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Sorry for my ignorance guys but what does SDA stand for?daggerdragon posted:Boys can get big. Very, very big. I've had one boy that took two hands to hold all his body length, and his cagemate was a tiny little runty girl-like thing (but very definitely male, can't miss those balls), so your mileage can vary. 
Big Bug Hug fucked around with this message at 05:47 on Mar 28, 2012 |
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Mar 28, 2012 05:31
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Sialodacryoadentitis Virus, and that is a little write-up on it.
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Mar 28, 2012 05:51
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Thanks, it might be something we don't have here in Australia. Sounds kinda nasty.
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Mar 28, 2012 07:42
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So instead of another baby or dead rat post, I thought I'd share some of the things I have in the rat cage that I feel are definitely worth getting. All pictures link to somewhere to purchase the items (I promise I'm not a shill for petsmart  ).First up, litter box! I used to have one like this:  .Then I got this one:  And it is WAY better. The locks will fit into just about any cage and make it so once it's set up, it's super easy to pull in and out. And the metal grid is awesome if you have litter flingers like I do. Wheel – the Silent Spinner  Of the wheels I've used, I like this one the best. It's quiet, like the name says, and it can either be held up by a stand or locked onto the wall. None of the rats I have right now really care for it, but the rats I've had that do like running, really get into it and have a lot of fun. Perches are an easy way to add climbing area and paths for your rats without taking up a lot of space. If you have big fat boy rats they might not be strong enough to hold the weight without being supported at both ends, something to keep in mind.  Another choice from the bird section is this fountain waterer. I bought it for Patti when she had limited mobility near the end and was having trouble with a regular water bottle. She found it a bit easier to use, so perhaps something to try out if you have a rat that struggles with typical bottles for whatever reason.  On a more cheerful note, I really dig this wall-mounting bowl. Once the unit is locked onto the wall, you can remove just the bowl by rotating it. It's very stable and handy if you want to encourage your lazy rats to move around a bit. I'm going to repost the Angie picture from earlier on this page because dammit she is a cute rat and I just love that picture (also you can see the branches in use!).  And, finally, the cage. I nearly forgot to mention it, but I love it. As far as cages go, it's pretty attractive, or at least a helluva lot better than neon pink plastic. The cage itself is 24"x24"x36", but it's on a stand (with under-cage storage) that brings the whole height up to 39". It's very sturdy, and I love how you can open up the whole front part of the cage for easy rat-access and cleaning. Online calculators say it can hold up to 4-6 rats comfortably. If you are a crazy rat lady with more rats than sanity, you can start off with the double cage, or get the single cage and attach the expansion later. The only serious problem it has (as a result of the open design) is that it really does not work well with litter. I make fleece liners, but also I've seen them for sale online. The liners the company sells aren't great, though – they wrap around the pan like a pillow case (rather than laying on top) and don't hold up well. If fleece liners aren't your thing, you can buy a deeper metal pan that does work with litter. The only place I've seen them for sale is Flower Town Chinchillas, which is Ontario based.  ----------- That all being said, I'm also looking for a recommendation! Right now their primary sleeping den is an ecotrition snak shak, pictured earlier on this page in the snuggling photos. While it's nice in many ways, I'm looking for a similarly sized (can't be more that a foot tall or wide) shack/cabin/hideaway with a solid base. I use fleece liners and sometimes the rats are jerks and pull them through the bottom to destroy, because they hate me. The closest thing I've found was a chinchilla dust bath and it was clear, as well as a bit small.
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Mar 30, 2012 03:55
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Sorry to be adding another kind of depressing 'sick rat' post, but I'd really value any opinions or advice you more experienced rat people can give me! I noticed a hard lump on my girl Mishka last week, right next to her lady parts, and took her to the vet to get it checked out. My vet thinks it's likely that it's attached to her reproductive organs, and if it is then it might be too difficult to remove. Vet told me to wait a few days and bring her back in for another look, to see if any change might give a better clue to what is going on with her. Mish has also had a little bit of bleeding from her vulva (I think, I don't think it's coming from where she pees) but the blood is fresh and clean, no discharge or weird colour/smell. I'm going back on Tuesday and will have to decide what I want to do. My options are either leave it be and when it becomes obvious that it's affecting her in any way to say goodbye then, or go in for surgery now. If she goes into surgery and it turns out to be inoperable, vet would not wake her up. Mish is totally fine in herself, no change in personality, eating and drinking and still bouncing about 100% normally. She's about a year and a half old and has her sister for comapanionship. I'm basically stressing because I don't know what to do. I am really serious and dedicated to my little girls, and I did huge amounts of reading before I got them and I know I am well-educated about keeping rats, I just don't have the experience of a situation like this because they are my first rats since childhood. I know that a lot of vets may not have a lot of experience with rats, and taking rats to the vet is something I don't have a lot of experience with either. The first vet I took them to was really cheap, which suited me at the time, but I switched to a more expensive vet because the only similar experience the cheap vet had was with ferrets (and I felt uncomfortable about that because to me they don't seem that comparable). My vet now I really like and trust, and I know she has some small animal experience, but is by no means a rat specialist. Unfortunately I can't find anyone who is in my city. I do feel that I am doing the best I can for my girls, but feel bad that it might not be enough? I really want to hear your opinions on my situation, PI rat people. If Mishka was your rat, what would you do? I'm also stressing about what I do if Mish doesn't make it now, because I'll be left with one rat and have to make some decisions about getting her company which seem really hard to face. I guess I'll need to cross that bridge when I come to it, but I do feel it's something I should maybe start looking into just in case.
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Mar 31, 2012 13:21
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Pris looking like she's actually posing for a picture. It's nearly impossible to get pictures of her because she never stops moving.
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Mar 31, 2012 14:09
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Chakattack! - fwiw, our rat Wrinkles had a similar problem - some mammary lumps that the vet wasn't too concerned about, and eventually bleeding from the uterine area. Eventually over 6 months that turned into a complete uterine prolapse that required a spay, because her tumor was pushing her uterus out of her body. Maybe see if the vet thinks a spay will take care of the problem and is a viable option? Wrinkles is almost 2 and we had hers done early this month with no problems, and she lived just fine from October to March with occasional trickles of blood until the uterus prolapsed. If you're really worried that she won't make it through the surgery, you can always do what you said as the first option and let her be until it becomes critical. In our case, our vet is very experienced with rats and they have a surgeon who handles lots of rat cases, so we weren't concerned about that part of it.
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Mar 31, 2012 17:23
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Chakattack! posted:lump on my girl I was in the same situation with Chocko. Get it x-rayed to confirm where it's spread to. If it's attached, dont operate. Keep her comfortable for the rest of her life. I personally wouldn't even X-ray her, its such a hard place to operate on in an animal so small. I don't think my vet is very good though. Ask your Vet, see how confident he is in surgery and follow the advice. I wouldn't put her down unless shes in pain. Chocko had tumors sprout up everywhere but they didn't affect her mobility or playfulness. She passed peacefully in her sleep about a year after it started. If you go ahead with surgery, treat it like your last days with her. It always helps me to plan for the worst, then you are prepared for what might happen or have a very pleasant surprise if all goes well.
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Mar 31, 2012 22:38
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These guys have excellent advice. Ask your vet about if a spay would work, but I guess he'll say he won't know unless he x-rays. Its up to you if you want to push for them to x-ray. Don't worry about doing the right thing. We can all see you're doing your best  Its hard in these situations but whatever you choose will be fine. There's no wrong answer.I'm always mentioning this I know, but I had a boy that developed a tumor at 2 and I chose not to operate. I chose because my vet didn't seem overly confident about the outcome, and my boy might not have made it through the surgery. He lived another 6 months quite happily with his tumor and was pretty much like any geriatric rat at the end. I guess that if my vet wasn't very confident I wouldn't operate on your girl and just let her go until it seriously affects her quality of life. But that's just me.
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Mar 31, 2012 23:44
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My vet is confident but that is part of the problem. He once gave me back one of my girls who had a tumor removed, without stitching her up. He tried to say she chewed her stitches, but her wound was a neat line on both sides. Had her stitched at an emergency vet for a staggering amount of money. Her wound got infected so I had to clean her swollen lump every day for 3 weeks but she survived. I don't trust him. Also he looks just like Harold Shipman
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Apr 1, 2012 00:55
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I just noticed a tumor on my youngest (less than a year but I couldn't say how old exactly)'s neck. I'm going to take him to the vet as soon as possible, obviously, but should I be panicking? Because I am.
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Apr 1, 2012 01:44
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Thanks for all your kind and helpful words guys! Definitely feel reassured hearing your similar experiences. I will bring up spaying/x-rays with my vet on Tuesday and see what we can do. Haven't noticed any change in Mishka's lump the past few days except she seems to have stopped bleeding, or at least is bleeding a lot less frequently. I had them out for free-range yesterday and she spent a good half an hour trying to get into the one place she wasn't allowed so she at least doesn't appear different than usual or knows anything is wrong.
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Apr 1, 2012 09:07
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pyriphlegethon posted:I just noticed a tumor on my youngest (less than a year but I couldn't say how old exactly)'s neck. I'm going to take him to the vet as soon as possible, obviously, but should I be panicking? Because I am. Even if its a tumor, you have options.Slidje posted:My vet is confident but that is part of the problem. He once gave me back one of my girls who had a tumor removed, without stitching her up. 
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Apr 1, 2012 12:47
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My family got together yesterday to celebrate my birthday, and at one point my mom asked me to bring out "her grandbabies." My stepdad HATES rats, or so he says. I handed him my ambassador rat, Hurley, and his heart melted. When Hurley started boggling, my stepdad freaked out and asked what he was doing. I told him, it means he loves you! More ear scritches ensued. Benjamin didn't feel like playing, so I let him be lazy and sleep. My mom and stepdad  My stepdad   From Left to right: My dad, sister, stepdad, me, my mom  When I have more than one rat on me, my mom calls it a scrotum party. Ew, thanks mom. 
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Apr 1, 2012 18:54
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I got a third rat. Thanks thread. < > Winston He's about 3 months old, and adorable. He's so energetic, always running all over the place! He's getting along with the other two really fast, though he's making Stewart all grumpy by crawling on him a lot. Group photos from introductions!  From left to right we have Stewart, Winston, and Neville.  Together they make the super hero  (I totally didn't intend that, but it's pretty funny (I'm lame))
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Apr 2, 2012 03:18
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^^^ okay, now it's time for you to get a fourth  In other news, in the past couple nights I've caught both babies running on the wheel. So proud! Neither Liza nor Angie is keen on it, so it's nice to see it put to use. So far they've both been pretty shy about it though.
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Apr 5, 2012 04:10
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I like your family pictures, Olive!
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Apr 5, 2012 10:17
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Behold, my new baby: Her name is Elliot. She sneezes A LOT. Is this something I should be concerned about?I've had her for a few days now and she's not sneezing nearly as much as she did when I first brought her home, but still sneezing considerably more than my other rats. There isn't any discharge coming from her mouth or nose and she seems to be breathing just fine. Could this be a nervous tic maybe?
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Apr 5, 2012 20:45
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Keep an eye on it and listen for struggle breathing. One of mine sneezed a lot and the one morning he suddenly went into super congested mode with discharge. Easy trip to the vet that day for shots, he cleared right up.
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Apr 5, 2012 21:20
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We got a cat! We named him Marty, and he's the sweetest thing ever! But I want to know, how we should go about introducing him to the rats? When we brought him home, Kobe and Pau smelled something was up. It's been about a week, and they are both still terrified of Marty when he walks in the room. We haven't taken the girls out of their cage for an introduction, but is it possible for cats and rats to live in harmony like rainbows, butterflies, and stickers?? Joking aside, how have you guys introduced new species to rats, and how long will it take for them to be comfortable in the same room? How long until they can have friendly supervised playtime (if that's possible at all?)? I love my ratties terribly, and have a newfound love for the new catte as well, I just don't want to have to give up one or the other. Any tips? As a side note, Marty likes to rub his face on the rat's cage (as I'm sure cats like to do on all objects), and shows no intention of pawing or attacking the critters inside, but then again, it could be too soon to tell.
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Apr 5, 2012 21:38
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Mongoloid Joe posted:We got a cat! We named him Marty, and he's the sweetest thing ever! But I want to know, how we should go about introducing him to the rats? When we brought him home, Kobe and Pau smelled something was up. It's been about a week, and they are both still terrified of Marty when he walks in the room. Cat: Leave cat be. Cat will investigate rat cage on its own. Cat will probably try to stick paws in cage, with expected results. Cat will only do it once. Cat goes back to staring at the cage at a safe distance. If rats are let out for free-roam, cat will retreat to a safe (probably high) place and  until you put the rats back in the cage.Dog: Plop rats on lazy-rear end dog. Dog gives rats a half-assed lick, then goes back to sleep.  Disclaimer: worked for my dog and cats, might not work for yours. No matter what, never ever ever leave your free-roaming rats unsupervised, especially more so with another species in the same room or within easy access, no matter how friendly they are with each other.
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Apr 5, 2012 22:22
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Mongoloid Joe posted:We haven't taken the girls out of their cage for an introduction, but is it possible for cats and rats to live in harmony like rainbows, butterflies, and stickers?? Joking aside, how have you guys introduced new species to rats, and how long will it take for them to be comfortable in the same room? How long until they can have friendly supervised playtime (if that's possible at all?)? I love my ratties terribly, and have a newfound love for the new catte as well, I just don't want to have to give up one or the other. Any tips?  Once the cat has a healthy respect going and knows the rats can defend themselves, you should be ok to let the rats out in a contained area (sofa) and let the cat come investigate if you want. Most likely the cat will be wary but curious, and the rats might run away when he approaches, but eventually they'll realise no one is hurting anyone. My rats all love to chase my cats, and the cats usually tolerate it until they get covered in rats and it becomes too much and they run away. One of my cats pokes her head up and batts the rats, and at first I was worried, but I saw that the rats kinda enjoy it and chase her back, and she's not using her claws. So yes, they can live in harmony. But never leave your rats out with your cats in the room if you're not there to watch.
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Apr 6, 2012 04:11
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daggerdragon posted:Cat: Leave cat be. Cat will investigate rat cage on its own. Cat will probably try to stick paws in cage, with expected results. In case you aren't sure what the results should look/sound like, it is a cat stuck to the rat cage by his toe, screaming bloody murder and then tracking blood everywhere imaginable. Fortunately the novelty of "rodent in this box!" runs out immediately thereafter. Harmony achieved! Not sure you'd want to put it on a sticker like that but welp
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Apr 6, 2012 04:45
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Pictures!!!                Also, I don't believe I ever posted in this thread about it, but I had a portrait done of Patti by goon devilmonk over in this thread. I'm so pleased with it I'm thinking of getting one of Angie done as well. 
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Apr 7, 2012 01:56
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Invalid Octopus posted:Pictures!!! Also super I lurk this thread for ratty pics and so I must know how your little sick guy is doing. Updates! < >
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Apr 7, 2012 03:17
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Kerfuffle posted:That dirty little nose is so cute. I think it's especially cute since she didn't have it as a baby. One day it was just - surprise! and she had himalayan coloring. Obligatory baby pic now: 
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Apr 7, 2012 04:18
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Kerfuffle posted:That dirty little nose is so cute. He actually died while I was at work yesterday.  I didn't open him up because he'd been dead for most of the day when I found him, but I'm convinced there was something fundamentally wrong with his digestive system. It presented a lot like mild megacolon, but I don't think that's actually what it was. After we cleared the initial blockage he gained some weight, then started bloating and becoming emaciated again. The vet couldn't figure it out and I was reaching my limit on what I could spend on vetting a random pet store rat anyway, so we were giving him laxatives to clear him out when he'd get too blocked up to function. We got his pneumonia under control, but he was still passing completely undigested food and it looked like he was absorbing nothing. He didn't grow at all during the entire month I had him. I was getting to the point where I was going to go ahead and euth him, but welp. I'm pretty sad about it. He was a really affectionate, awesome little guy. Gonna have to go out and get another rat though, Brumby has been alone for a month now and he's pretty miserable.
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Apr 7, 2012 15:35
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Aw poor guy, I'm sorry. At least you gave him a good life in the time he had left. Better than dying alone, sick, and ignored at a pet store.
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Apr 7, 2012 21:57
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Aw Super I was hoping his story would end better. Good for you for taking care of him so well though. He was lucky to have you.
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Apr 7, 2012 23:27
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Superconsndar posted:I'm pretty sad about it. He was a really affectionate, awesome little guy. Gonna have to go out and get another rat though, Brumby has been alone for a month now and he's pretty miserable.
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Apr 8, 2012 00:44
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I don't know if anyone posted this link before (couldn't find anything with search). We like to buy our Harlan Teklad lab blocks and other stuff from here: http://www.thecraftyrat.com/ The site is very amateurish but the prices are very reasonable for most things. She only ships to the US (and maybe Canada) though. Our orders always arrive in a timely manner. Edit: I also moved two of our rats to a new cage, it has wire floors though. Can anyone recommend and link me to an inexpensive sticky tile for it? nunsexmonkrock fucked around with this message at 02:51 on Apr 10, 2012 |
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Apr 10, 2012 01:49
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So this is me and my fiancee's boy Ding Dong (we just call him Little Guy). Recently he's seemed to have lost some control of of his rear legs, dragging them along the ground. And he stays on the bottom level of our 4 level cage. Luckily our other rat is content to stay with him. We're both worried about him, and he seems happy to just sit in our arms/hood of our sweatshirts, but should we be worried? We love him very much, but he's around 2 1/4 years old and we know he won't last forever. He's lost probably half of his body weight in the last 6 months and isn't very active anymore...
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Apr 14, 2012 04:49
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Do his hind legs look swollen? It could be Pododermatitis (Bumblefoot). VVVV Agreed, trust a vet. nunsexmonkrock fucked around with this message at 05:37 on Apr 14, 2012 |
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Apr 14, 2012 04:59
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Aperture Priority posted:So this is me and my fiancee's boy Ding Dong (we just call him Little Guy). Might be a pituitary tumor. They're the second most common in rats and loss of coordination/limb mobility is typically the first sign. I had a girl with one not too long ago and the vet started her on steroids to slow its growth (it ended up progressing anyway). I'm not a vet, though, and it could be something else, I'm just speaking from personal experience here. If you have a vet you trust, you might want to take him in. He's a handsome boy, though, and it sounds like his quality of life is still just fine.
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Apr 14, 2012 04:59
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Invalid Octopus posted:Might be a pituitary tumor. They're the second most common in rats and loss of coordination/limb mobility is typically the first sign. I had a girl with one not too long ago and the vet started her on steroids to slow its growth (it ended up progressing anyway). I'm not a vet, though, and it could be something else, I'm just speaking from personal experience here. If you have a vet you trust, you might want to take him in. He's a handsome boy, though, and it sounds like his quality of life is still just fine. I'll have to check that out. My fiancee is actually a vet tech (that's how we got into rats, our first was a rescue that was going to be put down). He's the sweetest thing, but the inevitable health problems seem to be cropping up now. He had a couple cysts recently that we had taken care of, and he's been doing a bit better since then, but he isn't eating much, and I've had to make sure that he's drinking. He probably only has a few months left, we're going to make sure that he's as comfortable and happy as possible.
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Apr 14, 2012 05:37
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Invalid Octopus posted:Another choice from the bird section is this fountain waterer. I bought it for Patti when she had limited mobility near the end and was having trouble with a regular water bottle. She found it a bit easier to use, so perhaps something to try out if you have a rat that struggles with typical bottles for whatever reason. I talked to my other half about getting one or two of these the other day for our rats. All the ones I ever see are made out of plastic and we decided it's probably not worth it because they will just chew though it. Do yours chew at it at all? Either the basin or the water containing part. nunsexmonkrock fucked around with this message at 06:02 on Apr 14, 2012 |
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Apr 14, 2012 06:00
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^^ haha good timing. I took it out of the cage a couple weeks after Patti passed since it wasn't really needed anymore. I didn't notice any chewing at all, but none of them chew as much as Patti did. If you have a rat with mobility issues it is probably worth it though. The little rats seemed to prefer drinking out of it too, for what it's worth.^^Aperture Priority posted:I'll have to check that out. My fiancee is actually a vet tech (that's how we got into rats, our first was a rescue that was going to be put down). He's the sweetest thing, but the inevitable health problems seem to be cropping up now. He had a couple cysts recently that we had taken care of, and he's been doing a bit better since then, but he isn't eating much, and I've had to make sure that he's drinking. He probably only has a few months left, we're going to make sure that he's as comfortable and happy as possible. One of the problems my girl had was trouble using her tongue and managing a traditional water bottle. I posted earlier in the thread about this, but I picked up this bird fountain style waterer, might be easier for him to handle (picture links through to petsmart page for it). It allows drinking from a "dish" with less spilling water all over the cage, plus it can be placed pretty low on the cage wall. I don't know what you're feeding him, but you should also try adding in things with a higher water content – baby food works well for this, and you can always thin it out a bit. Invalid Octopus posted:Invalid Octopus fucked around with this message at 06:03 on Apr 14, 2012 |
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Apr 14, 2012 06:00
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Invalid Octopus posted:^^ haha good timing. I took it out of the cage a couple weeks after Patti passed since it wasn't really needed anymore. I didn't notice any chewing at all, but none of them chew as much as Patti did. If you have a rat with mobility issues it is probably worth it though. The little rats seemed to prefer drinking out of it too, for what it's worth.^^ Mr ratties don't struggle with the typical glass bottle with the ball thing but I thought something like this might be better for them in general as mine love water and a bowel of water does not work, they will be sopping wet in minutes and water will be everywhere. But I also hate plastic waterers for rats. Sorry about your loss I have to return a wheel to the pet store soon maybe I will get one to try it out to see if they like it.
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Apr 14, 2012 06:10
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Also since some people seem to be reading the thread at the moment. I'll ask again. I had to move my ratties into a new cage and it has wire bottoms for the levels. Can anyone recommend a decent inexpensive sticky tile for it. Or would clear contact paper work as a substitute to cover the wire floors?
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Apr 14, 2012 06:20
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nunsexmonkrock posted:Mr ratties don't struggle with the typical glass bottle with the ball thing but I thought something like this might be better for them in general as mine love water and a bowel of water does not work, they will be sopping wet in minutes and water will be everywhere. But I also hate plastic waterers for rats. Thanks. I imagine that as long as you have more appealing things for them to chew in the cage they won't bother, and the plastic that sticks into the cage is relatively sturdy. edit: nunsexmonkrock posted:Also since some people seem to be reading the thread at the moment. I'll ask again. I had to move my ratties into a new cage and it has wire bottoms for the levels. Can anyone recommend a decent inexpensive sticky tile for it. Or would clear contact paper work as a substitute to cover the wire floors? I just googled a little bit and it seems like you could get sticky-backed vinyl squares for not very much money – Amazon seems to have a pretty big selection. You could also try doing fleece covers for them, but they might dig under (if they're placed on top), or through (if they're wrapped around like a pillowcase). Invalid Octopus fucked around with this message at 06:25 on Apr 14, 2012 |
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Apr 14, 2012 06:21
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