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So clearly what this thread needs is more rat pictures. My new phone has a much better camera than before, in that you can actually see what I'm taking pictures of. Sooooo... here's li'l Ilerin:  And there's Ilerin with li'l Aserahin: 
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Jun 29, 2011 08:19
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First of all, cuuuute ^^^^^ Second of all, remember me? I'm the sister of the dude whose rat's tail needed to be amputated? All was going well until today, when his wound (which we thought was healing well) didn't look so great. My mom took him to the vet and it looks like he split his wound and now needs EXTRA surgery to fix it. My question is this: is it ok to put aloe vera plant on his wound? I have been looking into it on the internet and never before have I found such contrasting information. Some people say it's poison, others say that it was found to help extend rat's lives in clinical trials and is also good to use on dry rat skin. It all contradicts itself! Anyone know anything about this? I know growing up we used to use it on everything and it really did wonders (and I had hoped its bitter taste would discourage licking the wound). Any insight?
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Jun 29, 2011 16:28
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I wouldn't put it on a wound. It stings like hell, and I don't know that it'd really improve his healing.
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Jun 29, 2011 23:49
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My rat seems to enjoy chicken bones which is a good thing, thanks guys. I am wondering if some different lab blocks would entice him more as well? The pet stores don't carry Mazuri so I will probably pick up some of the oxbow regal rat and see if he'll eat that.
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Jun 30, 2011 01:42
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Xeras posted:My rat seems to enjoy chicken bones which is a good thing, thanks guys. I am wondering if some different lab blocks would entice him more as well? The pet stores don't carry Mazuri so I will probably pick up some of the oxbow regal rat and see if he'll eat that. Pick up rawhide as well! I like to torture my rats by dangling it from the ceiling, but I guess you could be nice to yours 
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Jun 30, 2011 05:07
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Serella posted:I wouldn't put it on a wound. It stings like hell, and I don't know that it'd really improve his healing. Aloe doesn't sting...whaaaaaaa? Aloe stings you? It feels nice and wet and soothing! Am I taking crazy pills? I use it for burns on my person all the time. Maybe I am crazy. I won't use it since I can't find any good info on it either way. He's going in for his operation today. I never knew one little rat could cause so many people to be so worried all the time. Keep your fingers crossed for poor Clark! He fell asleep under my hand as I was petting him last night. 
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Jun 30, 2011 13:13
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I don't know if it would sting him but I think it would be a good idea to ask the vet before using anything. You can get bitter sprays from the vet that are safe to use on pets' wounds. edit: At least, I was offered some for my cat, I don't know if it can be used for rats, but you could ask! Big Bug Hug fucked around with this message at 23:31 on Jun 30, 2011 |
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Jun 30, 2011 23:23
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I've got a rat that likes to chew on his cage bars. He's got a rat friend, a few things to chew on (although they don't touch the wood chews), and I don't completely think it's because he's bored. The first night he did it, I opened the cage door so he and his buddy could explore the table. He explored then went back to the bars. If he just likes chewing on the bars, that's fine, but if he's doing it in response to something negative I'd like to correct that. Here's some pics, Paco is the hooded and Jom is the chewer 
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Jul 1, 2011 04:01
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I'm a crazy any-animal person and my boyfriend only really likes cats and rats. We have one cat at the moment who I am set on being 'the only pet in the household' because she's old, my first cat and my baby. After that though, my boyfriend would like to get rats because so many of his friends are allergic to cats and being an animal crazy, I need pets. I've read this entire thread and gone from "Oh look, they're so cute and freaky smart" to "They live how long?" and back again. I tend to think I bounce back quickly from losing pets and I am prepared for the fact that rats can be a genetic crapshoot. I've emailed a breeder in my area (http://carganrats.webs.com/) and I'm going to have a play with some of their rats tomorrow to check I'm not allergic or something stupid like that. From what I've read, I think I'd prefer two young girls, there is a range of options for getting rats where I live - some on petfinder as well as gumtree (like Craigslist without the creepy) and this breeder or MJrats, but I like the feel of cargan rats better and she got back to me straight away about seeing them. I'm getting rather excited, even though it won't be for a while. I'd love opinions on these breeders and anywhere else that's good to get rats and rat supplies in Adelaide.
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Jul 1, 2011 05:51
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How much do you guys feed your rats? I'll be housing 3 males, should I free feed, always keeping the bowl full, or is there a measurement system? I'll be staple feeding SueBee's diet. Let's also apply this question to Regal Rat (that is an acceptable staple diet yes?).
Olive Bar fucked around with this message at 06:55 on Jul 1, 2011 |
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Jul 1, 2011 06:37
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dustbin posted:I've got a rat that likes to chew on his cage bars. He's got a rat friend, a few things to chew on (although they don't touch the wood chews), and I don't completely think it's because he's bored. The first night he did it, I opened the cage door so he and his buddy could explore the table. He explored then went back to the bars. If he just likes chewing on the bars, that's fine, but if he's doing it in response to something negative I'd like to correct that.  Olive Bar posted:How much do you guys feed your rats? I'll be housing 3 males, should I free feed, always keeping the bowl full, or is there a measurement system? I'll be staple feeding SueBee's diet. Let's also apply this question to Regal Rat (that is an acceptable staple diet yes?). Holier than Thou posted:I'm getting rather excited, even though it won't be for a while. I'd love opinions on these breeders and anywhere else that's good to get rats and rat supplies in Adelaide.  Sorry, this is a useless post 'cause I'm near Sydney, just thought I'd say that.
Big Bug Hug fucked around with this message at 12:42 on Jul 1, 2011 |
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Jul 1, 2011 12:39
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Pooptron2003 posted:Aloe doesn't sting...whaaaaaaa? Aloe stings you? It feels nice and wet and soothing! Am I taking crazy pills? I use it for burns on my person all the time. Maybe I am crazy. You've obviously never had a bad enough sunburn, haha. Good luck with the operation!
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Jul 1, 2011 20:33
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So I had a great time hanging out with Cargan rats and the breeders, very reassured about everything. They do rescues and breed for the right reasons, choosing to not breed at the moment because they had an accidental litter (one of the girls got into the boys cage...). They said if they didn't have babies for me, they'd help me find some good ones, and they will always take back babies or help train rats to be more friendly and calm. It was really awesome going in there and playing with the two little girls they've got. I'm won over  .
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Jul 3, 2011 03:55
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Went to visit my grandparents last night and had a surprise. Their indoor/outdoor cat always brings in all kinds of critters unharmed and lets them loose in the house. Well he had brought in a rat and let it loose in the bedroom. So as soon as I got their they threw me in the room with two nets and a flashlight. He was actually a pretty cute little gray boy, still pretty small, and scared witless. It took a couple hours but I had to chase him up onto the bed, onto the nightstand, on top of the lamp, and then he was curious enough to lean forward to look at one net so I knocked him into it with the other. He ended up getting set outside in the garden. I hope he doesn't try to get back inside. Even though I thought he was cute my aunt and grandma just about had heart attacks when I told them it was a rat they had trapped in the bedroom. They are now referring to it as a "baby flying squirrel" because that sounds cuter to them.
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Jul 5, 2011 14:08
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When you say he was grey he wasn't someone's pet rat was he?  Holier than Thou posted:So I had a great time hanging out with Cargan rats and the breeders, very reassured about everything. They do rescues and breed for the right reasons, choosing to not breed at the moment because they had an accidental litter (one of the girls got into the boys cage...). They said if they didn't have babies for me, they'd help me find some good ones, and they will always take back babies or help train rats to be more friendly and calm. It was really awesome going in there and playing with the two little girls they've got. 
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Jul 6, 2011 01:53
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Big Bug Hug posted:When you say he was grey he wasn't someone's pet rat was he? No, he wasn't soft gray...more like agouti darkish gray. If he was someone's pet they would have had to be keeping him somewhere an outdoor cat would have been able to get him. They live right near downtown in a port city, and also near farms. There are rats around and the chances of him not being a wild rat are slim. I do wish I had been able to catch him in a box or something where I could have held onto him at least long enough to put him somewhere better, but it was not an ideal situation.
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Jul 6, 2011 02:47
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Olive Bar posted:How much do you guys feed your rats? I'll be housing 3 males, should I free feed, always keeping the bowl full, or is there a measurement system? I'll be staple feeding SueBee's diet. Let's also apply this question to Regal Rat (that is an acceptable staple diet yes?). I have no idea how much I feed my rats. They eat lab blocks as their primary diet, and I just fill the bowl every other day or so. It's hard to judge how much they eat because they immediately hide all the food after I fill the bowl. I'll usually scan their cage to see if there is any food laying around, then fill (or not) based on that. They are still pretty slim rats so I imagine they aren't overeating the lab blocks. Especially compared to some of the food I've seen them shove into their gaping maws like no tomorrow.
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Jul 6, 2011 04:17
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Cassiope posted:No, he wasn't soft gray...more like agouti darkish gray. If he was someone's pet they would have had to be keeping him somewhere an outdoor cat would have been able to get him.
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Jul 6, 2011 05:17
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I bought some sweet potato dog crisps as a treat for my rats, and my dog http://www.shop.snookdog.com/Sweet-Potato-Dog-Biscuits-8-oz-Biscuits8oz.htm Lists I've found online say not to give rats raw sweet potato. These things look baked or sundried or something. I assume they're ok, would anyone agree?
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Jul 7, 2011 00:09
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dustbin posted:Lists I've found online say not to give rats raw sweet potato. These things look baked or sundried or something. I assume they're ok, would anyone agree? I would. On a tangentially related note, there sure must be a lot of exploding rats out there... V V V That is so great. Amiss fucked around with this message at 00:18 on Jul 7, 2011 |
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Jul 7, 2011 00:10
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Check out what I had commissioned!
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Jul 7, 2011 00:16
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I love that picture! I have one more question, my cage has wire floors and I've covered about half of them with something fabric-y or soft, should I cover the rest before I get my rats? Will the wire cage hurt their little feet?
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Jul 7, 2011 01:10
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Keep the cage as clean as possible and they should be fine, I have about half my wire covered too.
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Jul 7, 2011 02:09
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I cover my wire floors with cardboard, phonebooks, or magazines so they can have fun tearing it up until I replace it with fresh papers. :-) Lot cheaper to use random circulars or boxes you're just gonna recycle. Also its p funny to put girl catalogs in the boys' cage.
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Jul 7, 2011 03:32
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Haha, thanks, all wonderful ideas. I think I'm going to go on a crochet bonanza and make removable panels for the floors. At the very least it will give them something else to tear apart.
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Jul 7, 2011 03:54
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Olive Bar posted:Haha, thanks, all wonderful ideas. I think I'm going to go on a crochet bonanza and make removable panels for the floors. At the very least it will give them something else to tear apart. You should def crochet some hammocks as well then!!! I have been meaning to do that... my girls liked the hammock before they ate it...(or peed on it too much? I dunno I threw it out awhile ago.)
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Jul 7, 2011 04:13
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I already have a nice, fuzzy ferret hammock set up for them for when I pick them up next week, I wish I knew how to crochet when I bought the drat thing. Oh well, live and learn. I did make them a house out of plastic canvas and yarn though, so maybe the craft karma evens out.
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Jul 7, 2011 04:31
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It's the return of the Ratcam! http://www.ustream.tv/channel/coathook Right now, there's some surf music playing because sgoast and I are addicted to Steam treasure hunts and the rats are staring at me from the corner.
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Jul 7, 2011 06:47
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Olive Bar posted:I already have a nice, fuzzy ferret hammock set up for them for when I pick them up next week, I wish I knew how to crochet when I bought the drat thing. Oh well, live and learn. I did make them a house out of plastic canvas and yarn though, so maybe the craft karma evens out. This thread reminded me to use some spare granny squares for little rat rugs ^_^
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Jul 7, 2011 08:16
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After many years of lurking, I finally bought an account, woohoo. Anyway, I have had rats for about 4 years now. I was looking for a pet that I could have while maintaining a busy school and work schedule. Rats seemed to be a perfect fit for me, since they have a tendency to be affectionate, but do not nearly meet as much attention demand as a dog or cat would. I could go to work or school knowing they would just be sleeping and waiting to play when I got home for the day. Here are my two current ones, capped hairless Bandit and cinnamon agouti Pepper. Bandit is an acro-rat and gets whatever chance to climb on things, boxes, chairs, your legs, or decides to go dumpster diving into the trash in one leap. He also likes to hang around people and shoulders, putting him on anyone shoulders = automatic brux. Pepper on the other hand tends to be more of an explorer, but still likes to be held. He licks arms alot when I scoop him up. I love licker rats. Pics of course!    Has anyone else checked out Topi Rats photography? Her pictures of the rat litters are  http://www.topirats.com/cookieslitter.htm
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Jul 8, 2011 07:40
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Baika posted:Here are my two current ones, capped hairless Bandit and cinnamon agouti Pepper. I've always been partial to agoutis, and Bandit is the most uglorable little beastie I think I've ever seen. What a BAMF. Edit: Great photography, and those are some explodingly cute ratlings, dear god. Amiss fucked around with this message at 21:59 on Jul 8, 2011 |
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Jul 8, 2011 21:56
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Just had a couple of interesting hours - has anyone had their rat get food caught in their throat before? I gave my rats a bit of nori and rice which I do fairly often but in retrospect its probably a bit stupid (its kinda sticky). Dexter, who loves his food, scarfed it and a bit later I noticed him trying to gag it up. I could see he was breathing so I just kept an eye on him, wondering if it would be an eventual vet visit. Eventually I noticed little Basil jumping on Dex and trying to play with him. Dex looked exhausted, with his eyes closed, but still gagging trying to push the food out. so I picked him up to move him to a less conspicuous location. Suddenly he perked up, started cleaning himself then ran right to the food bowl and continued to eat.  Rats. 
Big Bug Hug fucked around with this message at 13:13 on Jul 13, 2011 |
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Jul 13, 2011 13:10
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I just picked up my three boys yesterday and as is to be expected one of them is sneezey, my question is, how long is it normal for him to be like this before I should take him to the vet? He's eating well and is friendly, etc. so I'm sure it's just the bedding and I'm being paranoid, but if it is a URI I want to be on top of it. When he's not asleep he's sneezing pretty constantly. Edit: I must avoid ERS (exploding rat syndrome)! Benjamin (peach colored), and Hurley (brown)  Jack  Jack is often just a blur, this was lucky.  Benjamin decided I'm not so bad after all.  
Olive Bar fucked around with this message at 02:56 on Jul 14, 2011 |
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Jul 13, 2011 16:16
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You could try changing the bedding to a less dustier type like paper pellets. As far as the sneezing goes, you can try hearing your rat breathe. Normal breathing sounds like a fast "fuff fuff fuff" any abnormalities in that pattern means there is congestion. It's weird, but I had a rat that would always sneeze, regardless of where I took him and how clean an environment was. His lungs sounded completely normal every time I checked. Luckily for him he never had respiratory issues but ended up falling downhill rapidly:( The vet thought he had an ear infection due to the head tilt he developed within 24 hours. He was on baytril,soft food diet, IV fluids, and ear medication. He was recovering gradually, but by the end of the week he relapsed and found that he was gone the next morning I personally thought it could have been a stroke (he was a big rat), or had a hidden pituitary tumor behind the ear, but its so hard to tell with rats. I would think the pituitary scenario would have not been acute and sudden, but rather issues over time becoming worse. My hairless rat likes to make noises equivalent to a pug when hes happy. I don't know what the hell it is, his lungs are clear, he is quiet when he sleeps, its only when hes out and in an excited state that he makes them.
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Jul 14, 2011 02:35
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I listened to his breathing and it sounds like he's just sneezing, no signs of anything else. I talked to my vet and they said just watch him (duh).
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Jul 14, 2011 03:00
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Today is Gabriel's birthday he is 2.  Here he was at eight weeks. How the time has flown!  i'm way too lazy to hunt down my camera at the moment but just imagine him like that but bigger. 
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Jul 14, 2011 04:20
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I am loving the adorable rat pictures on this page ^_^ Gabriel has gorgeous colors, and Olive Bar your babies are so cute with those big eyes and ears. In regards to them sneezing, two of my rats sneeze all the time, and I've put it down to having a pretty dusty house, but it sounds totally different when they get really congested. At a guess your new guy is fine - give them some time to adjust, they were probably on different bedding before too
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Jul 14, 2011 05:42
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Thanks for all of the great advice! Benjamin was sleeping on my lap and I scratched behind his ears and he woke up and boggled! It was so cute. I thought he might be stressed though so I stopped, but that's when he discovered that hands are pretty cool and gave me kisses! I resumed scritches.
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Jul 14, 2011 06:15
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Totally silly question, but would there be a benefit to owning something like Sprague-Dawley rats (where the population is fairly homogeneous and their genetics are fairly well understood) over pet store/breeder bought rats? I'm not considering any rats at the moment but I'm curious.
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Jul 14, 2011 23:44
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Is "slightly lumpy thing in the center beneath the ribs" a specific part of a rat's anatomy? Wrinkles seems to have a bit of a swollen lump there, but when I feel on Trudy and Joan, they seem to have a similar thing there, only not swollen. They can't all be starting to grow a lump in the same spot can they? It's not quite to the point where you can obviously see it on Wrinkles when she's just around, but it definitely feels weird.
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Jul 15, 2011 00:39
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