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This is supposedly her first litter.  My vet is right up the street and is fantastic, so I think I'm going to call her up and let her know that we might be having issues around... I'm thinking Saturday July 3rd, that being 3 weeks from last Saturday. That way maybe we can make sure an exotics person is on call that night or something at the emergency place? I don't know but I'll call and ask what we can do. I'm not made of money or anything, so expensive e-spay surgery would really suck. 
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Jun 27, 2010 18:59
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Yeah, 10 months is absolutely horrible for a first litter, geez what an idiot. She COULD do fine but it puts her at such a massive risk for complications. I'm sorry you got stuck with this. Hopefully she'll do alright, but there's no real way of knowing.
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Jun 27, 2010 20:10
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We got our girls and brought them home yesterday! Trudy and Joan - Trudy is the black berkshire (and is supposedly a dumbo, but I can barely tell the difference) and Joan is the cream colored hooded.  It's almost impossible to get good pictures of Trudy because she's constantly moving. She seems to like us a lot already and will climb onto my hand and run a little up my arm before her ratty ADD kicks in and she has to go investigate the cage again. Joan is pretty shy still, though. She'll take food from my hand but is not so fond of being picked up or interacting too much yet. Trudy seems to really like exploring us outside of the cage, but Joan fear poops, so I guess we'll have to work on getting her to like us.  Mostly they spend a lot of time sleeping curled up together on the top shelf. They did start out with an igloo up there, but after they pushed it off and scared the crap out of themselves, I moved it to the bottom. They're not particularly interested in the hammocks yet either. I am glad that they're getting along, though Joan is pretty clearly the head
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Jun 27, 2010 23:05
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CompactFanny posted:This is supposedly her first litter. Is it possible to spay her and give her an abortion? A non emergency spay might be cheaper...
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Jun 27, 2010 23:38
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squidtarts posted:Mostly they spend a lot of time sleeping curled up together on the top shelf. They did start out with an igloo up there, but after they pushed it off and scared the crap out of themselves, I moved it to the bottom. They're not particularly interested in the hammocks yet either. I am glad that they're getting along, though Joan is pretty clearly the head I had a problem with my girls loving their top shelf home but pushing it off all the time. I ended up buying the kind of wooden bird perch that screws onto the bars and using that to make a little barrier to help prevent that.
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Jun 28, 2010 00:08
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Carebear posted:Is it possible to spay her and give her an abortion? A non emergency spay might be cheaper... If you can afford it this is your best option and it's what I'd try to do, but didn't want to say it because it's a rescue and I figured it may be cost prohibitive and blahhh
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Jun 28, 2010 01:51
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Isn't that what an emergency spay is? Spaying an animal that's already pregnant? Or are you saying take her in for an abortion/spay so that it doesn't become an emergency situation?
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Jun 28, 2010 01:55
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RazorBunny posted:Isn't that what an emergency spay is? Spaying an animal that's already pregnant? Or are you saying take her in for an abortion/spay so that it doesn't become an emergency situation? She's worried about the cost of an ER spay if something bad happens (I think, if I read correctly). In my opinion she should just schedule an abortion/spay now while the rat is healthy, because there's less chance of anything happening while under anesthesia compared to dealing with a real emergency/sick rat. I know its a rescue and it would probably be a very sudden loss of money for this, but significantly less if she took a gamble and had to get an ER spay done.
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Jun 28, 2010 02:04
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shadysight posted:I had a problem with my girls loving their top shelf home but pushing it off all the time. I ended up buying the kind of wooden bird perch that screws onto the bars and using that to make a little barrier to help prevent that. Awesome idea, thanks! Definitely something I'm going to try after they took a tumble in a tissue box again today. Took the girls out earlier and Joan, while she doesn't want to crawl all over me like Trudy, is happy with being petted and actually did the brux and boggle combo, which made me feel really good.  I actually do have a question that I haven't seen anywhere - the girls are being litter trained. I did a quick cage tidy today and there were no stray poops, so they caught on extremely fast! However, both of them like taking pieces of the Critter Litter to chew on. I don't think they're actually eating it, but should I be worried?
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Jun 28, 2010 03:42
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I'm going to call and talk to my vet about it and get a quote. It is very cost prohibitive and would have to be next week at the earliest, regardless. I don't have a credit card. 
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Jun 28, 2010 04:42
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I wanted to share our newest addition Princess Peach. She's not entirely new, just our most recent addition. We've had her for about 3 months now, and she's just amazing. Originally we were going to look at the hamsters, but she popped up her cute lil head and she was just too frigging adorable and active to pass up, and I'm glad we didn't. Yes we got her at a pet store (I know, I know, milled pets =\) but I'd prefer to have her then think she was feed to a snake.  She likes to monkey around her setup, its a bar cage with ramps that sits on top of a 20 gallon tank. Starter cages felt too tailored for hamsters and gerbils, so we went with this fairly cost effective option. Aside from just looking so adorable all the time, I'm surprised at how alert they are. She was easy to tame, hangs with us all the time and the cats even like her. They are very intelligent, refreshing after having had hamsters so much of my life. She's a pet i never thought I'd enjoy so much, and she's just awesome. I'll have to get some better pictures of her when she does her most entertaining things. My fave thing is after bath time, how fluffy she gets :3
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Jun 28, 2010 08:44
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squidtarts posted:Awesome idea, thanks! Definitely something I'm going to try after they took a tumble in a tissue box again today. I've found bird stuff in general pretty helpful. It fastens down so I don't have to worry about them tipping over bowls anymore among other things. Plus I do some set ups I couldn't pull off otherwise, like putting treat bowls in extremely inconvenient places. A dollar store box of wooden cloths pins is my other best friend in the never ending struggle between us over whether their cage should be functional or a giant pile of overturned things at the bottom of their cage. They're not terribly effective, but they can help, and I guess they give the girls another (possibly not terribly healthy) thing to chew on. Edit: This might be going overboard, but it just occurred to me that it'd take me about a 1 dollar's worth of bolts and washers and maybe 1 minute of work, and I could have just fastened the tissue box directly to the side of the cage. shadysight fucked around with this message at 10:16 on Jun 28, 2010 |
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Jun 28, 2010 10:11
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Cucarachita posted:I wanted to share our newest addition Princess Peach. Princess Peach is pretty adorable! I know she's glad to be in your house instead of somewhere else. You mentioned she was in a tank with a topper -- this isn't a great idea. Rats have fairly delicate respiratory systems, and aquariums can concentrate ammonia from pee like nobody's business and contribute to ongoing problems. She would also like a friend, as rats are hugely social. 
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Jun 28, 2010 11:49
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Has anyone got any good ways of keeping their rats cool? It's pretty warm over here and the boys seem uncomfortable. They're all sprawled out trying to keep cool.
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Jun 28, 2010 14:39
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Pickle Chops posted:Has anyone got any good ways of keeping their rats cool? It's pretty warm over here and the boys seem uncomfortable. They're all sprawled out trying to keep cool. Get some cold packs (like the kind that go in lunch boxes) freeze them, wrap them in a thin towel, place in cage. Voila!
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Jun 28, 2010 14:45
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Rodent Mortician posted:She would also like a friend, as rats are hugely social. Ya know we asked about that. We were picking up some cat food, and we happened to see another little cutey, she looked like Peaches but with brown instead of the peach splash, and I immediately thought 'that's my Princess Daisy!' but we were afraid since we got her from a different store, that perhaps there would be fighting issues. We asked how good of an idea it was and were told if we give her enough attention and socialize with her she shouldn't need a friend and boy do we ever. She's out with us pretty often, not a day goes by that I don't play with her or let her torment the cats. Side note though, something I have noticed and has worried me a tad about her is a sneezing fix she seems to have acquired upon arrival. At the pet store they had her in what looks to be a papery bedding, and I bought her wood shavings because I find it easy to clean. Could dust from that possibly be causing it?
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Jun 28, 2010 17:15
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Cucarachita posted:Ya know we asked about that. We were picking up some cat food, and we happened to see another little cutey, she looked like Peaches but with brown instead of the peach splash, and I immediately thought 'that's my Princess Daisy!' but we were afraid since we got her from a different store, that perhaps there would be fighting issues. quote:We asked how good of an idea it was and were told if we give her enough attention and socialize with her she shouldn't need a friend and boy do we ever.  quote:Side note though, something I have noticed and has worried me a tad about her is a sneezing fix she seems to have acquired upon arrival. At the pet store they had her in what looks to be a papery bedding, and I bought her wood shavings because I find it easy to clean. Could dust from that possibly be causing it? RMCA posted:Both cedar and pine shavings contain phenols, the oils in the wood that give them their fresh and woodsy smell. Phenols are poisonous, caustic, acidic compounds present in soft woods, and are routinely diluted for use in disinfectants (such as Pine-Sol and Lysol) and cover the smell of animal urine. Because phenols are caustic, they constantly irritate the nasal passages, throat and lungs which gives an easy opening to bacteria. Phenols affect the kidneys and liver, the organs responsible for filtering blood and urine and eliminating toxins from them. Long-term exposure to phenols can cause liver damage and make the animal very sensitive to anesthetics. Exposure to phenols can also depress the immune system, thus causing lowered resistance to diseases such as respiratory infection. Pine and cedar shavings are toxic to small animals and should not ever be used.
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Jun 28, 2010 17:29
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Cucarachita posted:Ya know we asked about that. We were picking up some cat food, and we happened to see another little cutey, she looked like Peaches but with brown instead of the peach splash, and I immediately thought 'that's my Princess Daisy!' but we were afraid since we got her from a different store, that perhaps there would be fighting issues. We asked how good of an idea it was and were told if we give her enough attention and socialize with her she shouldn't need a friend and boy do we ever. She's out with us pretty often, not a day goes by that I don't play with her or let her torment the cats. Unfortunately, pet stores are pretty notorious for knowing absolutely gently caress all about the animals that they sell, especially rodents. People aren't a substitute for a rat companion. My groups literally spend all day with each other. Even when they sleep they're in great big rattie piles. I'd try to find a rescue or a reputable breeder if at all possible to bring home a new rat. You're very likely to bring home sort sort of disease along with your Princess Daisy if you buy her from a pet store.
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Jun 28, 2010 18:25
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That's one of my major concerns. When princess got home she had some eye issues. We've gotten that sorted out so its all right now. As far as bedding goes, they told us they don't sell pine or cedar due to the dustiness of the shavings and the respiratory issues known to lie with them. My guess is this stuff is aspen all it says it wood shavings so that can be who the gently caress knows. I'll look into getting her something different though, because my greatest suspicion was the bedding. I'll definitely look into rescuing a little friend for her first. It breaks my heart to see the little ones at pet shops, because its not fair =\ they are so damned cute, and I hate to think someone with a python is going to take them home. It is what it is though, snakes gotta eat I suppose. Cucarachita fucked around with this message at 01:33 on Jun 30, 2010 |
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Jun 28, 2010 19:09
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daggerdragon posted:We here at PI recommend... That makes us sound so professional.
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Jun 29, 2010 01:18
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I'm adopting two young female rats on Thursday. I set up a huuuuge cage my boss gave me; it has a homemade hammock, a hanging plastic tub, a sturdy plastic tube, a brick, a couple used (cleaned) bird perches, a tissue box, and a big mason jar with some torn up paper towels, plus shredded newspaper for bedding. I haven't had a pet rat since I was a little kid, so I'm wicked excited
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Jun 29, 2010 01:38
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Cucarachita posted:That's one of my major concerns. When princess got home she had some eye issues. We've gotten that sorted out so its all right now. As far as bedding goes, they told us they don't sell pine or cedar due to the dustiness of the shavings and the respiratory issues known to lie with them. My guess is this stuff is aspen all it says it wood shavings so that can be who the gently caress knows. I'll look into getting her something different though, because my greatest suspicion was the bedding. I'm using a litter called Tek-Fresh that I got from a feed shop that seems to be the same stuff as Care-Fresh, though possibly a little cheaper. I'll stick my neck out and say I've tried rescuing rats, and it's not always easy. I don't have a rat rescue that I've found within 100 miles of where I live. After weeks of cruising craigslist I found two that needed a home, but they've been difficult. One never warmed up to me and spent her whole remaining life sitting in a house in the bottom of the cage, and suffering from repeated respiratory infections, and the other, while very, very sweet has teeth that have gradually gotten so bad with age that without monthly teeth trimmings she would die. I'm not trying to say that if you do rescue a rat it will be a problem, just that rescuing one doesn't necessarily mean getting a better one than what you'd get at a pet shop, so you shouldn't feel guilty or whatever if you have trouble finding one that way. My two babies that I got from a local pet shop, where they got stapled into a paper bag by an employee (  ) were two of my best adjusted, healthiest rats.
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Jun 29, 2010 01:55
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Skutter posted:That makes us sound so professional.
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Jun 29, 2010 02:25
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Superconsndar posted:Get some cold packs (like the kind that go in lunch boxes) freeze them, wrap them in a thin towel, place in cage. Voila! Keep an eye on them, though-- it would suck if they chewed through to the chemical goo inside. I use refrigerated ceramic tiles, or you could try refrigerated [clean] rocks, as someone else mentioned. Cucarachita posted:Ya know we asked about that. We were picking up some cat food, and we happened to see another little cutey, she looked like Peaches but with brown instead of the peach splash, and I immediately thought 'that's my Princess Daisy!' but we were afraid since we got her from a different store, that perhaps there would be fighting issues. We asked how good of an idea it was and were told if we give her enough attention and socialize with her she shouldn't need a friend and boy do we ever. She's out with us pretty often, not a day goes by that I don't play with her or let her torment the cats. Recommended reading: The Case Against Single Rats Why Rats Need Company Introducing new rats, Version One, Version Two, Version Three Indigestable posted:shredded newspaper for bedding Skutter/Carebear posted:If you are using newspaper in the cage, make sure it is printed with non-toxic soy or vegetable ink.
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Jun 29, 2010 09:16
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shadysight posted:rescuing rats It's probably one of the hardest things I've done in life, but its the only way i get rats now. Their temperament is usually awful towards humans, but rats are smart. As long as you are always patient with them, never shout or get angry with them they will change. It's god drat hard when all they want to do is kick, bite, scratch and get away from you any chance they get. I got two males recently, Booger and Casper. Booger was the most abysmal rat on earth and it never changed till he died. We tried to handle him as much as we could when we let him out of the cage but it was no use, he would attack you the instant you open the door. I dont mind getting hurt but he was trying to kill Casper any chance he got. Washing and reintroducing them made no effect he hated everyone and everything. I was the only person willing to even try to handle him. It got me bitten and scratched up every single time. I kept my fingers away from his mouth but he would scratch and try to jump out. I stuffed him in my shirt, he wasnt as bad in there. When he escaped into my room it would take days to find him. You just had to wait till he went back into his cage for food and water then try to shut the door before he got out. Whenever he found Casper you'd hear the screaming and fighting through the floorboards downstairs. Casper would spend most of his time hiding in my lap or my pillow if i was trying to sleep. The last time he was loose in the room i saw him walking on the table and crept up to grab him. He saw me and i lept over to grab him, but when i got there he hadnt moved at all. I knew something was wrong straight away, so i carefully picked him up. I could feel his heart thumping so hard through his tiny rib cage. I rang my Vet he said try to give him some metacam hes having a heart attack and bring him in ASAP. I put a drop in his mouth and he swallowed it down. He was mostly limp, but juddering every few seconds like a siezure. Last thing he tried to do was run while i was holding him, flopping his legs. Ive never seen anything like it. Anyway after a minute of this he was gone. I never realised how soft he was, he was always tensed like a rock when i was holding him. Thats when i noticed a huge lump deep inside his belly. He had cancer and i had no idea. I still feel horrible for not knowing. It probably explains his behaviour from the start too. Its very rare for male rats to get cancer. Amiss posted:Recommended reading: Booger is a good example of rats that need to be alone. His abusiveness has even affected Casper very badly. Ive carefully tried introducing Casper to other rats but he just screams and runs away. I washed him and put him with a friends baby rats. he just kept screaming and running away. I cant tell you how utterly hilarious it is watching a grown rat run in terror from 5 tiny popcorning baby rats attacking him with kisses. I watched and lolled for a bit till Casper grabbed one of the babies by the neck and threw him back. I've kept rats for years, i know they need other rats to be healthy but some rats are traumatized or violent and cant be around other rats, or anything else. Its rare but it does happen. Rats are so varied, individual and intelligent theres always gonna be exceptions to every rat rule. Also Casper likes to play peekaboo. In the morning whem im getting dressed for work he jumps on my bed and wants to play. When im ready to leave he darts to my foot and tags me, then shoots off and hides. I carefully look around the room to see where his head is sticking out of. When i spot him he "EEP!"s then hides again. If i try to leave he runs up and tags me again or chases me out of the room. I put him in the highest furthest spot in my room then try to run out the door as fast as i can before he catches me. I can hear him scratching on the door as im leaving. I wish i could play with him all day.
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Jun 29, 2010 13:54
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Amiss posted:[newspaper thing] Luckily the free local newspaper is soy-based ink on recycled paper, so I have an essentially unlimited supply of free, safe bedding.
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Jun 29, 2010 19:06
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Slidje posted:More rescuing rats. Good stories. You're a better person than I am if that's the sort of cases you take in. I wouldn't want to dissuade anyone of rescuing rats period, since there's a real reward to helping someone who really needs it and some animals really seem all the more chipper for being a better situation. It can be hard though, which is why I felt the need to bring it up with a first time owner.
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Jun 29, 2010 22:02
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shadysight posted:Good stories. You're a better person than I am if that's the sort of cases you take in. It's also a good sight easier if you've got a good small animal rescue near you. Our rescue has a range of rats all the way from grouchy old intact males known to nip all the way down to young rats, freshly spayed and neutered, who were born in the rescue and handled daily. But we're also very up front with adopters about that and typically flat out deny people with no rat experience that think they're the rat whisperer and want the biters anyway. Rodent Mortician fucked around with this message at 22:32 on Jun 29, 2010 |
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Jun 29, 2010 22:28
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Alright, Princess Peach got a bedding overhaul. We got her the store brand paper bedding since it was fairly cheaper then the brand name colored stuff. I'm not big on colors anyways, although I may spruce it up with some at some point. I was hesitant about newspaper, I've heard the inks can be toxic, but I'm sure with as eco-friendly everything has gotten as of late it would be no issue. Also on the lookout for our Princess Daisy! I'm about to cruise through Craigslist see if anything shows up (and have to sift through the animals I may want to bring home =\) Any ideas on reputable places to check out? For reference we live in Colorado. I'm not familiar with websites that would cater to this sort of thing, I doubt Petfinder would have too much about rats.  Oh yes I do believe she needs a buddy =D. Edit: We seem to have found a breeder in our city and we are setting up an appointment to meet her rats. Cucarachita fucked around with this message at 01:16 on Jun 30, 2010 |
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Jun 30, 2010 00:47
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Slidje posted:Also Casper likes to play peekaboo. You have to get a video of this.
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Jun 30, 2010 01:47
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lucy's back is covered in like a rash or a bunch of scabs or something :[ she has been scratching a lot. :[ i guess im gonna go get that stuff for mites @ the petstore tomorrow. the other girls are totally fine so i dunnooo
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Jun 30, 2010 02:38
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Cucarachita posted:I doubt Petfinder would have too much about rats. I actually found two apparently fairly decent rat rescue organizations this way. They're just 120 miles away from where I live 
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Jun 30, 2010 02:43
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all 4 of my rats i got off petfinder (2 diffy shelters/fosters) but then again i live in a major city :] http://www.petfinder.com/pet-search?animal_type=Small&pet_breed=rat&location=philadelphia,+pa&startsearch=Search ^ i want to adopt all of them eig fucked around with this message at 03:15 on Jun 30, 2010 |
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Jun 30, 2010 03:10
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I've never seen rats anywhere NEAR me on Petfinder. Ever. I don't even think the HS here will take them.
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Jun 30, 2010 03:13
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Cucarachita posted:
This is what my third rat looks like! I mean, exactly. I don't have access to a camera right now, but once I do, I'll take a pic of her.
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Jun 30, 2010 03:19
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ballgameover.mp3 posted:This is what my third rat looks like! I mean, exactly. I don't have access to a camera right now, but once I do, I'll take a pic of her. Yeah beige hoodeds are p common
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Jun 30, 2010 03:21
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I was not aware of that. She was the first rat I had that was not a PEW.
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Jun 30, 2010 03:32
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Here in Australia rats are just starting to gain popularity as pets Its still hard to find good food, medicines and vets that know what they're doing with them (at least where I live) but I get by. I had two young rescue rats and decided to add a baby before they got older (in the hope that it would be easier to introduce them) I picked out the most adorable little guy who was so calm sitting in my hand. Turns out he is deaf - I first suspected this when he wouldn't wake up - I poked him and he jumped a mile and uttered a huge EEP My two older guys are so sweet and accepted him right away.Its amazing the difference in their personalities! My biggest guy Dexter is a sook and loves cuddles and his brother Jack is very excitable and gets really happy and bouncy especially when I come home or someone opens the fridge! Basil the little deaf dude(lovingly nicknamed "Special Ed" for a while) rarely vocalises and ended up being a pretty small guy, but retained his chill attitude and love of exploring. I have taken the little one twice to my daughter's class to meet the kids for show-and-tell. He doesn't mind traveling at all and likes to sniff a variety of new people. Most of them have never seen a rat but he is always a huge hit, and gets big laughs when he climbs down my shirt and pops his head back up. Isn't it funny that kids are never scared of rats and always think they're adorable - but so many adults won't even think about touching one (EWWW!)?
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Jun 30, 2010 03:41
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Back when I was a teenager a friend of mine had a BIG rat I mean BIG. This baby could lay cuddled on my arm and his head would rest on my palm and he was as long as my forearm AT LEAST not counting his tail, I'm gonna say he weighed 3 maybe 4 pounds, he was WAY bigger than any rat I've -ever- seen, his body was the size of a football maybe even bigger. She called him a Belgian wharf rat, but all I know is he was at least twice as big as any rat I've ever seen and I see a lot of rats. Any ideas? Just a "healthy boy"? or is there some other type of rats out there you just never see? Her dad worked for a shady portion of the government and always was off in strange countries doing things he couldn't talk about and he brought this back after an assignment, not sure where.
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Jun 30, 2010 03:56
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Thats funny. What color was it? Maybe it had been bred from wild rats (sometimes called Wharf rats?) Giant rats would be pretty cool >.>
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Jun 30, 2010 04:23
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