|
Cardiovorax posted:You should check if forbidding small pets like rats is even legal where you live. I'm also going to live in a pet-free apartment come December, but forbidding small animals like rabbits, guinea pigs or rats is actually not allowed over here, because there's no reasonable way in which they could damage the apartment or annoy the neighbours. Ha, whoever made this law has never had small animals. All of those listed (plus other small animals) can easily destroy carpets and paneling by peeing, chewing, and in some cases digging/clawing.
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2013 13:40
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 15, 2024 02:35 |
|
|
Hah, anyone that says a bunny can't damage anything in an apartment is welcome to say that to a young Netherland Dwarf and set it loose. It'd probably be easier to list what wasn't destroyed. It's been a long time since I posted anything, but the babies are all grown up and gone to good homes! I kept two girls to go with the mom and her sister and they're just awesome little ratties. It's amazing to see the difference between rats that were handled since a couple days old vs the rescued feeders that Cookie and Ruby were. They're all amazingly sweet but there is a definite difference. Here's a few random pics!  LtR: Cookie, Zazzie, Bats(girlfriend named her Batman hah).  My last boy that I finally found a good home for last week, Zazzo! He's gonna be a stud for a local breeder that's starting back up hand raising for pets. I wish I could have kept him since he was just a giant sweet lump that loved to lay around on me.  Bats kicking Ruby in the face.  Rat totem! May be a repost but I love this one. Does anyone know why the girls would be totally fine in a pen when I'm with them, but start stress pooping like crazy the second I get up and leave. Obviously, they're scared and/or stressed, but why? I can sit with them and play for 5 mins or an hour, doesn't matter, and they don't offer to crap or piss any whatsoever but as soon as I step out of the pen it's like a switch is flipped. They don't even want to play on their playground anymore - they just jump up and try to get out and crap and step in it. I'd like to be able to clean their cage and not have to scrub the floor of the kitchen after I take their pen up. It's not like their are a bunch of scary noises or anything either so I have no idea why they get terrified when I leave for a little. Aleg fucked around with this message at 16:13 on Oct 13, 2013 |
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2013 16:08
|
|
|
LOL at people getting so strung up about how to raise and not raise pet rats. Each rat is their own personaility. One rat may not like something, but others may. My little girl will use anything if it means she can roam freely.
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2013 16:37
|
|
|
Serella posted:Ha, whoever made this law has never had small animals. All of those listed (plus other small animals) can easily destroy carpets and paneling by peeing, chewing, and in some cases digging/clawing. In my previous 2 apartments I had to get some old scrap carpet that was very similar in color and texture and glue it in place where Ruby chewed to bits (because I want to get into the other room drat it!). Luckily it wasn't too big. She also chewed at the wood panels and I had to go buy some wood filler, a bunch of paints to mix up to match up the correct color, and paint over. The worse was when my rats decided it was time to chew off a small portion of the top of 2 corner wood panel pieces within a week of moving and my fiance had a fit when he found out. I was dumb and just let them in the bathroom unsupervised. We fixed it up the best we could and it still looked somewhat off, but we ended up getting our full deposit back.  Small animals can really wreck carpets and wood panels. I can't imagine what kind of damage would have been done if it was a rabbit instead of a rat that did the damage. Now in my new place they hang out on a large covered table next to their cage. I don't want them making holes in my box spring mattress or peeing/pooping on things underneath my bed. They also free range while I take a bath, since I can see them and jump out if they start making chewing sounds.
|
|
#
?
Oct 13, 2013 23:51
|
|
|
Hey rat goons, I just adopted my little sister's two rats today, and I'm really surprised how quickly they took to both myself and my apartment. They're really adventurous and one of the two really likes to try to paw / swipe and nibble at my nose while climbing on me. Is this a normal behavior or something I should try to prevent?
|
|
#
?
Oct 14, 2013 02:20
|
|
|
My husband's tiny birthday rat was introduced to our other girls today. At first, they alternately ignored her and tried to bury her in the bedding. Now, the dumb rat social hierarchy stuff is going on and I know I should just let them sort their poo poo out, but she's so so so tiny and she's taken to climbing the walls of the cage and freezing up. Tell me what I already know, please?
|
|
#
?
Oct 14, 2013 02:28
|
|
|
Another year posted:Hey rat goons, I just adopted my little sister's two rats today, and I'm really surprised how quickly they took to both myself and my apartment. They're really adventurous and one of the two really likes to try to paw / swipe and nibble at my nose while climbing on me. Is this a normal behavior or something I should try to prevent? Only try to stop it if it's annoying. Good luck actually stopping them if it is. Patchouli Patrol posted:My husband's tiny birthday rat was introduced to our other girls today. At first, they alternately ignored her and tried to bury her in the bedding. Now, the dumb rat social hierarchy stuff is going on and I know I should just let them sort their poo poo out, but she's so so so tiny and she's taken to climbing the walls of the cage and freezing up. Tell me what I already know, please? If you're getting upset by rat madness, feel free to put the jerk rats on time out. Yes, rats have to sort out social hierarchies. But it's not as simple as drawing blood, imo, which doesn't agree with the OP. My two male rats did some pretty significant damage to each other as babies (one has a good size hole in his ear, the other got a big ol' cyst on his neck), but it would have been dumb to separate them because they're absolutely crazy about each other, they just were dumb rats and did some some accidental damage. On the other hand, some of my older rats have been absolute pricks to babies and I have zero problem putting them in the spare cage for a while to stop the obnoxious behavior, even if they're not actually doing damage. If you don't have a spare cage to put rude adults in, then don't worry, fighting's not going to permanently damage your rats. Take everything out of the cage, clean it down as much as possible, and try intros in neutral ground if you want.
|
|
#
?
Oct 14, 2013 02:45
|
|
|
Invalid Octopus posted:Only try to stop it if it's annoying. Good luck actually stopping them if it is. Awesome, it's not bad at all. Thanks!
|
|
#
?
Oct 14, 2013 02:47
|
|
|
Invalid Octopus posted:If you're getting upset by rat madness, feel free to put the jerk rats on time out. Yes, rats have to sort out social hierarchies. But it's not as simple as drawing blood, imo, which doesn't agree with the OP. My two male rats did some pretty significant damage to each other as babies (one has a good size hole in his ear, the other got a big ol' cyst on his neck), but it would have been dumb to separate them because they're absolutely crazy about each other, they just were dumb rats and did some some accidental damage. On the other hand, some of my older rats have been absolute pricks to babies and I have zero problem putting them in the spare cage for a while to stop the obnoxious behavior, even if they're not actually doing damage. No blood's been drawn and they haven't been all that rough -- she's just terrified. I think she'll be okay once she figures out how to be a rat. She's currently curled up in the food dish.
|
|
#
?
Oct 14, 2013 03:05
|
|
|
Something that seemed to help Scooter was to have a little hidey-hut that the bigger rats couldn't fit into. He came with one, so I stuck it in the big cage and when he seemed to be getting overwhelmed he would usually run over to that and hide. Eventually he stopped using it and gained a lot of confidence, and then he grew out of it anyway, but for a while I think it helped.
|
|
#
?
Oct 14, 2013 03:26
|
|
|
Had another casualty :| Samwise apparently croaked in his sleep between their last feeding and just now. Got to him before Franklin tried to dispose of the corpse, at least. Down to one now. Looks like they were doing their sleep-in-a-pile thing and Sam never woke up.
|
|
#
?
Oct 14, 2013 07:46
|
|
|
My Wiley and Spartacus both passed on too. They were both 2.5 years old, poor Sparky had to be pts because his heart wasn't working well and he was getting worse. I took him to the vet when he started getting very lethargic and wasn't breathing well. But Wiley just slowly lost the use of his hind legs and got weak, finally passing on peacefully in the cage. I always hope they'll go that way. I HATE having to go to the vet, stress them out with driving and have to say goodbye and wait there in the room. Its so depressing. Finn has always been sickly, and Minty is running around hyper with no one to play with (except Finn when he's feeling well). I'm going to go visit some baby rats tomorrow.
|
|
#
?
Oct 14, 2013 09:33
|
|
|
Oh god, it's that time of year again is it? 
|
|
#
?
Oct 14, 2013 10:20
|
|
|
Haha. I guess so.
|
|
#
?
Oct 14, 2013 15:58
|
|
|
Is there something I can do to help my rats with respiratory problems? I can't get them do the vet before Friday and my white guy is sniffling his nose off.
|
|
#
?
Oct 14, 2013 19:57
|
|
|
Cardiovorax posted:Is there something I can do to help my rats with respiratory problems? I can't get them do the vet before Friday and my white guy is sniffling his nose off. A single chocolate chip can help perk up a sniffly rat. Don't give them too much, though.
|
|
#
?
Oct 14, 2013 21:54
|
|
|
Steam sometimes helps too, take them in the bathroom and run the hot water, or sometimes I cover the cage and put some steaming water in pots under there.
|
|
#
?
Oct 14, 2013 23:02
|
|
|
So after juggling with the idea I've decided to leave my rats with my roommate while I deal with poo poo back at my parent's. Their cage is just not safe for cars and I don't have spare cash to buy a travel cage. I'm going to be gone for like a week so I'm scared that my roommate will forget and I'll come home to two dead rats. Or one half-eaten corpse and a well fed rat.
|
|
#
?
Oct 15, 2013 01:12
|
|
|
I has this ratte He's variegated agouti berkshire, with a little spot on his head. Hopefully I can get him to stand still at some point 'cause he has amazing markings. I got his brother too, a sweet, shy little agouti blazed boy.
|
|
#
?
Oct 15, 2013 06:58
|
|
|
Cardiovorax posted:Is there something I can do to help my rats with respiratory problems? I can't get them do the vet before Friday and my white guy is sniffling his nose off. liquorice root powder. I sprinkle a little on Picas food. She will go a hour of sneezing, and a runny nose than suddenly it stops. He breathing sounds a lot better too and last quit a few hours. No more wheezing while she sleeps.
|
|
#
?
Oct 15, 2013 14:37
|
|
|
Say hi to Ellie, my husband's tiny birthday rat! 
|
|
#
?
Oct 16, 2013 00:02
|
|
|
How often do rats poo/pee on you when you handle them? Does it happen less often the more you handle them?
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2013 21:07
|
|
|
Elderbean posted:How often do rats poo/pee on you when you handle them? Does it happen less often the more you handle them? Yep, my two used to get nervous and poo poo everywhere and now they're about a year old they're much better at waiting till I put them down. There will always be pee though.
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2013 21:52
|
|
|
Elderbean posted:How often do rats poo/pee on you when you handle them? Does it happen less often the more you handle them? Both of my rats stopped fear pooping entirely after about a month of almost daily handling. Peeing is something that differs per rat; one of mine doesn't pee really at all until she gets back to the cage, the other wants to mark everyone.
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2013 22:01
|
|
|
Wow, it's been quite a month. Ruby got stressed out after moving into my new place toward the end of September. She started to lift herself up and squeak loudly trying to breathe to the point where it would wake me up at night. She became lethargic and I had to separate and place her in ICU/travel cage with a fleece hammock, heat pad, humidifier and a blanket to drape the cage over before getting her into the vet. Managed to get her in on time and was placed on a topical form of prednisone and midazolam. Couple of days later she seemed to be recovering. She would walk on her wheel, climb, drink and eat solid foods. Then I went out of town last week visit my brother for 4 days and had her at a pet sitters house in the mean time. She got stressed about that and is now down in the dumps again. Loss a ton of weight (395g-->334g) and got her into the vet again yesterday. We upped her dose on prednisone and added in furosemide. She is showing some improvement by drinking on her own again and wanting to walk around, but I am going to give it a few more days and if her progress improves. The vet said she is not in pain, but is suffering from some discomfort. If she doesn't improve or gets worse within a week's time I'll have her put down. I don't want her to waste away while struggling to breathe. This was her in recovery with her "I'm sick at the vet" picture before going to the pet sitters last week.  7 medications for one rat, 2 of which are every 6 hours.  I am going to be relieved but sad when she dies. She fought this respiratory stuff way better than my previous rats.
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2013 04:16
|
|
|
What is wrong with her? I've never had a respiratory situation that didn't also involve antibiotics and usually nebulization.
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2013 09:29
|
|
|
I figured this was worth the crosspost... my husband and I got rattoos today  http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3519790&pagenumber=123#post420994187
|
|
#
?
Oct 27, 2013 21:37
|
|
|
Patchouli Patrol posted:I figured this was worth the crosspost... my husband and I got rattoos today Those are adorable, and hello fellow torontogoon 
|
|
#
?
Oct 27, 2013 23:46
|
|
|
Invalid Octopus posted:Those are adorable, and hello fellow torontogoon Another Toronto goon here. Won't go off topic. But awesome so many of us have pet rats.
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2013 00:30
|
|
|
Patchouli Patrol posted:I figured this was worth the crosspost... my husband and I got rattoos today They are awesome! If I ever get a tattoo it will probably be a rat.
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2013 03:33
|
|
|
Jin Wicked posted:What is wrong with her? I've never had a respiratory situation that didn't also involve antibiotics and usually nebulization. She has some severe respiratory issues going on. She's been on doxy and baytril for about a year. She gets albuterol + gentocin in a saline mixture for nebulization. She was placed on a topical form of prednisone, oral furosemide to bring down inflammation down in her lungs and midazolam for anxiety (for her respiratory attacks). I have a vet appointment today to put her to sleep since at this point nothing is helping her improve and she is just wasting away. RIP Ruby.
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2013 20:16
|
|
|
Sorry Baika 
|
|
#
?
Oct 28, 2013 23:01
|
|
|
Well, the wheel as arrived. Now how do I get the little bastards to actually use the thing?
|
|
#
?
Oct 29, 2013 17:12
|
|
|
Cardiovorax posted:Well, the wheel as arrived. Now how do I get the little bastards to actually use the thing? You can't, really. Some rats will take to it, some won't. Younger rats run more than older, and females more than males. I'd say in general, about 2/3 of the (primarily female) rats I've had showed interest in it, and about half ran regularly.
|
|
#
?
Oct 29, 2013 17:19
|
|
|
What about chew toys? Because my rats seem to ignore the chew toys and go straight for their house or cage.
|
|
#
?
Oct 31, 2013 05:33
|
|
|
JGBeagle posted:What about chew toys? Because my rats seem to ignore the chew toys and go straight for their house or cage. Oh, sweet summer child. Rats will do what rats will do.
|
|
#
?
Oct 31, 2013 13:50
|
|
|
Typical outcome is as follows. Money spent on rat toys: $gently caress Shits given by rats: 0 I got mine a wheel, an igloo, and one of those hanging sets of wood chew toys. They all ignored the wheel and chew toy, and only one uses the igloo. They LOVE flipping their food bowl, though.
|
|
#
?
Oct 31, 2013 13:54
|
|
|
Javid posted:Typical outcome is as follows. mine seem to love cardboard boxes and wooden clothes pegs
|
|
#
?
Oct 31, 2013 14:03
|
|
|
My rats enjoy those little rubber balls you can fill with treats. I've got to get a new one every few weeks because they love chewing holes into the things.
|
|
#
?
Oct 31, 2013 14:10
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 15, 2024 02:35 |
|
|
Mine go ape for corn cobs and toilet paper/paper towel tubes. As a side note, I can't wait to see what they do when their CritterNation arrives. My money is on "all hang out in the same loving corner".
|
|
#
?
Oct 31, 2013 14:20
|
|