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" posted:
I really want to get that cage, but here in Australia rat people are a comparitive rarity so no one sells them. I can get hold of a ferret nation, if I time it right though. I wish there were other good large cage alternatives here.
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Aug 30, 2012 03:31
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| # ? May 16, 2024 15:32 |
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This is the first and only time I'd ever even seen one in stores; I've seen the Ferret Nation multiple times. I've always wanted a Critter Nation and the timing was just crazy good. It's totally, totally worth it though if you can ever get your hands on it. I really love it.
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Aug 30, 2012 05:04
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Superconsndar posted:How can you have difficulty sexing a rat. Um...because a rat doesn't develop downstairs fully until `5-6 weeks, and this baby is probably 22-24 days old. They're hard to tell apart when they're babies, unless you are fully experienced in repeatedly sexing a rat. If you have the ability to fully sex a rat the second they pop out, congratulations, but I'm willing to bet not everyone can. Also, being a rat owner for a while, I know well enough to keep them separated. >.> Edit : I'd like to point out that considering this baby is 22-24 days old, I'm pretty sure it's a male. Maeume fucked around with this message at 17:26 on Aug 30, 2012 |
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Aug 30, 2012 17:20
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Maeume posted:Um...because a rat doesn't develop downstairs fully until `5-6 weeks, and this baby is probably 22-24 days old. They're hard to tell apart when they're babies, unless you are fully experienced in repeatedly sexing a rat. If you have the ability to fully sex a rat the second they pop out, congratulations, but I'm willing to bet not everyone can. Also, being a rat owner for a while, I know well enough to keep them separated. >.> All the babies I've had in my house dropped their nuts at around 3 weeks of age. Also you can see nipples after like a week? I'd never sexed babies before, but the first litter I had I got them all right.
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Aug 30, 2012 18:11
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My first litter I ever had I got them right too, but it wasn't immediate. It was around 20-24 days. I started seeing nipples on the girls after they had most of their fur in, but this kiddo is pretty furry, so in the event that he had nipples and was a girl, I wouldn't have been able to tell because this baby has a VERY thick coat. In any case, his nuts are starting to drop and *NOW* it's an obvious difference. It wasn't when I first got him because his nuts hadn't dropped and I don't see any way of sexing AND being accurate, which is why I didn't just throw him in the cage with the girls. Honestly, I don't want to have another surprise litter like I did with my first rat (Apparently she was pregnant when I first bought her, she popped two weeks to the day of purchase) So whenever I get a new rat that is that small, they are set up by themselves until I know, without a doubt, 100% the sex. I think that's the best way to do it, too, because I don't want a chance where I'm not sure, and I have a whole new litter to care for. It's a fun and rewarding experience if you love to do it, but I am not ready to care for a bunch of kiddos, so I am cautious. Either way, it might be easy for perhaps a breeder to sex a baby. I've had one litter of 5 babies, I'm not an expert, I'll admit that, so I have trouble sexing until the obvious ball drop. *Shrug* At least I am not a moron and just stick them in the same cage and "hope for the best" like some people I've met. So, something I did want to bring up though, this little guys coat is REALLY thick and poofy and soft.. does that come with Siamese rat coats naturally? He's way more soft and poofy than any of the fancy rats I have had.
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Aug 30, 2012 20:09
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I feel a little bad, I had Mordin on my shoulder while I was doing stuff today and I didn't realize how long I'd had him out, and he couldn't hold it anymore and peed all over the back of my neck. Oops! He accepted a dried grasshopper as an apology.
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Aug 30, 2012 20:13
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Eve has only peed on me once so far, and that's in like ~three hours of holding her.  Feel a little bad because Adam hasn't been out so much but I'm planning to have her out a bunch tomorrow, now that she's able to get mealworms out of my palm without nipping my hand loads.     I want to steal Eve forever  After I'd done shoving the camera in her face, she fell asleep on me again. I'm tempted to go to pets at home and get some live mealworms for them tomorrow, if they're already like a year or so old (not sure about how old they are, if anyone has any guesses I'd be all ears, but they haven't grown much bigger since my friend got them) will they be likely to eat the mealworms from the tub or will they probably just ignore them?
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Aug 30, 2012 21:28
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Her eye looks so sore 
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Aug 30, 2012 22:15
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Yeah I don't know if it is gross and hurting her or just porphyrin stains. I have some eye drops that I got for my mouse's eye that has cleared up her infection/porphyrin/scabs that I'm going to give my friend when he takes them back. I'm going to insist he gets her back to the vet about it too. It apparently gets worse when she's stressed and he keeps it clean so that it's not really noticeable when they're at home really.
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Aug 30, 2012 22:29
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I don't want to play internet vet and would love someone more knowledgable to give their input, but the way it's red and puffy around the outside (compare it in the pictures to the other side) says to me there's something there that's not just the usual staining. I love pink eyes.
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Aug 31, 2012 00:24
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My rat has something important to say to you all: 9b wefffffffffffffffffff ;''.'; asaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa I'm not sure what that meant, but maybe someone fluent in ratglish can decipher?
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Aug 31, 2012 03:19
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Gooses and Geeses posted:I don't want to play internet vet and would love someone more knowledgable to give their input, but the way it's red and puffy around the outside (compare it in the pictures to the other side) says to me there's something there that's not just the usual staining. Yeah it doesn't look so nice, and the pictures show it especially. I've sent a message to my friend offering to take her in to see what my vets say. If he agrees I'll probably just take her in for a checkup, so that we can see what the vet suggests using and can either look online for cheaper alternatives or he can go in with her when he can. I think she could use some baytril or something too, she sounds like she's got a URI. Spacedad posted:9b wefffffffffffffffffff ;''.'; asaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Your rat said 'I am adorable now give me more attention, human'. You're welcome for this free translation. Since I am going to be cleaning the rats today I decided to give them half a boiled egg. Adam seemed to enjoy it but Eve didn't really care. Sorry for blurry pictures but Adam was pretty excited.     After the initial excitement they decided to leave about half of it  I've popped the rest in the hammock with them, since the hammocks are getting bunged in the wash today anyway.e: Is fried veg okay for rats? I'm making a shitton of food tonight, cornflake chicken and mash and a bunch of different veg, and I'd like to give them some of the veg. I guess I can just put some raw aside for them if not though. Fraction fucked around with this message at 14:32 on Aug 31, 2012 |
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Aug 31, 2012 11:13
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Fraction posted:Is fried veg okay for rats? I'm making a shitton of food tonight, cornflake chicken and mash and a bunch of different veg, and I'd like to give them some of the veg. I guess I can just put some raw aside for them if not though. Sure! I wouldn't make it a habit, but yeah my girls LOVE anything fried, grilled, sauteed, you name it! I would just thoroughly drain out extra grease after the veggies are done frying and hand it to them cool.
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Aug 31, 2012 14:55
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Awesome, I'll leave them to cool on some kitchen towel to soak up the excess grease. Guess the girls will be treated to onion, pepper, potato, sugar snap peas, butternut squash and maaaybe a little chicken tonight if there's any left Adam is being such a little bitch. I've got them both out on the couch with me and she keeps just biting my shirt/shorts. There's nothing that smells on them and I just cleaned their cage so the only thing I could possibly smell of is their cage. Why you gotta be a dick, rat?
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Aug 31, 2012 16:40
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Rat gif time  Optimizing gifs is a pain. I'm trying to make a future avatar.
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Aug 31, 2012 17:16
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Fraction posted:Awesome, I'll leave them to cool on some kitchen towel to soak up the excess grease. Guess the girls will be treated to onion, pepper, potato, sugar snap peas, butternut squash and maaaybe a little chicken tonight if there's any left Van Buren used to nip holes in my clothes if he felt I wasn't paying enough attention to him.
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Aug 31, 2012 17:20
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I've decided I'm never adopting an adult rat ever again. Hector is being impossible for me and I hope someone can help. He gets very agitated extremely easily, showing clear signs of stress such as tail wagging. I try to hold him as much as I can, but it's never for more than a couple minutes because he gets bitey and mad. Any slooooooow introduction to ANY of my other rats ends in extreme violence. At this point both him and the other rats (who are sweeties and hand raised) become extremely aggressive. Breaking up the fights is not easy. Please help me not hate him, and help me get him to the point where he doesn't have to live alone. Basically just HELLLLPPP! I'm used to my hand-raised bunch, I don't know how to socialize a rat that grew up entirely in a pet store.
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Sep 1, 2012 03:30
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He might be happiest by himself, in a cage with lots of nice stimulating toys and snacks, and warm places to snuggle since he won't have other rats to pile up with. If he's picking fights he's probably stressed. It sucks that he isn't integrating nicely into your swarm, but it might just be too late for him. I think if he were mine I would just build him the swankiest setup ever and do my best to associate my presence with treats, and not force too much handling if he's not responding to it.
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Sep 1, 2012 03:40
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Ok, I didn't know if he'd go schizophrenic by himself with even minimal human contact. He does get to run around in the rat room, I just open his cage and let him do his thing until he returns to the cage. If I try to coerce him towards the cage he gets...angry, so I let him do it in his own time. And its not just him starting the fights, 3 of my others will go apeshit on sight, I've never seen them like that.
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Sep 1, 2012 06:16
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Olive Bar posted:Please help me not hate him, and help me get him to the point where he doesn't have to live alone. Basically just HELLLLPPP! I'm used to my hand-raised bunch, I don't know how to socialize a rat that grew up entirely in a pet store. It might an idea to put on gloves and just hold onto him. My vet told me that you have to be the one to set the rules to begin with and make him see that you aren't a boogeyman. It won't be pleasant for either of you, but I think Rats start to see that you aren't a threat after awhile. If he bites and you put him back, you're reinforcing that behaviour. I had an issue where one of my rats would just crap themselves and I'd put them back to wash my hands and it wouldn't get better, so my Vet told me to just put up with it and the rats would eventually stop. I don't know if that's the accepted way of handling this situation, the other way might be to bribe him to liking and trusting you, but I can't be sure. I also don't know how to fix rat conflicts, I hear smothering them with custard works. EDIT: Both my rats came from a pet store. When I picked them they did a wild dash to run away from the people. I think I picked the worst first pair of rats to begin with. But they both love me now 
Lord Windy fucked around with this message at 07:06 on Sep 1, 2012 |
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Sep 1, 2012 07:04
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Olive Bar posted:Ok, I didn't know if he'd go schizophrenic by himself with even minimal human contact. He does get to run around in the rat room, I just open his cage and let him do his thing until he returns to the cage. If I try to coerce him towards the cage he gets...angry, so I let him do it in his own time. And its not just him starting the fights, 3 of my others will go apeshit on sight, I've never seen them like that. Secondly, you could consider a neuter (sorry, didn't remember if he was desexed or not). I've been going on about how much my neutered boy changed for the better. Oh yeah! And lord windy is right too. You could try forced socialization. Big Bug Hug fucked around with this message at 15:22 on Sep 1, 2012 |
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Sep 1, 2012 15:18
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      Veg night was a success. The mash and sugar snap peas and squash went down a treat; onion and pepper chunks, not so much. They're really loving mealworms at the moment, but is it possible to overfeed them? I don't want to give them too much protein but they reaaaaally love mealworms. e Mannnnn Adam is bipolar or something, I swear. I had her out for about forty minutes and she fell asleep on me twice for ten minutes or so at a time. She also bit me a couple of times, like she'd be nudging around to get comfortable and would nip my fingers/the back of my hand pretty hard (despite my hand being on her pretty much the entire time to help get her more used to me). If she didn't bite so much she'd be a sweetheart. I don't really have the time/inclination to force socialise her either. Fraction fucked around with this message at 19:34 on Sep 1, 2012 |
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Sep 1, 2012 15:47
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You must be joking, but the image if six little rats covered in custard gave me the giggles. I'd love to hear others weigh in on the glove method. I thought about it but thought it would scare him even more.
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Sep 2, 2012 02:15
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Well, I think it plays on the fact that rats (and humans) can only be scared/angry/anxious for so long before just accepting it. It's like when people try to cure phobias and fears by making you handle what you're scared of. I mean, I've noticed it on my rats, and on a mouse that I rescued from a cat. That little mouse had lost the ability to walk and I ended up taking it to the vet to get put down (I couldn't do it myself) and the little mouse noticeably calmed down. Actually ended up not wanting to leave me when it came time to put her (I think, no balls) down. Really wish I could have kept her as she was a sweetie. You could try it once a day over a week, holding Hector for at least 30 minutes and rewarding him when you're finished. I used pudding or custard as it forced them to stay close to eat it. And if they like Custard, how I see it, they'll all be too busy eating and grooming to want to fight.
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Sep 2, 2012 03:54
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I have a neutered male who violently rejects all other rats, except for his recently-deceased brother. He loves people attention though, so I give him all that I can. Sometimes you just get an odd rat.
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Sep 2, 2012 04:18
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Genetic male aggression is A Thing in rats. Some just lose their poo poo and will violently attack other rats and people regardless of age or prior socialization. It's a problem in a lot of established lines and it does seem to occur randomly in randomly bred pet store rats. I've had several, they're awful and end up sitting alone in a cage making crazy eyes at you and I've often considered just putting them down. Some of the worst ones I HAVE had to do that with. Most though just lived alone and were mostly okay with people except when they bit at random and seemed pretty content to just be fat and alone otherwise.
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Sep 2, 2012 05:24
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Could be genetic aggression, but I wouldn't jump to that conclusion before you've gone ahead and attempted forced socialization or something different. I read that another lady, who didn't really like forced socialization, stopped feeding the rat with aggression issue and forced it to eat out of her hand built up trust that way. But that was in a case of the rat being abused for the first year of it's life. It's only anecdotal evidence, but if you don't like the idea of forced socialization it might help you out. Or if you can work out how, it might be another way of introducing your rats. Maybe keep Hector hungry, and just put him and one other rat in a bathtub/shower/kitchen sink and hand feed them both treats so they aren't concerned by eachother. EDIT: As an idea, if you can get Hector and another rat to play nice together, it might be an idea to keep those two together and start introducing the others one at a time.
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Sep 2, 2012 13:59
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I really, really can't have him around my other rats, I tried every introduction technique and he violently and immediately attacked them all. One lost a finger to him, another lost a chunk of his ear. I am going to try the glove technique, but I can't hand feed him because he goes straight for my fingers.
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Sep 2, 2012 17:32
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Yeah if it were me I wouldn't put him near other rats again. The best you can probably hope for is to maybe get him to the point where he might not try to kill you too. One thing I've noticed with Crazy Rats is that they get VERY territorial over their cages, so you stand the best chance of calming him down if you just go in with some leather gloves, grab him, and take him somewhere where he can't see his cage to work with him. Forced socialization will likely be your ONLY chance of getting him reasonably handleable, and he may always be unpredictable. Don't let him color your opinion of adult pet store rats- the vast majority tame down just fine, it usually has more to do with genetics than a lack of socialization. I've met very few unsocialized rats who were bitey and aggressive, the majority are just skittish and timid and come around easily.
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Sep 2, 2012 17:39
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Thanks super. I always take him away from his cage as it is, so that's good. I am definitely getting a pair of heavy gloves today. I guess I just was bitter about pet store rats because first Conrad, now this. Although my vet says Hector probably isn't crazy in the same way as Conrad, so that's reassuring.
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Sep 2, 2012 18:48
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redjenova posted:Atalanta, the mostly white one, is the one that pulled the escape routine the other day in my room. I ended up going to Petsmart that same day and impulse-buying a two-level Critter Nation. Which is probably the greatest thing I've ever purchased, not to mention they can't wriggle out through the bars. Nyx, the black one, was so exhausted on the ride home that she kept falling asleep in weird positions (see: her head jammed in the carrier corner, sleeping on her back) Atalanta is my middle name!  One of my rats has lots of scabs on her back, but none of the others do. I'm wondering if they might have mites... Any thoughts?
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Sep 2, 2012 19:35
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Olive Bar posted:Thanks super. I always take him away from his cage as it is, so that's good. I am definitely getting a pair of heavy gloves today. I guess I just was bitter about pet store rats because first Conrad, now this. Although my vet says Hector probably isn't crazy in the same way as Conrad, so that's reassuring. Was Conrad psycho and aggressive too? My friend's rats are both from a pet shop and they're not crazy. Adam needs taming up more but Eve is a total sweetheart. They were both nearly full grown when he got them, and the shop was Pets At Home so it wasn't like they were being handled all day every day or anything.
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Sep 2, 2012 19:40
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Conrad was so consistently aggressive that my vet suggested I have him euthanized, but she thought there might have been something wrong with him, she just couldn't find it. In Hector news, he took three pieces of food today without raging out on me. Forced socialization begins tonight.
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Sep 3, 2012 01:09
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I thought Conrad was a sweetie to you? I might be misremembering however. But great work on the Hector front. Forced socialisation might not be fun, but will help him in the long run  EDIT: Thinking about it, maybe as a way of getting Hector used to other rats, would you be able to put his cage close to the other Rat's cage(s). None of them can get at eachother that way.
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Sep 3, 2012 01:51
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If I put him within line of sight to my other rats it turns into 24 hour screaming from them. It seriously doesn't stop, and I didn't know rats could make noises like that, I gave in and moved him for my other rat's sake after 36 hours. Every rat involved was extremely stressed out. Conrad started out a total sweetie pie but then got "sick" and became vicious, he bit multiple people including the vet, and not in a normal I'm scared way, in a, I want your loving flesh way. Day one of forced socialization has been completed. It turns out that when he is super pissed he can somehow turn his normal, healthy, pellet poo into a massive diarrhea cannon. He was covered in poo poo, I was covered in poo poo, it was a party! But I didn't give in and put him back in his cage until his time was up. He was swiftly rewarded with some muffin. Question, should I hold him close to me, let him run around or what? Tonight I just tried to hold him close, but of course he looked mighty distressed. I just want to make sure I am doing this absolutely right. Also, how long should I do this for before coming to the conclusion he is a poo poo, a month, two, longer?
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Sep 3, 2012 05:54
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Fair enough, he might be a tough cookie to crack if that's his reaction to other rats. Forced socialisation is however you like it, I held Hailey and Bailey in cupped hands (to contain the crap). I think you can do it however you like, but the idea is to make sure he understands he can't get away, acting out won't make it stop and that hands won't kill him. Took me 4 days with 2 rat's whose experience with people was mainly bad (I think a kid tormented them) to stop crapping everywhere and about a month to get to the point where it's "OMG, DAD'S HOME. GET THE gently caress OUT OF THE WAY EVERYONE ELSE, I NEED TO BE CLOSER TO HIM" But in the end, it's up to you for how long to keep going with Hector. If you think he's happy, has a good quality of life (as it is), and you can look after without financial hardship than it might be an easy answer. But if you happen to live in Australia, I'd be ok with taking him off your hands to see what can be done ----- Really sad about Conrad though, I must have missed the patch of posts where he was a crazy bitch because he just seemed so cute. Really sorry that he ended up that way
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Sep 3, 2012 06:21
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Count Harper posted:Atalanta is my middle name! Really? It's such a beautiful name, I've been saving it for a while. Nyx unfortunately wasn't as special a choice, but I wanted something also from mythology and she was the goddess of night and mostly black rat and  They're still doing awesomely and I haven't lost either of them again, hah. This Critter Nation is still like the best thing that's ever happened to me. I want to lavish them with toys and stuff but they're so small they really can't throw stuff around or shred stuff up like my old ones used to. They are definitely way more full of energy though, and they do a lot of hopping and zipping around the cage at high speeds. It's pretty adorable
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Sep 3, 2012 06:24
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redjenova posted:Really? Man, I hear you about the Critter Nation. I just love that cage so much. Wouldn't ever want to own rats again without one. When we took the rats into the vet's office to be boarded, everyone was asking about it. Seeing my girls in a few days...of course I am bringing them home some new cage stuff
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Sep 3, 2012 06:50
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Lord Windy posted:
Hey! I didn't know you were Aussie too. If you're in NSW and go to NSWRFS events I probably know you
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Sep 3, 2012 11:52
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Question about rat behavior: is it weird that 2 of my rats (both of them PEWs and I believe they're also siblings) like to try to give bedding/food/toys to my dog? It is the weirdest thing. Any time my dog lays next to the cage, they'll start trying to press things through the cage towards him. There's a small pile of bedding and grain in front of the cage where he'll sit and watch them sometimes. I think it's adorable as hell but I've never seen the behavior before. Do they think he's a big rat or something? e: Or maybe they actually hate him and are trying to pelt him with things. I don't know! Hardwood Floor fucked around with this message at 17:05 on Sep 3, 2012 |
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Sep 3, 2012 17:01
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