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Invalid Octopus posted: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. Oh, fleece sounds like it would be comfy for them but I wouldn't trust mine with it. They love to chew on anything that is not their chew toys. Even though they love sleeping in their hammocks, we have to make them a new one near weekly because they tear it to shreds. Doesn't matter how many chew toys we put in. "Sticky vinyl" works much better as a search term. Thank you, whenever I tried to search for it on amazon, I would come up with results to cover an entire kitchen with the stuff, I don't need that much. Edit: The most luck I've had with them chewing what I want them to is my homemade rope ladder, made with, well rope, and store bought flavored sticks. Edit 2: Thinking about it, a rope bridge sounds like it could be a fun idea.....or terrible. nunsexmonkrock fucked around with this message at 06:45 on Apr 14, 2012 |
# ? Apr 14, 2012 06:34 |
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# ? Jun 6, 2024 06:29 |
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nunsexmonkrock posted:Oh, fleece sounds like it would be comfy for them but I wouldn't trust mine with it. They love to chew on anything that is not their chew toys. Even though they love sleeping in their hammocks, we have to make them a new one near weekly because they tear it to shreds. Doesn't matter how many chew toys we put in. Are you against all plastic in the cage? Because I've had my eye on this plastic hammock for a while (only recently saw it for sale in Canada) after a recommendation and it looks pretty solid. Patti was horrible when it came to chewing, and I had a helluva time trying to get her to redirect onto appropriate things. I found hanging rawhide pieces from the ceiling (strips seemed to be more appealing than "bones") was pretty appealing, since she had to work for it. I also picked up a beef knuckle (see below) that she loved. They all love uncooked pasta but it doesn't exactly hold up. edit: rat torture is best torture. edit 2: also forgot to mention, but snak shaks are pretty good too. They're not super healthy for them or anything, but it's better than them eating plastic! They make hutches, "logs", etc, and it's all edible. Invalid Octopus fucked around with this message at 06:48 on Apr 14, 2012 |
# ? Apr 14, 2012 06:44 |
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Invalid Octopus posted:Are you against all plastic in the cage? Crafty Rat sells that hammock and I've been debating on buying it for a while! http://www.thecraftyrat.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=AC-24&Category_Code=AC Looks like the one you linked is cheeper though. I think a bone may be more appealing than what you pictured heh heh, it looks like a pair of testicles with elephantitis to me. I don't know where I read it but somewhere I read rawhide wasn't a good idea for rats.....but I also can't quite remember the reason Edit war: for the snak shacks all the ones I have ever seen are really small. Maybe I can look up a larger one on petsmarts website. nunsexmonkrock fucked around with this message at 06:55 on Apr 14, 2012 |
# ? Apr 14, 2012 06:51 |
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Hahaha, yeah, a bone would probably look a bit more appealing. As far as I know, rawhide is fine for rats (and definitely better than whatever else they'd be chewing). The snak shak house I have is maybe 12ish inches at the base, and easily sleeps all four rats. The big log I have is probably 9 inches long, 5 inches tall. edit: Petsmart carries the big one, 13" base. edit 2: Also the larger log. Invalid Octopus fucked around with this message at 07:00 on Apr 14, 2012 |
# ? Apr 14, 2012 06:57 |
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Invalid Octopus posted:Hahaha, yeah, a bone would probably look a bit more appealing. As far as I know, rawhide is fine for rats (and definitely better than whatever else they'd be chewing). The snak shak house I have is maybe 12ish inches at the base, and easily sleeps all four rats. The big log I have is probably 9 inches long, 5 inches tall. Those ratties are adorable! I just tried to take a picture of my guys but between my horrid cellphone and them being more excited with me rather than each other it was hard to get a decent picture. I think they thought it was coming out and play time, sorry guys not after 1am, they should know better. (Oh I know why. Today was litter changing day. They hate this day and don't like their stuff messed with.) Turbine on the left. Rotor on the right. For the snak shak, I thought you were talking about this http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753529&clickid=prod_cs I'll have to look into the one that you linked nunsexmonkrock fucked around with this message at 07:24 on Apr 14, 2012 |
# ? Apr 14, 2012 07:18 |
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I just got two rats, Hailey and Bailey. I've just put them in their new cage, but they're kinda just staying in the corner of it at the moment. I've done some forced socialization, and all they did was poop a lot and when I offered them some treats at the end they didn't want anything. I don't think they've ever been given anything other than blocks their whole life. I only got them to eat yoghurt because I put some drops on their back in an effort to make it a treat later on. Will they work out what's food themselves? I'm going down Super's path and going to give them lots of fresh fruit and vegetables and whole grains. I've put banana, watermelon, oats and chocolate in the cage and they haven't touched anything EDIT: Looks like they ate the Banana, but I don't think they know what to do with the rest of the food. Bailey decided she was queen of the watermelon and has taken to standing on it Lord Windy fucked around with this message at 10:34 on Apr 14, 2012 |
# ? Apr 14, 2012 07:32 |
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nunsexmonkrock posted:For the snak shak, I thought you were talking about this I actually edited my post, but I have both (as well as a smaller log and a seed-filled log that were gifts). They have fun climbing around the log (and some even sleep in it occasionally), but for the most part prefer the hut. Lord Windy posted:I just got two rats, Hailey and Bailey. Is the food scattered about the cage, or is it in bowls? I'm pretty sure mine are more comfortable when the food arrives in one place, versus just being scattered about. When Angie was a baby, she was very insistent on moving the blocks (they do get blocks, but they get plenty of other things every day too) from the bowl to the covered hideaway. It might not make a difference, but you could try putting it all together. Do they have places to hide? Forced socialization is great, but I wouldn't worry too much about it in the first couple days, they're still getting acclimated. And yeah, babies poop. A lot.
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# ? Apr 14, 2012 16:17 |
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Give 'em time, Lord Windy. They're probably just not eating much yet because they haven't settled in. Keep offering them treats and speaking to them when you go past - when they're regularly taking stuff from you and coming out to see you then's a good time to stuff them down your shirt and leave them there for a while. Repeat every day until rats are cuddly Some rats take a couple of weeks to get to that point. Thats how I do it, anyway.
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# ? Apr 14, 2012 23:13 |
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Lord Windy posted:Bailey decided she was queen of the watermelon and has taken to standing on it You put a whole watermelon in the cage?!
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# ? Apr 15, 2012 01:20 |
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daggerdragon posted:You put a whole watermelon in the cage?! LOL no It was a slice, I could see they ate some of it when I removed it this morning, so that's a plus
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# ? Apr 15, 2012 01:50 |
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My rats took a few weeks, if not a month or so to properly get used to me coming up to their cage, and taking them out. All they need is time really, as long as you're still around them every day there's not really anything to worry about!
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# ? Apr 15, 2012 01:53 |
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Lord Windy posted:LOL no I was going to demand pics of whole watermelon in rat cage. :<
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# ? Apr 15, 2012 03:35 |
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daggerdragon posted:I was going to demand pics of whole watermelon in rat cage. :< You can get mini watermelons that aren't much bigger than a softball, that might be fun to put in there
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# ? Apr 15, 2012 04:55 |
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I've got pictures and a rat adventure story ! Bailey is the creamy one, Hailey is the blackish one. Here they are on their first night. Please note I'm not an arsehole and put them on a level with nothing on it. I actually intended them not get on that floor by not putting the ladder in, but Bailey dragged their box/home so they could get up their. Hailey thought it would be a great idea as well I suppose And here we are at day 2, I finally found something they will eat. Albeit not from my hands. But still, I can actually reward them now when we've spent cuddle time Now for the Story - OPERATION EXTRACT RAT FROM COMPUTER Now why is my desktop tower, sitting in a shower with custard everywhere? I was picking my new girls up for some cuddle time, when my housemate came in and asked if she could hold Bailey while I held Hailey. I said that was fine, but she had to be careful. Bailey is a bit of a explorer, and when I picked her out of the group she was the most curious about me and was then basically jumped out of my hands to see what was beyond the cage. Even now she is trying to find a weak point in the cage so she can get out. So I told my housemate to keep an eye on her and not to let her out of her hands. So of course, as soon as Bailey appears to calm down from the shock of being held, she stars climbing up her sleeve and while my housemate is going 'how cute' she jumps immediately to the floor and legs it. My housemate, not wanting to hurt Bailey does some very lame attempts at catching her before Bailey finally runs into my open computer case. Queue 40 minutes of us trying to get her out of it before she finally crawls into a really tight spot and gets stuck. At least Hailey was having fun, she had been enjoying herself safely in my hands (i think) and actually only pooped like twice compared to Bailey's small mountain. So we put her and the computer in the shower and start pulling it apart. I sprayed custard everywhere so she would at least stay in the one spot before I grabbed her Even though it was a trying experience for her, I and my housemate actually had alot of fun with her. I then spent the next 20 minutes holding her so she didn't get the expectation that I was going to leave her alone that easy. She did this thing where she ground her teeth while I held her. I don't think she was enjoying herself that much, but does anyone know what that means? (Are the pictures too large?)
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# ? Apr 15, 2012 12:01 |
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The teeth grinding is called Bruxing, and it happens when they're content and relaxed, sometimes when they are settling down to sleep. Like cats, they also do it when stressed, and its supposedly a bit harsher/louder when this is the case. If she looked chilled and sleepy it was probably the former, though I wouldn't be surprised if she was a little stressed out after her ordeal When they get really happy, the bruxing turns into boggling, where they chatter their teeth so enthusiastically their eyes bulge out
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# ? Apr 15, 2012 12:43 |
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Big Bug Hug posted:boggling
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# ? Apr 15, 2012 14:38 |
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That's an adorable story Lord Windy. When I was a kid, my first rat got stuck behind my bathroom toilet a few times (didn't latch the cage all the way) and I'm pretty sure I just waited for her to go back to the cage for food, since there wasn't anything else she could really get into in there.
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# ? Apr 15, 2012 16:26 |
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Thought I'd share a picture of the ever graceful Marley wearing a gorgeous hat this morning. The hat being his brother Xerxes, of course.
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# ? Apr 16, 2012 13:54 |
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One of our older girls is a tumor machine and we've decided to just monitor her quality of life since the vet agreed that she's a bit old for surgery (2 years and some change). She's still doing fine hopping, getting around the cage, and hoarding food, but we've noticed that she's started licking and scratching one of her tumors enough that there's a little raw spot on it. We trimmed her back nails but she still licks. Is there any way of keeping her from doing this or is it just one of those things that happens with rats?
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# ? Apr 16, 2012 16:19 |
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kitty-go-meow posted:One of our older girls is a tumor machine and we've decided to just monitor her quality of life since the vet agreed that she's a bit old for surgery (2 years and some change). She's still doing fine hopping, getting around the cage, and hoarding food, but we've noticed that she's started licking and scratching one of her tumors enough that there's a little raw spot on it. We trimmed her back nails but she still licks. Is there any way of keeping her from doing this or is it just one of those things that happens with rats? I think somebody on PI had a rat that was licking a surgical incision and they ended up cutting the leg part off a tube sock to make a little snug shirt thing for the rat. If the tumor is on her abdomen that might work for her?
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# ? Apr 16, 2012 17:04 |
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kitty-go-meow posted:licking and scratching one of her tumors If she's doing that, it's probably hurting her
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# ? Apr 16, 2012 18:10 |
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Several months back we had a pair of mammary tumors removed from a 2.5 year old rat to great success. It was a little scary - one side kept coming open, but didn't get infected and actually ended up healing quicker than the other side which got a seroma that took a while to be absorbed. Sounds like yours may have had some removed already though, not sure if I would repeat the process at this point myself. What sold me though is that benign tumors can keep growing until they are almost the size of the rat itself.
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# ? Apr 17, 2012 05:03 |
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Thanks for the advice, you guys. We had to take the dog into the vet this morning, so my boyfriend took the opportunity to ask him about it since he sees our rats as well. He agreed that she seemed to be doing alright overall and that we should just keep an eye on her.
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# ? Apr 17, 2012 18:48 |
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I'm taking Bailey to the vet on Friday, she suddenly become very lethargic and sounds like she's having trouble breathing. She used to be the one doing weird things, like re-arranging her entire bedroom and looking to escape. Now she just sits in the corner all day and only really gets active when I'm trying to sleep. Poor Hailey as well has taken to moving food to Bailey as well.
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# ? Apr 18, 2012 02:38 |
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Lord Windy posted:I'm taking Bailey to the vet on Friday, she suddenly become very lethargic and sounds like she's having trouble breathing. Aw, I hope things don't get much worse before the vet visit. At least she has a rat buddy to take care of her! The rats have had a snak shak since December (Christmas present from partner's parents ), but last night Angie took it upon herself to put a hole in it. She was working on it by herself all day, but then Folly (who absolutely adores her) started too. This evening Liza started as well so it looks like it's become a real group project!
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# ? Apr 18, 2012 05:01 |
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Don't tell my husband, but I've pretty much decided that once we're done with Husker's cancer treatments and our savings account has recovered a bit, I am getting more rats. I want to get one of the Critter Nation cages, probably the smaller one but maaaaayyybe the two-story model, and three or four males. It's certainly not done and dusted, but I've been going back and forth with myself for so long, and I think I've finally decided that I want to get back into rats. So, yay! It does occur to me that after spending a shitload of money on a pet with cancer, I'd be setting myself up to potentially spend a shitload of money on even more pets with cancer
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# ? Apr 18, 2012 05:15 |
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RazorBunny posted:Don't tell my husband, but I've pretty much decided that once we're done with Husker's cancer treatments and our savings account has recovered a bit, I am getting more rats. OMG get the critter nation yessss. I love mine so much. Personally, I'd stick with the single, it has plenty of space for 3-4 rats. I've hemmed and hawed over getting the double and it just doesn't seem worth it for the number of rats I have (also four, but girls). You can always upgrade it later, anyway (which costs a little bit more than getting a double outright, but I don't think it's that much more).
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# ? Apr 18, 2012 05:22 |
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I have the double Critter Nation, and keep three to six rats. I absolutely love it. The footprint is exactly the same. The extra vertical space it takes up would be wasted anyway. For problem rats and injuries, the ability to divide it into two cages is very convenient.
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# ? Apr 18, 2012 05:29 |
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Jin Wicked posted:I have the double Critter Nation, and keep three to six rats. I absolutely love it. I still have two stupid Super Pet cages from my old guys, so if somebody needed to be separated I could use one of those. I think the single CN cage will be what I end up with. Man, I was pissed about those cages. The guy who sold me the rats told me the little crappy starter cage would be fine for two rats, and that they wouldn't get much bigger. Yeah loving right, those rats tripled in size. And of course since I had spent a fair chunk of money on the first cage I couldn't afford a really good upgrade, so I wound up with an only slightly larger lovely Super Pet cage. I wish I had found PI before I got my first pair of rats. Unfortunately I will probably be stuck buying pet store rats again. The rescues around here almost never have any, and I don't see the point in buying breeder rats when they aren't really that much healthier or tamer than the feeders.
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# ? Apr 18, 2012 05:38 |
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Look at these bad rats who do not care one bit about all the studying I have to do for finals. All of a sudden it's chew-city over there and I have an organic chemistry exam tomorrow! <>
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# ? Apr 19, 2012 03:15 |
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I love catching my girls snuggling. They're such good buddies! Lately Charlie (on the left) has been chasing Edith (on the right) around and trying to mount her. Has anyone else noticed this kind of behavior with girls? My boyfriend got them from an acquaintance-of-an-aquaintance with whom we don't really have contact, so we're not sure if they're spayed or not.
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# ? Apr 19, 2012 15:57 |
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Toyotadon posted:
They're probably not spayed. Females humping is a dominance display. Leave them be unless they're drawing blood or freaking out the "submissive" rat.
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# ? Apr 19, 2012 16:01 |
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daggerdragon posted:They're probably not spayed. Females humping is a dominance display. Leave them be unless they're drawing blood or freaking out the "submissive" rat. It can be a dominance display, but more often they do it when they're in heat because girl rats are sluts
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# ? Apr 19, 2012 16:45 |
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Superconsndar posted:It can be a dominance display, but more often they do it when they're in heat because girl rats are sluts Well, that too, but I'm not advocating breaking out the Q-Tips for rats.
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# ? Apr 19, 2012 17:41 |
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Can we get a repost of Super's rat diet that doesn't require archives to view? Super, I vaguely recall that you based part of your rat diet on dog kibble. Do you think I could use either Husker's Wellness Core or the cats' Solid Gold Indigo Moon as a base? Not having to buy a third brand of kibble would be awesome. I was at Petco earlier this morning and there was a huge sleepy rat pile and I had the sudden urge to take them all. I wonder if the readers of my food blog would be weirded out by a post about cooking dinner for rodents...
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# ? Apr 19, 2012 17:44 |
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superconsndar posted:Well awesome then, I'll go ahead and post it.
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# ? Apr 19, 2012 23:00 |
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I guess I remembered wrong, I thought there was dry dog food in there somewhere.
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# ? Apr 19, 2012 23:08 |
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I've been so incredibly busy studying for finals lately (mostly organic chemistry, kill me now) that one of the things I have been most looking forward to is going to the market, stocking up on grains, and making an awesome mix for the rats this weekend. And I have a whole bunch of things to get them from Flowertown. Little bastards don't deserve any of it
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# ? Apr 20, 2012 01:21 |
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Invalid Octopus posted:I used this diet for my rats. They've fallen in love with Flax Seed. I've never seen them attack a food so readily. I also took them to the vet today, the vet I saw was really nice and she knows alot about rats. Good thing they're cheap as well. The antibiotics I got for them was only 20 dollars for a 6 week course and 45 for the consult for the two of them. Sadly she doesn't do spay's so it's looking like 375 per rat plus a 150 dollar consultation for the two if I want it done at the exotics hospital Invalid Octopus posted:I've been so incredibly busy studying for finals lately (mostly organic chemistry, kill me now) that one of the things I have been most looking forward to is going to the market, stocking up on grains, and making an awesome mix for the rats this weekend. And I have a whole bunch of things to get them from Flowertown. Little bastards don't deserve any of it Ohhh, what sort of grains do you use?
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# ? Apr 20, 2012 01:36 |
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# ? Jun 6, 2024 06:29 |
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Lord Windy posted:I used this diet for my rats. They've fallen in love with Flax Seed. I've never seen them attack a food so readily. Honestly, I've been pretty lazy about their diet for a while now, but there's a place at the market that has basically every kind of grain in existence. Normally I leave blocks in their cage, and add veg/oats/cereal/fruit/leftovers every day. But I want to do better than that, so this weekend I'll be picking up some good things for them. I'm so, so lucky I have a vet I trust. My boyfriend went to him a few times before I did (he has a easier schedule than I do) and kept telling me how great he is...when I actually met him, I was thrilled. He was just incredibly kind. I met him when we took Patti in to be euthanized and he was just so, so nice ("such spirit!" "so beautiful!"). But it's about $500/rat for spays, so we haven't done that.
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# ? Apr 20, 2012 01:54 |