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Dawwwww! Scruffy fluffy orange rat baby. I think they call that silverfawn? (I'm probably wrong)
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Mar 19, 2015 04:16
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Yes! He is a silver fawn! We call it orange creamsicle, though 
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Mar 19, 2015 04:27
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So fuzzy. :3 I've never seen a rat this fuzzy before.
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Mar 19, 2015 13:40
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Falstaff posted:So, I'm hearing that the rat has been rescued, and is now in the possession of veterinarians. It is easy to assume that, but as someone that plays paintball I can tell you it doesn't take much to arm a gun and last I've seen guns with enough PSI put dents and all in stainless steel and I've seen someone actually kill a comparable creature with one. Can you post a link about the rescue, my google-fu isn't finding anything that says the rat is okay or that it was never in danger.
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Mar 19, 2015 19:16
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Mr.Drf posted:It is easy to assume that, but as someone that plays paintball I can tell you it doesn't take much to arm a gun and last I've seen guns with enough PSI put dents and all in stainless steel and I've seen someone actually kill a comparable creature with one. Can you post a link about the rescue, my google-fu isn't finding anything that says the rat is okay or that it was never in danger. It's in German, but this article says that the experiment has been ended and that he was only trying to get attention. The paintball gun (which he acknowledges could kill a small animal) wasn't loaded, although the current status of the rat isn't mentioned. http://www.sueddeutsche.de/kultur/umstrittenes-experiment-beendet-ich-lasse-doch-keine-ratte-abknallen-1.2399180
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Mar 19, 2015 22:10
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Sorry, can't give a link that isn't in German. My understanding is that a U.S. based rat-lovers group got in touch with PETA's German wing, which in turn got in touch with the authorities and things snowballed from there. I don't read German, so I'm operating under the assumption that the amateur translation that I saw of this page is accurate. It says that a veterinarian examined the rat and found it to be in decent health, and that the rat is currently safe. Beyond that I can't really say, I'm just glad that this story seems to have a happy ending.
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Mar 20, 2015 03:30
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Leonard's so orange now that he's molting into his grownup coat! Can't wait for it to get all weird and harley long  
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Mar 20, 2015 22:38
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Falstaff posted:Sorry, can't give a link that isn't in German. My understanding is that a U.S. based rat-lovers group got in touch with PETA's German wing, which in turn got in touch with the authorities and things snowballed from there. Duckbill posted:It's in German, but this article says that the experiment has been ended and that he was only trying to get attention. The paintball gun (which he acknowledges could kill a small animal) wasn't loaded, although the current status of the rat isn't mentioned. It's cool. My browser translated duckbills article pretty well. Glad to see it was a farce. I love rats and the thought just made me sick. Speaking of sick, does anyone have any good remedies for constipation in older rats? So far I have found webpages talking about high fiber foods, extra liquids, organic pumpkin with raw honey and a few other things, just wanted to check in and see if you guys had any advice.
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Mar 22, 2015 19:37
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I'd try the pumpkin thing, since I've not met a rat who doesn't love pumpkin baby food.
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Mar 22, 2015 23:50
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Patchouli Patrol posted:Leonard's so orange now that he's molting into his grownup coat! Can't wait for it to get all weird and harley long That coloring is just gorgeous. I can never find rats like that near me. In other news, I uh bought another rat. Pictures to come eventually but he's a light silvery hooded with a back spot. edit: my sincerest condolences, Fraction. They were beautiful girls and I'm sure they had a good life with you. dovetaile fucked around with this message at 03:31 on Mar 26, 2015 |
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Mar 22, 2015 23:59
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Chell died this morning, and I had Moxxi pts at the vets shortly after. Rest in peace, girls. You were good rats. 
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Mar 24, 2015 10:29
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 It's awful losing them so close together. Sorry, Fraction.
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Mar 24, 2015 10:50
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My condolences. Rat life spans are awful.
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Mar 24, 2015 14:53
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They actually did pretty well for random pet shop rats - Chell was abt 2yr8mo and Moxxi abt 2yr7mo. Moxxi probably could have lasted another few weeks or month(s) but I just had the two of them, she's old anyway and I didn't want her to be lonely but don't want to be trapped in an endless cycle of rats
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Mar 24, 2015 15:09
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I'm so sorry to hear this. We had three deaths very close to each other about a month ago. Amelia and Hannah had to be put to sleep at the same time and then Faye went a week and a half later. Rats
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Mar 25, 2015 04:08
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It was World Rat Day today. To celebrate, I shared my dinner with the girls.  Damo did most of the sharing. Myia was all antisocial and spent most of her play time hiding in the recliner. I made sure she got some chicken, though.
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Apr 5, 2015 01:54
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Sooo, how many rats is too many? I started with two, then got another, and now a classmate has a litter that I could take one or two more from. I've got a really big cage, but wonder about future health issue care, Right Now cage care... But also, I want them.
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Apr 7, 2015 22:00
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Parrotstalking posted:Sooo, how many rats is too many? Just make sure the cage is big enough for a comfy living of all your rats. As long as you have the will and time to take care of them all I don't see any issues.
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Apr 7, 2015 22:16
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 I find my self in the wonderfully unfortunate situation of having the 2 boys with white on them there developing issues at roughly the same time, one a cancerous growth and the other odd respiratory noises.
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Apr 7, 2015 22:49
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Parrotstalking posted:Sooo, how many rats is too many? I'd find out how much a humane euthanasia will run you at a vet and budget one for each rat. Then, consider the most common issues for rats: tumours (mammary and pituitary especially) and respiratory issues, and ask yourself what treatment plan you'd want (i.e. tumour removal or euthanasia or just wait and see?). If you have a rough idea of what vets cost in your area (highly variable) and have a plan for when medical issues arise, you should be able to figure out how many rats you can afford. DerVerrater posted:
Respiratory issues are hugely common in rats and URIs can be treated easily with antibiotics.
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Apr 7, 2015 23:37
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Quick question about the number of rats you're supposed to get: I hear often that a pair is best, but I also heard that having three can be beneficial. For me, space is not an issue and I could honestly get a cage the size of a sedan at this point, but I'm just wondering what you guys think. I've never owned rats before so my only experience is hanging out with a coworkers rat, and even with the boggling (SO CREEPY) I'm still pretty committed to getting rats. The plan was to get two to three does, but I think I'm going to be waiting a while because ideally, I'd like to have them fixed. Actually, on that note, boggling isn't uncomfortable, is it? The rat I was... friends with or whatever, he'd boggle whenever you were drinking coffee (no idea why) and while being spoken to. It scared me because it looked like his eyes were going to pop out of his head.
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Apr 8, 2015 17:38
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Boggling is relatively rare, a lot of rats never do it at all. Despite being nearly 3 and slowly being eclipsed by her own massive tumour, Chimay merrily bruxes literally any time anyone talks to or touches her, but I don't think I've ever seen her boggle. 3 rats is fine and pretty beneficial - in my experience, again, my other rat died at a year and a bit, so Chimay's been alone for over half her life at this point. We didn't expect her to live this long at all and she's obviously been absolutely fine, but some wouldn't be, and having three means that, if one dies, you aren't faced with the tough decision of whether to introduce new rats (which can be hard) or gambling on the remaining one being fine on her own. Handling three at once might be tough for a new owner, though, I know I had my hands full with two hyperactive girls a lot of the time. Lunchmeat Larry fucked around with this message at 17:48 on Apr 8, 2015 |
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Apr 8, 2015 17:45
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Lunchmeat Larry posted:Boggling is relatively rare, a lot of rats never do it at all. Despite being nearly 3 and slowly being eclipsed by her own massive tumour, Chimay merrily bruxes literally any time anyone talks to or touches her, but I don't think I've ever seen her boggle. 1) Thank God! I mean, obviously I won't be upset if they're bogglers, it just gives me the willies a bit. 2) Good point. I think in that case, I might lean towards two. I don't want one of them to be alone, but I also don't want to prevent them from getting proper care because I elected for a small village of them.
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Apr 8, 2015 18:06
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Boggling is freaky but I find it adorable, especially since I know it means they are super happy It's so cute when they do it while you're scritching their head.
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Apr 9, 2015 04:19
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Big Bug Hug posted:Boggling is freaky but I find it adorable, especially since I know it means they are super happy Yeah, it's hard to get upset when I know it's because they're thrilled. I just looked up spaying costs for rats in my city. Some people have been quoted upwards to $300. This is not a typo. I'm not surprised because when I'd called to get a quote for my last cat, I was quoted at $650 (and that was before they found out she had mild dwarfism and a respiratory problem). I was expecting $100 for each doe, not $300, and I'm not interested in only having one. I'm going to call around, but I suspect rat ownership may not be a dream that will be realised for me.
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Apr 9, 2015 05:19
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cash crab posted:Yeah, it's hard to get upset when I know it's because they're thrilled. Sounds about right for where I live, at least. Why can't you just keep two unspayed females?
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Apr 9, 2015 05:24
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Invalid Octopus posted:Sounds about right for where I live, at least. Why can't you just keep two unspayed females? The prospect of them getting mammary tumors is a deterrent. It seems like it would be more expensive to have the tumors dealt with after the fact. Also, I just found out they can get very agitated over the scent of ferrets, and there is definitely a fert in the house. >
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Apr 9, 2015 05:56
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Just get some males and learn to deal with their gigantic balls.
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Apr 9, 2015 07:25
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Jasper, one of my last two rats just passed. He was fine until today and suddenly went lethargic. After a while I took him out of the cage and sat with him in my bed, he licked some yoghurt then just kinda went to sleep and stopped responding to anything much. I called the vet and took him in and his heart was very weak, he wasn't even really "there" anymore. So they put him to sleep. It was the most peaceful way I've ever seen a rat go, and it was just like him. He was the most quiet easygoing rat ever and never had so much as a sniffle up til the end. I'm glad he didn't have a slow decline and glad he was with me and I didn't just find him in the cage. I'm just sorry for his brother, my one remaining rat. I promised myself these were my last two as we've had rats for a long time and I can't handle the short lifespan anymore. Plus, I'm popping out a baby in less than a week so lots of changes. So has anyone here kept a solitary rat, and what did you do to make him happy? He's between 1.5 and 2 years old, desexed, and only really ever got along with Jasper, because Jasper was sweet to everyone.
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Apr 9, 2015 07:57
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I've had solitary rats before, which works if it's the right kind of rat - the sort that just doesn't like other rats. If you're sure that's the case, then it should be fine as long as you (or someone) can continue giving him lots of attention. I'm sorry that you've lost Jasper, but at least he went peacefully.
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Apr 9, 2015 16:10
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I don't know if its so much not liking other rats, but he has never really gotten along with them. He acts like a total ADHD kid and it was always too much for anyone to tolerate other than Jasper. It's why I had him desexed, but it didn't really calm him down. He is very sweet to people, but a weirdo with rats. Hopefully he will adjust. I put extra warm bedding in the cage and I'll give him extra love. Big Bug Hug fucked around with this message at 18:03 on Apr 9, 2015 |
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Apr 9, 2015 18:01
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Hitlers Gay Secret posted:Just get some males and learn to deal with their gigantic balls. I don't really care too much about the monster balls. I've just heard males are more challenging, and I'm a beginner. What do you think?
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Apr 10, 2015 01:18
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cash crab posted:I don't really care too much about the monster balls. I've just heard males are more challenging, and I'm a beginner. What do you think? Males are easier. They're lazy.
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Apr 10, 2015 01:28
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Male rats are the best. Big snuggly lazy things.
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Apr 10, 2015 01:32
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Invalid Octopus posted:Males are easier. They're lazy. Big Bug Hug posted:Male rats are the best. Big snuggly lazy things. Good to know! Does anyone know if they'd be okay with the smell of ferrets in the house? There's a female ferret one room over. She's not very smelly, in my opinion, but obviously rats would be able to smell her better.
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Apr 10, 2015 02:18
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Good question. A lot of people say they get stressed by cats being around, but mine never cared. Ferrets may be a different matter. Is there a ferret thread?
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Apr 10, 2015 02:36
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Big Bug Hug posted:Good question. A lot of people say they get stressed by cats being around, but mine never cared. Ferrets may be a different matter. Is there a ferret thread? Yeah, and someone said rats get a little fucky around ferrets, but I assumed the same thing about cats and that apparently isn't the case with a lot of people. I'm just worried about not taking that warning seriously. PS: There is six 3 month old boys at the SPCA. I mean, obviously, I'd only take a pair, but still! BABIEEES
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Apr 10, 2015 02:53
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cash crab posted:Yeah, and someone said rats get a little fucky around ferrets, but I assumed the same thing about cats and that apparently isn't the case with a lot of people. I'm just worried about not taking that warning seriously. Omg just get the lil baby boy rats already.
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Apr 10, 2015 02:53
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Get them all, I had 12 rats all at once and it was great
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Apr 10, 2015 02:58
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I am guessing they'd be fine as long as they are never forced to be in close proximity to the ferrets. I think if you get them as babies they adjust pretty well to anything. Maybe you can move them further apart? The ferret will want to eat your rats though, so be careful it can't get to their cage. I know how crafty those tube snakes are.
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Apr 10, 2015 04:07
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