all sewn together. My girls are big chewers, but haven't torn either of them up too much, I guess the other things in the cage are more appealing. I also haven't had any trouble at all with vacuuming up the cage.
|
|
#
?
May 17, 2011 16:25
|
|
|
Still trying to read up on rats more but they definitely seem in my future. Why aren't rat breeders as disdained by this forum as most breeders of seemingly every other pet are? Are there just more good breeders? Or not that many in rescues?
|
|
#
?
May 18, 2011 12:55
|
|
|
Chin Strap posted:Still trying to read up on rats more but they definitely seem in my future. Why aren't rat breeders as disdained by this forum as most breeders of seemingly every other pet are? Are there just more good breeders? Or not that many in rescues?  Breeders aren't disdained in PI, just crappy ones. There are LOTS of purebred dog owners and enthusiasts here (myself included)and I'm not sure what we'd do if we didn't have good breeders for our chosen breeds.  I don't think anybody here has a problem with responsible breeding, and if they did they'd probably get crapped on pretty hard but the majority of posters here. Actually, I'd say the crappy to good ratio is probably worse in rats than other species as far as breeders go. With a monumentally small handfull of exceptions, even most "responsible" rat breeders are, underneath all of the lip service they pay to responsible breeding, pretty lovely. Add to the fact that rats are largely used as feeder animals as opposed to pets, and the fact that rat breeders period, much less GOOD ones, are so scarce and it all boils down to the reality being that you can't really afford to be as picky and discerning about the breeding of/sources of people's rats because there just aren't as many options out there as far as where to obtain them as there are for say, dogs. Rescues are great, and some places have very active rat rescues that take in lots of animals and depending on your location you MAY have access to rescue rats, but. depending on where you are, you may not. It's really just luck of the draw as to whether or not you have decent breeders and/or an active rescue near you. A lot of people have neither, and are stuck with getting pet store rats. It really just depends on location. So as a result of all that, it...really doesn't matter as much where people get their rats as it does where people get their dogs. People are fussier about the quality of dog breeders and push rescue as hard as they do because there's so many options as far as obtaining a dog goes that there's really no excuse to get a dog from a lovely breeder or a pet store. With rats, your options are often narrow enough that you kinda just have to make do with whatever you can get your hands on. Anyway, bath time. You guys are gross.      That was their first bath in months. They're currently not speaking to me. Supercondescending fucked around with this message at 13:18 on May 18, 2011 |
|
#
?
May 18, 2011 13:14
|
|
|
Chin Strap posted:Still trying to read up on rats more but they definitely seem in my future. Why aren't rat breeders as disdained by this forum as most breeders of seemingly every other pet are? Are there just more good breeders? Or not that many in rescues? In my experience in rescue, the truly good breeder community for rats (ie, not just the people who zomg want a blue dumbo capped rex or whatever) is hugely different than what I consider the 'worst' species. I've spoken with multiple breeders who keep extensive pedigrees including death reason (as confirmed by necropsy in most cases). They're also not killing off their culls as a general rule because they want to see what those animals produce, healthwise. And they heavily support the rescue community. The sugar glider community and the hedgehog community are similar, and I think that's partially because to breed them in any great number you've got to be USDA permitted. The glider community also has an online pedigree registry that anyone can go through which is pretty neat. Of course there ARE bad breeders (and one giantly notorious mill for gliders), but it doesn't seem nearly as prevalent. In contrast, guinea pig/rabbit breeders tend to have a lot of animals in very cramped conditions, not track them until their death, sell or give them away fairly indiscriminately with little interest in tracking their animals (I've received dozens of breeder pigs and rabbits -- I've never received a rat from a breeder considered even passably responsible), many of them cull and sell to reptile food (which I don't have a problem with in general, but when you're breeding for show and killing half of your animals how do you know they're healthy in the long term?) and in general provide little to no vet care. I've known multiple rabbit breeders just tell me that there are no good rabbit vets around them. Many of them have also told me things like "rabbits don't need hay" or that female rabbits don't develop reproductive cancers (every female we've taken in over the age of 5 in nearly 10 years has had tumors developing which we discovered at spay). More than one also refer to rescues and the house rabbit society as "animal rights activists" because their recommended care information is different than what ARBA recommends. In short, I feel like the culture is very different. They see their animals as livestock for the most part, and rat breeders do seem to see their animals as pets, unless they're feeder breeding. But that's just my experience/opinion on both sides.
|
|
#
?
May 18, 2011 13:22
|
|
|
Thanks superconsndar. I didn't mean that all breeders are discouraged here, it is just as you said for other animals the rescue angle is pushed much harder, but I guess that is due to access to rescues for those animals.
|
|
#
?
May 18, 2011 13:24
|
|
|
I feel like another aspect of it is lifetimes. If you rescue an adult dog (say, 3-5 years old) you have maybe a good 10 years left with him, depending on breed. If you rescue an adult rat, you might only get a year, year and half since their lifetimes are so short.
|
|
#
?
May 18, 2011 15:06
|
|
|
Additionally, with some of the other species, anything you breed will be around for 7-15 years. They also typically require more room. In the floorspace it'd take me to house 4-5 guinea pigs or 2 rabbits in what I'd consider bare minimum, I can put rat cages there that would spaciously accommodate 10-14 rats (depending on how well they got along). And if none of them get adopted, they'll all likely be dead within 3 years. Meanwhile we have rabbits in the rescue who have been in foster for over 4 years now.
|
|
#
?
May 18, 2011 20:26
|
|
|
Speaking purely from a "I wanted pet rats and looked around at the options" standpoint, I scoured my own state and every bordering state for rescuers and could not find ANYTHING, barring ONE breeder website that was not years-long defunct that was six hours away. All in-state breeders were long since out of breeding or with websites that hadn't been updated for years, and only one small rescue returned my email (however, their adoptable rats and info on said rats, which only numbered three, was never updated and is still the same half a year later—it contained information that they explicitly stated was to be expounded on, and it never was). Basically, at that point, the quality of the breeders doesn't even matter because they're practically nonexistent, at least in my area and for almost all of the surrounding states. I was content with getting pet store rats because I'd exhausted my options and knew that at least they were likely to get a fuller lifespan (hopefully!) But it's six months out and they've had no problems whatsoever. It would be nice to have some kind of assurance of their health, but it's just not really a viable option.
|
|
#
?
May 19, 2011 04:45
|
|
|
I know how frustrating that is to want to rescue or go to a good breeder and not have one nearby that you can support. I think the unfortunate thing is that a lot of rescues don't "do" rats because they can be fairly difficult to adopt out. When I last checked our numbers I think 50% of our rats ended up going nowhere once they got here. I've got 9 in foster right now over a year that I'm basically waiting for them to die because we just don't get apps on old rats. Of those 9, 5 have been here since they were 8 weeks old, and 3 were born in my house. It's just a money hole.
|
|
#
?
May 19, 2011 10:06
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 15, 2024 05:44 |
|
|
Rodent Mortician posted:It's different for rats because a.) their poop isn't quite as easy to vacuum up as pigs (it tends to be more on the squishy side), and b.) rats are destructors. When I used fleece it'd be torn up and chewed through in about 10 minutes. My rats' poop is 90% of the time dry. Also I've adopted older rats and they rule. :o) More chillaxed than the babies I got after they passed.
|
|
#
?
May 19, 2011 12:45
|
|
