|
Lately little peaches has been so mean  She has been hiding out from us, resulting in a day where she didn't get put away at the end of the night. This isn't a big deal to me, since the house is essentially rat-proof but I think it's making her even less friendly. Occasionally she'll feel nice enough to come hang out with me, but it's always just for a minute (long enough for me to take a photobooth picture heh) then she disappears again. If I try to fish her out or find out where she's hiding, she'll just squeak at me and totally not want to have anything to do with it. I think I'm gonna start only letting her out in one room for a while, so she's got less to do than hang out with me. It's sad cause I feel like I'm starting all over with her, but she's so moody! I hope she's just being a little sass and not secretly sick and acting out or something  Meanwhile Rosie has finally started caring about what her name is and realized if she comes to me when I call her I will inevitably share whatever snack I have. 
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2012 02:43
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 5, 2024 23:27 |
|
|
It doesn't sound like Peaches is a good candidate for full house free roaming. Soooooo because I tried not to be a spergy ratlady my friend might have a pregnant lady rat  She picked up a pair of bubs at the pet shop and immediately I was like, yeah that rat has no balls I think it's a girl. But two of the workers looked at her and insisted no it is a boy! The little lady only has three legs and was super loving adorable and my friend was pretty much immediately besotted so yeah. Introductions with all (six, now!) rats went really well except all the adults were super interested in the babies' rears. Professor and Dum were getting right up there and started humping and I made my friend take the girl out and was so confused because she has a fairly prominent uretha (? the little fleshy bit that sticks out) but no balls. Friend was sure it was a boy because professionals said so!!! and I must have checked a bunch before I thought to check for nipples. Yup. Nipples, no balls. Female rat. If a rat is 10 weeks old and has been wth two boys at least all her life and was humped last night a couple times there's no chance she's not pregnant, right? To confuse things/make it worse--I mentioned she only has 3 legs. One of her back feet is a little twisted and weird too. And of course the vets we've tried so far - one doesn't do rodent neuters, one will get back to me today, and one will spay but not if the rat is pregs. So we have a 10 week old girl who MIGHT be pregnant who is slightly hosed body-wise and so far we can't find anyone that we could get to that would abort spay. I'm going to ring some more vets when I get home but man, this sucks. Fraction fucked around with this message at 11:22 on Nov 2, 2012 |
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2012 11:20
|
|
|
Sorry to hear that Fraction I got a smaller cage for the mice since, according to the poop, they may have been sneaking out of the other one! Now they seem happier in the small one? They're certainly very active tonight.
|
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2012 13:53
|
|
|
Ayup it pretty much sucks. Teaches me right for not listening to my gut feeling (that they were full of bullshit!). In future I will argue more with pet shop people when I know I'm right I guess. How long will it be before we know for certain if she's pregs or not? If she's not showing within a fortnight (assuming we can't find someone who will e-spay) does that mean we're golden? For the mice, 6EB: are you certain they're getting out, or is poop just being flung out of the bars? Remember, as always--mice are extremely dumb and will fling everything everywhere just because. As I mentioned before, my new cage arrived and I put it up and holy poo poo it is huge  It's one thing to use a tape measure and guesstimate how big it will be irl, it's another thing entirely to actually see the beast. My three ladies have been having a goddamn blast in it. Finally built, substrate in (aubiose bottom and cardboard top - surprisingly, they haven't flung out all the aubiose yet).  Bunch of poo poo in the cage and doors open. Has yours arrived yet, killerwhat? If so, did you enjoy the amazing instructions?  (If it hasn't, get hold of a screwdriver - the one needed is a 2 x 100 or 1 x 200, I dunno.)
|
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2012 19:24
|
|
|
Those cages are amazing, but yeah, they are a bit of a pain in the rear end to put together (and take apart and move and reassemble). They are really a pain in the rear end to put together when you got it sitting on a 3 foot tall utility workbench and the top is about three inches below the ceiling (set up I decided on to prevent my mischievous cat from being interested in the cage, no place for her to jump on, with the cage's base it is too tall for her to try and jump and cling to the side of and it is too tall for her to try and stand up and paw at). Edit: Just noticed your cage has screws, mine has the exact same parts and layout, but everything requires you to snap everything together slot and tab style, only you got to get the whole thing like, have assembled at the same time, then push it together since everything locks into every other part and if any one part is fully inserted into the other before semi attached to everything else, it locks up and you can't continue. Guess there were enough complaints over the old assembly. 
Enzer fucked around with this message at 20:17 on Nov 2, 2012 |
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2012 20:10
|
|
|
Enzer posted:they are a bit of a pain in the rear end to put together (and take apart and move and reassemble) SHUT UP I AM NEVER MOVING THIS CAGE, NO. NO. Putting two up in ~24 hours was such a pain, I am in no mood to ever in dream of taking it down. Tabs sound even more stupid than the screws (which in my roof were all at an angle because the sizing was just eeeeever so slightly off). btw if you want 'fun' when putting up the cage, try doing it in a tiny bedroom with a low, sloping ceiling, with a ton of other cages around you. 
|
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2012 20:38
|
|
|
Fraction posted:Has yours arrived yet, killerwhat? If so, did you enjoy the amazing instructions? Hah that's brilliant. No, ours hasn't arrived yet because delivery companies are eternally amazed that people are at work during work hours. Didn't actually check the measurements against the space/room so that's going to be interesting! The rats are going to love it, they seem so cramped in their current cage.
|
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2012 23:05
|
|
|
Fraction posted:Has yours arrived yet, killerwhat? If so, did you enjoy the amazing instructions? drat that's a fine cage.
|
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2012 23:42
|
|
|
quote:I can't even imagine trying to do a complete cleaning of this thing. I've been thinking about getting a couple of rats... but I imagine cleaning cages, even the smaller ones, might be a bit of a hassle. I'm uncertain how it works with the bedding and all. Zesty fucked around with this message at 02:00 on Nov 3, 2012 |
|
#
?
Nov 3, 2012 01:54
|
|
|
Fraction posted:For the mice, 6EB: are you certain they're getting out, or is poop just being flung out of the bars? Remember, as always--mice are extremely dumb and will fling everything everywhere just because. I'm pretty sure they're getting out since I've seen them squeeze through one of the doors if I don't close it properly. I'm sure they've figured out other spots to squeeze out that I just haven't seen. The new cage is possibly a bit less exposed which they might like? It's 45x20x20cm so not that much smaller than the other one but the bars are closer together and the doors have latches on. My friends think I'm weird because I keep taking their empty toilet rolls... Hey man don't judge me, I live alone and I don't go through enough to keep my mice in toilet rolls ok. 
|
|
#
?
Nov 3, 2012 05:54
|
|
|
killerwhat posted:Hah that's brilliant. No, ours hasn't arrived yet because delivery companies are eternally amazed that people are at work during work hours. I'm sure it'll be fine! One thing to remember is to put the shelves on the left--on the side that doesn't open. If you put them on the right (which is what a lot of people do/is "correct") you restrict your access around the cage because you can't lean right in, as there will be a shelf in your way. If you put the shelves on the left, all that changes is that to get the top floor tray out you have to put your hand inside the cage and push it to get the lip out, that's all. Also you might end up wanting to cable tie on of your shelves - on both mine and my friend's cages, one of the trays for the shelves is smaller than the other and doesn't sit properly on the shelf. I just cable tied it to the side of the cage and it works perfectly. Met posted:I can't even imagine trying to do a complete cleaning of this thing. It's pretty simple! If you're just getting two rats and don't want to deal with a lot of mess, you're probably best getting something like the Ferplast Furet Plus. It has a really deep base, so you can pile in substrate (e.g. carefresh, cardboard strips, hemp bedding, paper pellets--whatever) and then just dump it once a week or so. Spray the cage with disinfectant, wipe down the bars if your rats pee on bars (mine don't, which is awesome, but I still do bars every other clean). Wipe away disinfectant with wet sponge or cloth. Even if you change the cage layout each time you do a clean, it'll only take you like 30-40 minutes. 6-Ethyl Bearcat posted:I'm pretty sure they're getting out since I've seen them squeeze through one of the doors if I don't close it properly. I'm sure they've figured out other spots to squeeze out that I just haven't seen. Yeah, I was concerned about the bar spacing. At least they didn't run off and get eaten or anything! 45x20x20cm sounds a little small, have you got a cage picture? Three people in one house = way too many toilet rolls for one mouse.
|
|
#
?
Nov 3, 2012 13:33
|
|
|
Fraction posted:Yeah, I was concerned about the bar spacing. At least they didn't run off and get eaten or anything! 45x20x20cm sounds a little small, have you got a cage picture?
|
|
#
?
Nov 3, 2012 14:16
|
|
|
I think that should be just fine for a pair of girls!
|
|
#
?
Nov 3, 2012 14:23
|
|
|
Great  If I thought of adding to the brood, could it take another girl? Just thinking about the dozens of mice they're still stuck with.
|
|
#
?
Nov 3, 2012 14:48
|
|
|
I'd say that's fine, but three would be the max imo. I always test a cage by doubling the dimensions (eg. so about 69 x 56 x 90 cm) and inputting that in a rat cage calculator. Then halve the number of rats it says can go in, and that's the number of mice that can comfortably fit in a cage. The calc said those dimensions would be good for up to six rats, so three mice should be fine in your cage.
|
|
#
?
Nov 3, 2012 14:59
|
|
|
Cool, thanks for being so helpful!
|
|
#
?
Nov 3, 2012 15:53
|
|
|
Those are some awesome cages. My rat adventures lately seem to be trying to get Molly to take her twice-daily dose of antibiotics. At first it went okay, and she'd come and happily drink the full millilitre dose of orange-flavoured medicine right out of the syringe, but she's become more and more reluctant, and it now involves a certain amount of crying and whimpering while I hold her and force it into her mouth a little at a time. It's some of the saddest sounds I've ever heard her make. Amelia generally makes herself a pest during this, trying to steal the syringe right out of my hand because she wants the medicine for herself. This morning, while I held Molly, she cried and squirmed, and Amelia came over and started licking her face until she settled down. Medicine was given. Thanks, Amelia! That made it a lot easier. Treats and snuggles for everyone!
|
|
#
?
Nov 3, 2012 16:43
|
|
|
When I've had to give antibiotics to my rats I've always put it in a tiny bit of yogurt, or melty ice cream, or something equally delicious that they're desperate to get at. Trying to get my old lady rat Evie who hated being handled anyway to take something from a syringe was too much of a nightmare!
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2012 02:00
|
|
|
Yeah, I'm going to have to start doing that. It started out easy enough but it's become such a process.
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2012 15:17
|
|
|
Some pics of my friend's rats Introductions are still ongoing. Professor/Samwise is settling in well and is Top Rat, but Dumbledore/Gamgee is going to probs need neutering to settle in, so he miiight end up living with my friend's mum and a new baby male or something. He accepted Ren and Stumpy pretty much immediately, even if he was humping Stumpy because girlrat. Samwise and Mojo  Mojo and Samwise  Samwise  Samwise  Gamgee  Stumpy  Stumpy  Stumpy  Ren (he's got the same face markings as Stumpy, and a dark butt spot, but with a brown stripe down his back in two colours - anyone know his variety? It's possible he could be the father if Stumpy has bubs.)  Samwise and Mojo  Jojo  Jojo Alsoooo the potentially pregnant female started making a nest yesterday, apparently. hnggggg  e: VVV I just asked my friend to take some pics of him. He's pretty squirmy right now. Fraction fucked around with this message at 17:01 on Nov 4, 2012 |
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2012 15:49
|
|
|
poast better pic of ren if you have one
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2012 16:00
|
|
|
  Fourteen week old broken hooded Mad Moxxi has been chilling on my shoulder/in my hood for like ten minutes straight so far. I will have a shoulder rat, one day!  e: Quick video showing Ren's markings better here Fraction fucked around with this message at 22:00 on Nov 5, 2012 |
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2012 17:25
|
|
|
Fraction posted:Has yours arrived yet, killerwhat? If so, did you enjoy the amazing instructions? So we picked up the cage and put it together last night. So glad our neighbours were out and didn't hear us clanging and arguing for 2h. Then added rats who were completely ungrateful.  How dusty are the cardboard strips as liners? I had fleece layers in their old cage but that'll be tricker now, not sure what to do. My husband turned into a river of snot when we tried a carefresh type thing so that's out. Is newspaper ok for rats? I worry about the ink on them.
|
|
#
?
Nov 6, 2012 16:46
|
|
|
killerwhat posted:So we picked up the cage and put it together last night. So glad our neighbours were out and didn't hear us clanging and arguing for 2h. Then added rats who were completely ungrateful. A lot of newspapers are printed with nontoxic soy-based inks now 
|
|
#
?
Nov 6, 2012 17:15
|
|
|
You guys- Carebear has been asking me for about a year now if I wanted to take over this thread because she no longer has the time to maintain it and update and add new stuff. I keep flaking on it because I've been insanely busy with work and my partner's immigration, but I'm going to have a little bit more free time coming up and since I definitely don't have time to tackle a new bully thread I figure I can at least get this one done. I haven't gone through the OP of this thread yet to see what blatantly needs updating, so I'll do that, but first, some things: -What would you guys like to see removed/changed in a new thread -What stuff is NOT covered in the OP of this thread that you would like to see covered AND ALSO. I thought I would ask how you guys would feel about making the new thread a rat/mouse combo thread instead of just rats. A lot of rat people have both, there's been some recent discussion of mice itt, and the catch-all rodent thread is much more geared towards casual GP/Chinchilla/Hamster/Gerbil owners for any kind of mouse sperg to really get much of a response. If you guys would prefer to leave this thread rats only that's fine, just thought I'd throw that out there. (Wanna sperg out about mouse color genetics and post tons of my BYBd mouse litters, not gonna lie)
|
|
#
?
Nov 6, 2012 17:20
|
|
|
Just did a quick read-through, and in the part about toys, you might want to add that bird toys/cage accessories often work really well for rats since they encourage climbing around (my rats are lazy). I think having mice stuff in this thread would be cool.
|
|
#
?
Nov 6, 2012 17:26
|
|
|
More about socialization and what to look for in a rat before you buy/adopt it. Also maybe a note about how livefeeding can be dangerous for anyone looking to breed feeders or something. I think a mouse/rat thread would be pretty fantastic.
|
|
#
?
Nov 6, 2012 17:43
|
|
|
I just want to be sure - wheel tail isn't something I should worry about, right? Because Mordin is starting to get a pug tail. Like, it doesn't just curve up, it actually kind of spirals. The other two will occasionally run in the wheel, but it's his favorite thing, so I hate to take it out. But if having such a dramatic curve is bad for him, and removing the wheel will help, I'll do it.
|
|
#
?
Nov 6, 2012 18:11
|
|
|
RazorBunny posted:I just want to be sure - wheel tail isn't something I should worry about, right? Because Mordin is starting to get a pug tail. Like, it doesn't just curve up, it actually kind of spirals. Nope, it's not an issue. Just looks a little funny. You can always get a flying saucer type wheel to avoid it as well.
|
|
#
?
Nov 6, 2012 18:16
|
|
|
Mice are just smaller, dumber, more antisocial rats!  I'd like to see better organization of the OP. Information just seems randomly placed with no categories, or anything. Toys are a good idea, maybe in an "enrichment" section? Sure, anybody can plunk in a plastic igloo, but what toys and treats-stuffed-in-empty-toilet-paper-tube are really going to make your cage pop for your rats?
|
|
#
?
Nov 6, 2012 18:18
|
|
|
sweek0 posted:Nope, it's not an issue. Just looks a little funny. You can always get a flying saucer type wheel to avoid it as well. I wish they didn't take up so much space :/ I'll leave him be. It looks really silly and makes me laugh, but I was worried that it might be bad for his spine or something to have it so curly. So now I can laugh at him guilt-free! I'll try to get a good pic to show you guys just how curly his tail is now. It's crazy.
|
|
#
?
Nov 6, 2012 18:42
|
|
|
killerwhat posted:So we picked up the cage and put it together last night. So glad our neighbours were out and didn't hear us clanging and arguing for 2h. Then added rats who were completely ungrateful. Ha, 2 hours sounds about right. Did you like the instructions?? I'm using cardboard strips on top f my cage and hemcore on the bottom ATM, but I think I'm gonna go full time cardboard for this cage. It's way less messy. I'm planning to put down a couple sheets of newspaper on the base, then pile on cardboard. Fleece is theoretically possible with it but I could easily imagine rats just ripping it up constantly, as it won't sit flush against the trays. I agree that a combo rat/mouse thread would be good. The general chin/etc rodent thread doesn't seem interested in mice, and really a lot of the care info for rats is applicable to mice. Things like forced socialisation and healthier diets (eg importance of daily veg, and how lab blocks really aren't that great) would be awesome too.
|
|
#
?
Nov 6, 2012 18:46
|
|
|
Daggerdragon's idea for an enrichment section sounds awesome for the FAQ. Toys, games you can play with your rats, etc. Mice are cute, I like mice.
|
|
#
?
Nov 6, 2012 22:28
|
|
|
Fraction posted:Ha, 2 hours sounds about right. Did you like the instructions?? I had to put this cage together more or less solo, with little parts of my little sister climbing into the cage to help hold things up! I've lined the cage with fleece, took a while to sort it out but with my two lads they're not too destructive, makes it really easy to clean too.. although this morning I did come through and find they'd pulled up most of the fleece and knocked over all of the ladders.   DSCF1037.jpg by GreyishOrange, on Flickr Greyish Orange fucked around with this message at 02:23 on Nov 7, 2012 |
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2012 02:03
|
|
|
How do you attach the fleece to your trays? Or is it just laid flat on the bottom? Also, woah thanks for the idea to have the cage next to a desk! I've just set up a work desk next to the cage so now the rats can hang freely with me when I have university stuff to do   Introductions have been going well! I've had all the rats hanging out together in free roam time each day. Probs going to put them all in on Friday, as I need to do a thorough cage clean then anyway.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2012 15:35
|
|
|
AHHHH THAT FACE 
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2012 18:30
|
|
|
Jojo sure was a camera queen, not gonna lie One of my rat-owning friends (not the one with the maybe-pregs tripod) has an ill rat. He's gotten skinnier, his fur is dishevelled, and he seems lethargic. He's also been falling over a lot. Since she told me a couple hours ago, I've tried insisting that she take him to the vet, but I'm not sure if she will or not. I even said if she brings him into uni tomorrow, I'll hide him when on campus and then take him to the vets myself on Friday buuuuut. He's been like this for a few days. She said that because he's one year and three months old, it might be related to old age.  Her boyfriend's mother said it might be something to do with the kidneys - anyone know if that's right?* She used to work for a vets, apparently.My main question is: should she keep him with the others, or separate him until she gets him to the vets (unless that never happens, urgh)? I wasn't sure; separating an ill rat from his buddies is never a good idea, but on the other hand she'd maybe actually be able to keep track of how much he's eating, etc. I dunno. Her vet charges a ton for a consultation, like double what mine does, and last time she took one in the vet just gave her some general vitamins to go in the water, rather than any antibiotics or anything. It just gets better  *I'm not asking for vet advice on what's wrong with him, and will continue to prod her into taking him to the vets asap, but the fact my friend's been told just 'lol it's kidneys' doesn't strike me as correct at all.
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2012 00:04
|
|
|
A few weeks ago I posted about how I'd gotten a new rat as a friend for my current rat. I kept the new rat quarantined for a bit over a week until she got rid of her mites and the sores on her tail had cleared up. About 5 days ago I put her cage next to my old rat's cage and they have been talking to each other through the bars and seemed to be getting along ok. So last night I tried introducing them by putting them on the couch together. They ran at each other and sniffed and pawed at each other's faces for a bit and then my older, male rat started trying to hump the new, younger, smaller female rat. When he did that she started kicking him with her back legs but neither of them were being terribly aggressive (more curious about each other, I guess). I seperated them after a few minutes and they went back to their cages. So my question is, is putting them together for a few minutes at a time the best way to introduce them? Should I let them hump (male is desexed, female isn't) or fight or try and stop them if they start getting physical with each other? Also, my male has gotten a bit chubby, what's the best way to help him lose some weight? I only feed them fresh fruit / vegetables with a small amount of seeds and grain (and a bit of meat every few days) and I try to encourage him to run around the house (and up and down our stairs) as much as possible but I would appreciate any tips you guys might have.
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2012 05:56
|
|
|
Pretty sure two of my older girls have tumors at the same time.  raaaattsss.
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2012 21:47
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 5, 2024 23:27 |
|
|
Fraction posted:One of my rat-owning friends (not the one with the maybe-pregs tripod) has an ill rat. Quoting myself to say, friend took rat to the vet today and got some antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs for him, yay Pew! Pew! posted:Pretty sure two of my older girls have tumors at the same time. Man, it's not been a good time lately for you for rats, is it?  cyberia posted:So my question is, is putting them together for a few minutes at a time the best way to introduce them? Should I let them hump (male is desexed, female isn't) or fight or try and stop them if they start getting physical with each other? For fat rat: make sure he has a wheel. Don't offer any seed - just a veeeeeery small amount of grains, and lots of re his veg. Make sure he is making full use of his cage - put his food, water and sleeping area at opposite ends, if you can. (E.G. in my cage I have sleeping areas at the very top, then food bowls on the middle, then water bottle at the bottom with the wheel to encourage movement.) Leave the rats to sort out their poo poo. Intervene if stuff gets reeeeally violent, or if any blood is drawn. She'll soon teach him not to bother her if she wants to be left alone Moxxi got to go into the Big Girl cage tonight. They're temporarily on newspaper because holy gently caress getting aubiose out of that cage was such a pain and URGH NO never again. I need to get me some cardboard. Also this thread is/will be rats and mice now, right?    
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2012 22:03
|
|