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Javid posted:There has been a prison shanking in the cage and one of my rats is dead. Why would they do that out of nowhere? They had food.. You have a rat serial killer on your hands?
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Sep 9, 2013 12:25
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| # ? May 24, 2024 01:31 |
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Javid, are you sure you have the right culprit to blame? I realised today that, as of three days ago, I've had rats for a year.  I love them. Definitely downgrading number of rats & cage after this bunch though. My Aventura is just too big/bulky. I think I'll go with 2-3 rats in a Jenny Rat or Ferplast Furet Plus cage.
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Sep 9, 2013 12:29
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Javid posted:There has been a prison shanking in the cage and one of my rats is dead. Why would they do that out of nowhere? They had food.. What makes you think it was murder? If you found one dead and partially dismembered, chances are the damage was done post mortem. Rats will "clean up" the corpses of their cagemates - its an instinct to avoid drawing predators. What I'm saying is your rats might be cannibals but they probably didn't commit the actual crime. Especially if they normally get along well - like you said, there was no motive.
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Sep 9, 2013 15:21
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Big Bug Hug posted:What makes you think it was murder? If you found one dead and partially dismembered, chances are the damage was done post mortem. Rats will "clean up" the corpses of their cagemates - its an instinct to avoid drawing predators. What I'm saying is your rats might be cannibals but they probably didn't commit the actual crime. Especially if they normally get along well - like you said, there was no motive.  ) but God do I hope I never wake up to see something like that.
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Sep 9, 2013 15:49
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Cardiovorax posted:I knew about this beforehand because I read Terry Pratchett ( I have experienced it with gerbils. It's a teeny bit unsettling.
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Sep 9, 2013 16:09
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Extra Smooth Balls posted:I have experienced it with gerbils. It's a teeny bit unsettling. One day I found one and a half chipmunks in my cage.
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Sep 9, 2013 16:10
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I hope you had more than one before, otherwise that's really unsettling.
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Sep 9, 2013 16:11
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Conclusion: rodents are loving metal. 
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Sep 9, 2013 16:20
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Big Bug Hug posted:What makes you think it was murder? If you found one dead and partially dismembered, chances are the damage was done post mortem. Rats will "clean up" the corpses of their cagemates - its an instinct to avoid drawing predators. What I'm saying is your rats might be cannibals but they probably didn't commit the actual crime. Especially if they normally get along well - like you said, there was no motive. A valid point. I'll never know, really. Whatever happened was while I was asleep. Dunno why he'd have dropped dead, though.
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Sep 9, 2013 17:42
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Javid posted:A valid point. I'll never know, really. Whatever happened was while I was asleep. Dunno why he'd have dropped dead, though. Rats hide illness really well, it's that whole prey animals thing.
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Sep 9, 2013 17:47
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Been having fun taking care of Rattigan and Vincent Price. They've starting getting used to being picked up and petted, but only for a while. Rattigan almost escaped the other night when he leaped out of my hand and tried for the window but other than that, they're great. Especially when they play around at night.
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Sep 11, 2013 08:17
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It's always something with these guys... Now that I've treated the abscess and the diarrhea, one of my guys is scratching and biting himself bloody on his flanks. I can't get to a vet before Tuesday, is there anything at all I can do in the meantime to make him stop?
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Sep 13, 2013 17:37
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Cardiovorax posted:It's always something with these guys... Now that I've treated the abscess and the diarrhea, one of my guys is scratching and biting himself bloody on his flanks. I can't get to a vet before Tuesday, is there anything at all I can do in the meantime to make him stop? It sounds like he's mega itchy. I wonder if an oatmeal bath would help soothe him? Rat experts? Does this sound like an OK idea?
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Sep 13, 2013 18:20
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Cardiovorax posted:It's always something with these guys... Now that I've treated the abscess and the diarrhea, one of my guys is scratching and biting himself bloody on his flanks. I can't get to a vet before Tuesday, is there anything at all I can do in the meantime to make him stop? Sounds like it might be mites. You can treat that in-home, and there's a guide in the OP.
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Sep 13, 2013 18:24
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^^ Yep, ivermectin that bad boy! I've got no idea if an oatmeal bath would help at all, but probably not.
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Sep 13, 2013 23:29
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So it's been awhile since I have posted here but I need some advice. So I have the same two female rats I had when I first posted, and they are 90% of the time totally cool with each other. For awhile now we've been noticing the bigger of the two is picking up bites from the little one. We've never actually seen the more aggressive biting take place, but our assumption at this point is the little one is biting the big because the big one likes to try and steal food right out of the little ones hands. Most of the time they are snuggled into their bed together and get along just fine. The bites do leave scabs so they aren't totally superficial but I just don't know if its bad enough to separate them. Have any of you guys ever had this issue? I just would feel bad splitting them up because otherwise they are attached at the hip.
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Sep 14, 2013 00:14
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Just picked up 3 dudes and grabbed some regal rat until I can mix them up some homemade food. Two of them are 6 weeks old, the third is 7 weeks. Is this to young to be feeding them the regal rat? Will post some pics when I get them to sit still for more than half a second.
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Sep 14, 2013 01:41
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One of my girlfriend's rats holds her tail up like some sort of rat-scorpion whenever she's running around. This mystified me until I realized she's the only one who really likes to run in the wheel, and curves her tail around the wheel behind her as she does. Is that a likely explanation? Anybody else have a rat with this quirk?
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Sep 14, 2013 03:03
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Rollersnake posted:One of my girlfriend's rats holds her tail up like some sort of rat-scorpion whenever she's running around. This mystified me until I realized she's the only one who really likes to run in the wheel, and curves her tail around the wheel behind her as she does. Yup! It's creatively called "wheel tail".
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Sep 14, 2013 03:21
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Haha, that's great. After reading back a ways through this thread, I was slightly worried someone would respond to say it's an early warning sign of cancer, or something. Short-lived/caged pets aren't really for me, but they're cute little buggers. 
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Sep 14, 2013 04:02
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What is the best way to deal with a suspected upper respiratory infection? The vet nearest me knows nothing of rats so taking my rat there wouldn't really accomplish much. It's just very slight snuffling sounds with some occasional sneezing but I'm obviously worried.
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Sep 14, 2013 04:53
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ApexAftermath posted:So it's been awhile since I have posted here but I need some advice. So I have the same two female rats I had when I first posted, and they are 90% of the time totally cool with each other. For awhile now we've been noticing the bigger of the two is picking up bites from the little one. We've never actually seen the more aggressive biting take place, but our assumption at this point is the little one is biting the big because the big one likes to try and steal food right out of the little ones hands. Most of the time they are snuggled into their bed together and get along just fine. The bites do leave scabs so they aren't totally superficial but I just don't know if its bad enough to separate them. Have any of you guys ever had this issue? I just would feel bad splitting them up because otherwise they are attached at the hip. We've had several sets of females that do that same thing, including our current pair (and its the little biting the big too).. We watch them as often as they watch us right in our living room. The biting usually happens after a round of humping and we've seen both sides initiate the initial encounter ;-) Scabs are always a little concerning but its normal behavior IMHO
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Sep 14, 2013 05:38
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ApexAftermath posted:So it's been awhile since I have posted here but I need some advice. So I have the same two female rats I had when I first posted, and they are 90% of the time totally cool with each other. For awhile now we've been noticing the bigger of the two is picking up bites from the little one. We've never actually seen the more aggressive biting take place, but our assumption at this point is the little one is biting the big because the big one likes to try and steal food right out of the little ones hands. Most of the time they are snuggled into their bed together and get along just fine. The bites do leave scabs so they aren't totally superficial but I just don't know if its bad enough to separate them. Have any of you guys ever had this issue? I just would feel bad splitting them up because otherwise they are attached at the hip. Are you sure it's the little one biting the big one causing it? Scabs could also be mites, esp if there's hair loss too. Take a pic? Xeras posted:What is the best way to deal with a suspected upper respiratory infection? The vet nearest me knows nothing of rats so taking my rat there wouldn't really accomplish much. It's just very slight snuffling sounds with some occasional sneezing but I'm obviously worried. Eh, when I've taken my rats in to the vet before they said URIs are mostly characterised by noisy breathing/sneezing & discharge or porphyrin. They didn't give me anything the two times I took a snuffly/sneezy rat in and it went away eventually. I think Baytril is what people use for rat URIs, but it's gotten only from the vet. You can try putting them in steam, like taking them in when you have a long bath or shower. That can help clear stuff up.
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Sep 14, 2013 09:33
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Invalid Octopus posted:Sounds like it might be mites. You can treat that in-home, and there's a guide in the OP.
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Sep 14, 2013 09:59
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Fraction posted:Are you sure it's the little one biting the big one causing it? Scabs could also be mites, esp if there's hair loss too. Take a pic? I've never been witness to a moment when they wrestle and someone gets bit and bloodied, but i have seen them tussle when there are snacks. It's always fatty trying to steal from dinky and fatty getting the what for. I have come upon fresh bites where there is blood, and the hair is there. I haven't seen hair loss yet but I'll try to get a pic. Shes squirmy so it might be a challenge.
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Sep 14, 2013 10:25
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Cardiovorax posted:The problem is that I can't, because that Ivermectin stuff and antibiotics in general are a prescription med here and I can't find anyone to give me a script before then. I can probably get some baby or pet shampoo ad the drugstore, would washing them with that at least help with the itching? You can get mite spray for rodents at most pet shops, that'd help more than shampoo. Can you not order some ivermectin online? ApexAftermath posted:I've never been witness to a moment when they wrestle and someone gets bit and bloodied, but i have seen them tussle when there are snacks. It's always fatty trying to steal from dinky and fatty getting the what for. I have come upon fresh bites where there is blood, and the hair is there. I haven't seen hair loss yet but I'll try to get a pic. Shes squirmy so it might be a challenge. Eh it could just be bites V  V I'd only separate them personally if it seems like fatty is getting scared overall of dinky.
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Sep 14, 2013 11:21
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Fraction posted:You can get mite spray for rodents at most pet shops, that'd help more than shampoo. Can you not order some ivermectin online?
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Sep 14, 2013 11:26
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You can definitely get a mite disc from the pet shop in the meantime. It's intended for birds, but they work for rats, hamsters, etc. just fine.
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Sep 14, 2013 13:09
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No good, you can't get any of that stuff here in Germany except from a pharmacy. Guess the poor guys will have to wait until Monday one way or another.
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Sep 14, 2013 16:28
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Garrus has been picking on the other two a LOT lately, and it's not getting better. Earlier tonight he pinned Joker in the hammock and was biting him through the fabric. He doesn't usually attack Scooter, but he corners him and I can tell Scooter is very upset by it. He never seems to have any positive interactions with either of them. They get along with each other just fine. Would it be a terrible idea to separate him into another cage and just let him live out his days by himself? He's an old man now, and his attitude toward other living things seems to have gotten increasingly bad. I know most rats are miserable alone, but I can't help but wonder if all three of the boys would be happier if I moved him out of the main cage.
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Sep 15, 2013 06:12
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Xeras posted:What is the best way to deal with a suspected upper respiratory infection? The vet nearest me knows nothing of rats so taking my rat there wouldn't really accomplish much. It's just very slight snuffling sounds with some occasional sneezing but I'm obviously worried. You could try warming up some saline nasal spray and adding a couple of droplets onto your rat's nose. You may also want to keep them in a steamy room, so if you happen to have to take a shower while your rat is having his/her little episodes it may help clear out their nose. My rat Ruby has similar URI's in that her lungs sound fine, but made a whistlely-congested sound during breathing. These were some of the suggestions my vet made when I took my rat in with similar type of issues. If it hasn't cleared up within a couple of days I would try to find another vet who does have experience and can determine if they are having a URI, LRI or a bit of both. He/she may need to be on additional medications and they may require an x-ray depending on what they find during the examination. Baika fucked around with this message at 08:45 on Sep 16, 2013 |
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Sep 16, 2013 08:43
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RazorBunny posted:Garrus has been picking on the other two a LOT lately, and it's not getting better. Earlier tonight he pinned Joker in the hammock and was biting him through the fabric. He doesn't usually attack Scooter, but he corners him and I can tell Scooter is very upset by it. He never seems to have any positive interactions with either of them. They get along with each other just fine. I would consider it, it doesn't sound like an acceptable situation. Does he get along with them outside the cage? If so, he could live alone and still get out-time with the others. You can set up a pretty nice old-man rat cage, he'll probably be pretty happy.
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Sep 17, 2013 05:45
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Nope, he doesn't seem to get along with anybody under any circumstances. And as far as humans go I'm the only one who can handle him without him flipping out. I think I'll haul up one of the old smaller cages and move him over.
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Sep 17, 2013 14:18
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RazorBunny posted:Nope, he doesn't seem to get along with anybody under any circumstances. And as far as humans go I'm the only one who can handle him without him flipping out. Aww, poor old man. It sounds like he'll be happier by himself.
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Sep 17, 2013 15:30
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He's always been kind of a grump, and I think being old has just brought out the worst in him. Plus I think he only really ever got along with Mordin, and once Mordin died he was just like "Welp, gently caress this whole planet."
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Sep 17, 2013 15:39
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Ha, I have a grumpy old man rat too. I had him desexed when he was young because he had hormonal aggression problems, he was pretty chill after that. But he's 2.5 years old now and gives no fucks. He punches his brothers in the face for food, will bite you (not hard) if you pet him more than he wants or if he thinks you're gonna take his food(when have I EVER taken away his food?), and chases the cat. Luckily he's still friendly with his cage mates. Its sad when they lose the ones they are close with though. I bet he's feeling it 
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Sep 17, 2013 15:57
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Big Bug Hug posted:... and chases the cat. My rat (8 months) chases my cats too. My two cats are absolutely terrified of her. What she wants, she gets. I think my house has been conquered by a half a pound female rat. O.o
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Sep 18, 2013 02:42
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rattles    
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Sep 20, 2013 14:41
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Well, successfully moved my rats into my new place. One of my rats, Ratigan is super friendly and like to just chill on my shoulder/hood. I just wish his brother Vincent Price wasn't so bitey.
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Sep 22, 2013 20:37
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| # ? May 24, 2024 01:31 |
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Grouchy old man rat has been moved to his own cage. Unfortunately it is the tiny babyrat cage, I can't find my medium-sized cage in the basement. But it's still plenty big for him, since he doesn't move around as much as he used to. He's already demonstrated that he can get to the upper level (I was worried because the ramp isn't very good in the little cage) and seems pretty happy in his new bachelor pad. The other rats don't seem to have noticed he's gone yet, but considering most of the time they're trying to avoid him I imagine they won't mind once they figure it out.
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Sep 23, 2013 02:37
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