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quote:Are they going to kill each other overnight tonight? Will they eventually get along? Should we rush out and buy a crappy small cage just so we can quarantine them for a while? Right now Trudy and Joan are sleeping on the top floor and Wrinkles is exploring the bottom, but I just don't know what kind of trouble they'll get into when the lights go out.
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Aug 3, 2010 09:50
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Boco_T posted:hairless rat. Theres been a change in pecking order so all the rats will fight till they establish a dominant rat. Your gonna need to wash them all and scent them with something powerful so they all smell the same at first. You should always bathe new rats with your existing rats once you are sure they don't have any transmittable diseases. If you wash them the fighting will continue but it wont be fights to the death. Keep an eye on them. For my rats the fighting usually dies down after a few weeks. Separate cages are not a long term solution because you'll have to keep them separated forever. RatMachine posted:What is the best treatment for mites? Ivermectin. If you can get something called Xenex Ultra Spoton, thats what i use. With Xenex you gotta weigh them and be exact in how many drops you drip on them per 100 grams body weight. If you use too much it causes muscle spasms, then you gotta give them tranquilizers till the spasms stop.
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Aug 3, 2010 13:53
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Slidje posted:If you wash them the fighting will continue but it wont be fights to the death. I haven't found this to be true, always. Bathing together generally helps introductions, but some rats just don't like each other. Slidje posted:Ivermectin. If you can get something called Xenex Ultra Spoton, thats what i use. With Xenex you gotta weigh them and be exact in how many drops you drip on them per 100 grams body weight. Ivermectin is right, but Xenex Ultra Spot-On appears to be permethrin which is also poo poo for dogs and cats. It's the active ingredient in the Hartz chemicals that have killed so many animals. Having a picture of a small animal on it does not mean that it is ok for small animals.
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Aug 3, 2010 16:58
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I think our old rats were just grumpy about the introduction of a new one - they're being fine and affectionate today, and there haven't been any tussles other than occasional squeaks at each other - no one has any bites or scratches. There weren't really any problems at all until we let the new lady explore the cage, so we'll just be keeping them separate with some play time together for a while.
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Aug 3, 2010 17:24
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Rodent Mortician posted:Welp I didn't know any of that. I've only had a problem with it once when i used too much. My rat was pancaked, shivering so i had him doped up till the next day and he was fine after that.
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Aug 3, 2010 17:56
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My exotics vet put together small flat-tip syringes with the correct dosage of ivermectin for each of my boys to be put on the back of the neck, very cheaply. It might be worth it if you're not experienced with measuring medications to call an exotics vet and see if they would do this for you without the cost of a full exam. Sometimes the vets can be astonishingly flexible with that kind of thing.
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Aug 3, 2010 22:22
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What I did is go to the local tractor supply and buy a tube of Ivermectin for horses (1.87%) and squirt the whole tube into an old (washed) medicine bottle. I kept it sealed. Every week I gave each rat a treat dipped in it, with the "blob" of ivermectin roughly the size and shape of an uncooked grain of rice for the boys (over 1 pound) and a half-grain of rice for the girls (under 1 pound). Blammo, mites gone. The horse paste is like $3.
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Aug 4, 2010 00:02
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Has anyone had to make a makeshift cage on short notice? I can't find anyone to take care of my boys while I'm gone so I might have to bring them with me. I have a small pet taxi to travel with them, but it's waaaaay too small to keep them in for more than just the car trip. I can't bring my normal cage because the drat thing is so big. On another note, who else has problems with their rats pushing things off upper shelves? I feel like mine are super bare, but anytime I put something up there they shove it off almost right away. I'm afraid they're going to squish each other or get hurt falling with something.
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Aug 4, 2010 07:19
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Explosions! posted:Has anyone had to make a makeshift cage on short notice? I can't find anyone to take care of my boys while I'm gone so I might have to bring them with me. I have a small pet taxi to travel with them, but it's waaaaay too small to keep them in for more than just the car trip. I can't bring my normal cage because the drat thing is so big. When I traveled cross-country (Ohio --> Oregon) with my rat Loot, I didn't have a smaller travel cage, so I had him in a cardboard office box, the kind with a detachable lid and holes to use as handles on the side. I decorated it like a cage with bedding and toys and munchables, and he was super happy with it. While driving, I'd shift the lid off to the side a bit to get him some more air; he had no interest in jumping up and making trouble, and he mostly just slept all day. He nibbled around the hand-holds a bit, so if you DO use cardboard, keep a constant eye out for holes. Also, the move only took 3.5 days; any longer than that, and the cardboard under the bedding might not have been so... fresh. I had put in enough bedding to completely pad the bottom, but still, y'know, rat pee. Since it was summer when I moved, I couldn't leave him in a hot car when making pit stops, so I'd tuck him in a single-rat carrier, pop that in a tote bag, and go eat lunch with no one being the wiser. He also stayed in non-pet hotels; I just had to cover the hand-holds of his box when bringing him in, because when stuff started moving, he'd poke his nose out and give away his position. I had zero problems with this admittedly non-ideal set-up, and Loot handled the move like a champ. Edit: I'm not sure I would recommend a cardboard box for what you need, though, unless you're sure to add more breathing holes and weigh down the top when you're not in the room. Even then, if your rats are chewers, this won't work for you AT ALL, and you'll have curious free-range rats waking you up nibbling at you in the middle of the night. I got lucky in that Loot was a lazy slob and didn't care for chewing very much.  And yes, mine shove EVERYTHING off the shelves too. My only solution has been to keep anything that might hurt them on the ground floor; only lightweight toys go on the higher floors, stuff like toilet paper tubes packed with paper-towel-wrapped treats, edges folded in. Something like an egg carton stuffed with Cheerios, though, is fine for my second floor, because the ramp tends to keep such a large item from pitching over entirely. They've bonked themselves on the head dozens of times with various toys, though, and it doesn't seem to bother them none. 
Amiss fucked around with this message at 22:21 on Aug 4, 2010 |
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Aug 4, 2010 22:18
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Yeah our shove stuff off the top too, and generally off the middle if they can. We tie tissue boxes up top with zip ties. I tried to get a bird perch to hold in stuff, but it was only compatible with vertical cages not criss-crossed ones (jump) so I couldn't get it to attach in the cage. Wrinkles has been living on top of the table with boxes and toys and stuff until we can get them used to each other. Last night we let her roam around the cage by herself with the other two out and she took all the paper in the cage and dragged it into the empty tissue box on the top floor to go to sleep in. Then when we took her out and put the other rats back in, they immediately pulled all of the paper out of the box and re-made their normal bed on the top floor. I don't know why, but our two old rats like to sleep exposed on the top floor. They've never particularly used any of the cardboard boxes or tissue boxes or the igloo in the cage as a hiding spot for sleeping. Only Trudy even ever will go in the hammock to take a nap, and that started because we put her in a few times when she was already sleeping. Boco_T fucked around with this message at 22:33 on Aug 4, 2010 |
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Aug 4, 2010 22:28
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One in particular of my boys rearranges everything in the cage including putting everything in the hammock and shoving things off shelves. They will occasionally curl up exposed on the top or even the bottom if the house is warm. Usually though especially in winter they are in the hammock in a big sleepy rat pile. Maybe its warm in your house 
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Aug 5, 2010 05:26
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Currently trying to shop for a rat cage for two rats and I keep finding ones with wire or (what I assume is) pine shelves. Pine's obviously out of the question but are wire shelves also a no-go in case of bumblefoot? I really can't seem to find affordable cages with shelves that aren't wire. I'm in the UK so any US site recommendations are no good I'm afraid.  Also I'm wondering if cages should be bought new. I've seen some second-hand cages but I'm curious if those would smell of the previous rat inhabitants even after careful cleaning and if that might worry my future rats. Rats rats rats!
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Aug 5, 2010 22:45
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Bumblefoot is caused by dirty cages, not wires. Wires are just uncomfortable, but if you cover them, you're fine
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Aug 5, 2010 23:08
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I don't think a second hand cage would be a problem if you clean it well.
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Aug 7, 2010 04:13
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Thanks for the answers about bumblefoot/second-hand cage. I've bought a second-hand savic freddy 2 which looks awesome and seems a good size for a pair of rats. The seller is an avid rat owner herself and said she has given it a good clean already, but I'll clean it again when it arrives just to be on the safe side. Talking to a couple breeders and one has two litters of roan dumbos:  Click here for the full 800x812 image. Gawwwd I can't wait, look at them
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Aug 8, 2010 03:12
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dog days are over posted:Thanks for the answers about bumblefoot/second-hand cage. I've bought a second-hand savic freddy 2 which looks awesome and seems a good size for a pair of rats. The seller is an avid rat owner herself and said she has given it a good clean already, but I'll clean it again when it arrives just to be on the safe side. I just want to mush my face into bowl of ratty 
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Aug 8, 2010 03:38
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dog days are over posted:
Hope they've got mega-colon free lines, those dominant blazes are horrifying.
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Aug 8, 2010 04:19
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I just got my boys on Friday. They are exactly 4 weeks old today. We have a pet shop in town that has their own rat-breeder. I am overjoyed at my adorable little guys. Have some pictures: Click here for the full 768x576 image. The darker one is Gizmo, and the lighter one is Spigot.  Click here for the full 768x576 image.  Click here for the full 768x576 image. Gizmo cleanin' his face.  Click here for the full 768x576 image.  Click here for the full 768x576 image.
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Aug 8, 2010 06:14
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Superconsndar posted:Hope they've got mega-colon free lines, those dominant blazes are horrifying. What do you mean?
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Aug 8, 2010 19:15
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dog days are over posted:What do you mean? Dominant blazing (which those roan babies have) is genetically linked to megacolon which is fatal. Affected rats will develop early onset around weaning, and late onset as late as 6 months-1 year of age. Because of this certain high-white markings are very risky to work with as there are only a handful of lines that are megacolon free (and even then it's just a matter of it not showing up yet.) Now, there are a couple of different genes that cause roaning in rats- the UK gene does not seem to carry the risk of megacolon, but most American roans come from piebald high-white genes, which DO cause mega-colon. If she's working with UK roans they're probably fine, but most American breeders promptly cross UK roans with American roans and other at-risk high whites the second they import them, thus undoing the whole "not at risk" thing.  (I am desperately trying to force myself not to go into another rant over breeding for color aaa  )Basically, just ask her about occurrences of mega colon in her high-white lines. If she sperges at you about it, cool. If she doesn't know what you're talking about, run.
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Aug 8, 2010 19:30
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Thanks for the info! From what I can see she works only with UK rats, but I've emailed her to ask all the same.
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Aug 8, 2010 19:46
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Well I woke up this morning and one of my rats, Bernard, was dead. He was sick and on antibiotics from the vet but he wasn't getting any better so I was planning on taking him back. I only slept for like 2 hours last night and he was with me before I went to bed. I'm glad I got to spent time with him last night but I sure do feel awful right now. 
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Aug 8, 2010 20:13
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AngryGuy posted:I'm glad I got to spent time with him last night but I sure do feel awful right now. I'm sorry for your loss.  He was a real cutie. How old was he?
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Aug 9, 2010 02:21
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Sorry I dread the day I have to deal with that. It's going to suck. But he looks like a very spoiled and happy rattie.
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Aug 9, 2010 09:53
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I found someone had thrown out a hamster cage yesterday - it'd only been in the dumpster area for fifteen minutes at most as I was doing a few back and forth runs with some stuff we were clearing out. It is the absolute perfect size for transporting my girls to and from places on short journeys. I just want to make sure I clean it right in case whatever died in there had some nasty disease to pass on. How would you guys advise I clean this? Don't want anything I clean with to upset or harm my ladies.
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Aug 9, 2010 14:42
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Diluted bleach.
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Aug 9, 2010 14:45
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Superconsndar posted:Rat Genetics Why are you posting without including pictures of adorable baby rats?  I live vicariously through this thread, pictures are all I have
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Aug 9, 2010 16:51
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rear end Crackers! posted:Why are you posting without including pictures of adorable baby rats? I have indeed been slacking, I'll try to get some today.
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Aug 9, 2010 18:04
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I was walking on a nearby street this morning and saw 2 male white rats in a very large cage on a front porch. No shade food or water, I thought it was odd but kept walking. three hours later I came back the same way and the poor things were still out there and since was ninety degrees out they both were looking very poor. I called the police, and they said they would look into it. I hope the ratties are ok. Update: I drove by and parked when I saw the cage was still outside. The rats were not breathing, I'm guessing the heat killed them. There is a police dispatch a block away and they couldn't send anyone I guess. I'm at a loss, I don't live in the best neighborhood and I didn't want to knock on the door. I wish there was something I could have done. Yarn! fucked around with this message at 21:42 on Aug 9, 2010 |
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Aug 9, 2010 19:50
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This is my new baby, Rhubarb (aka Ruby): I got her from a pet store, whereas I got my other ones from the local Highschool's biology lab. She is self assured, and an extremely loving girl who constantly and forcibly grooms my fingers. Also, unlike my other rats, she's kept her fat belly even after growing up.
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Aug 10, 2010 04:18
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Yarn! posted:Update: I drove by and parked when I saw the cage was still outside. The rats were not breathing, I'm guessing the heat killed them. There is a police dispatch a block away and they couldn't send anyone I guess. I'm at a loss, I don't live in the best neighborhood and I didn't want to knock on the door. I wish there was something I could have done. That bites.
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Aug 10, 2010 09:34
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BABY RATS They'll be 14 days old tomorrow, which means we should see eyes start peeking open tomorrow. One died a day or two after they were born (a PEW male,) I didn't see anything wrong with him and he died with a full milk band so I think he just smothered. Other than that they've done great. Sorry the pictures are total crap, I couldn't get good lighting today.  There are 6 PEWs, 1 Agouti Berk, 3 Black Berks, and 2 Black Variberks. I'm keeping the Agouti and one of the variberks. The two keepers, both female:        The whole pile:       Here's Dad  Aaaand bonus pics of Frankie + Magic and Judge:         He knows live rats are not food, only ones that don't move anymore, so he's never quite sure what to do when they're out playing. :iamafag:
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Aug 10, 2010 19:56
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Superconsndar posted:BABY RATS Yaaaaay!!  They're so adorable!
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Aug 10, 2010 20:10
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Superconsndar posted:BABY RATS Superconsndar posted:ADULT RATS WITH FRANKIE I love pictures of rats with other pets Mostly because of the expressions on the pet's face, which is invariably along the lines of "  oh god what is this thing it's moving and furry what do I do "
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Aug 10, 2010 21:16
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daggerdragon posted:Wanna smush face into baby ratty pile Most of my pictures of my rats and Charlie were just Charlie going "Ugh, gross."
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Aug 10, 2010 22:26
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One of my rats has a slightly goopy eye, should I try to wipe it away or just leave it? It's not crusty or building up, and there's no colour to it, just some eye gunk. Maybe she just poked herself in the eye or something? Edit: Now that I look closer at her other eye, it's a bit runny too. Could she be sick? Fat Dio fucked around with this message at 21:55 on Aug 11, 2010 |
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Aug 11, 2010 21:48
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Thankfully, I found some one to watch my boys while I was gone. Now I have until November to find a smaller cage so they can come home with me over Thanksgiving and Christmas. They did a nice redecorating number while I was gone though. Tissue everywhere, igloo and cardboard houses on their sides, litterbox in the opposite corner. They even buried one of the food bowls so well I thought the girl watching them had taken it out. Silly rats
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Aug 12, 2010 04:03
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Apidae posted:Edit: Now that I look closer at her other eye, it's a bit runny too. Could she be sick? It`s called porphyn and its mostly normal. It can be an indicator your rat is sick, but there will be other factors. Almost every single rat I've had will wake up with crust around their eyes, this is normal. Read more about it here and make a judgement call
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Aug 12, 2010 06:25
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Ah, I feel silly - she's dark, otherwise I would have seen the pinkish colour and figured it out. They were just babysat by a friend of mine for a week and probably didn't get out much. Her sister's fine but she's also calmer and more dominant, maybe less likely to be stressed out. I'll chalk it up to stress for now and keep an eye on her. Thanks a bunch!
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Aug 12, 2010 14:52
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How long is too long for dissolvable stitches to stay in? It's been about a month since Peaches had her tumor removed and she still has some stitches left under her armpit. I read somewhere it can take up to two months for them to go away but I just wanted to make sure.
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Aug 12, 2010 22:44
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