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We're getting two 8-week old females tomorrow, with a reasonably large cage from a local pet-shop/small animal breeder. I went to speak to him before I considered buying, and all of the rats seem well cared for and socialised, and they in fact insisted I bought more than one as it would be better for them in the long run. Now, is 8-weeks still a little young, and if so, do I have to be aware of any dietary requirements or the like, or should I be okay with one of the many recommended mixes in the OP?
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Jul 30, 2010 01:17
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| # ¿ May 6, 2024 22:26 |
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Getting them in a few hours, so bloody excited. Will post pictures once we get them home and settled. Should I leave them alone for a while before handling them, or should I just give them a cuddle after they've settled slightly?
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Jul 30, 2010 10:00
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Some pictures of my new friends! Click here for the full 540x720 image. Meet Pam and Boo.  Click here for the full 540x720 image. This is Boo, and she is almost hooded, but the line down her spine is broken into sections, which a big splodge in the middle of her back.  Click here for the full 540x720 image. This is Pam, she's a strange browny/grey colour all over, and the more dominant of the two.  Click here for the full 540x720 image. Bonus shot of Pam being Camera shy. They are lovely, I gave them an hour to get settled in after the ride home and grabbed them individually for a good cuddle. Pam fell asleep on me almost straight away, which was  but Boo is very nervous still and would rather stay in her cage and sleep in her little house than come out to play -- I will be persistent however.
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Jul 30, 2010 19:15
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Well, Pam made a daring escape today, by taking advantage of the fact I wasn't paying close enough attention to her and leaping out from my arms and under the bed. 30 mins later, we found her and caught her, but I am concerned that I won't be able to have her out to play as much if I have to spend every second making sure she isn't going to escape! We've rat-proofed the room as best we can, but they're both so small, I'm sure they'd find a way out of the room and into the teeth of my mom's little terrier. I'd have no problem with them running around if I were convinced they'd come back to me or the cage eventually, but I've only had them a couple of days so I seriously doubt she would if she could find some alternative food source (like the kitchen, for instance). Any suggestions on how to socialise adventurous tiny rats, while not having them go AWOL, would be gratefully received. I think I suck at picking toys for them too, as they've shown zero interest in anything we've offered them. That said, Boo, is a complete fuss-pot and likes nothing better than getting her belly-rubbed and falling asleep on me.
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Aug 2, 2010 03:40
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Slidje posted:For the first 2 weeks i get rats I never let them out the cage unless its in my shirt or I'm holding them. When they go back in i give them a treat. Thanks, that's really helpful advice! I am going to restrict them to my arms/shoulder and wandering around showing them the room for a bit until they're more settled.
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Aug 2, 2010 23:20
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| # ¿ May 6, 2024 22:26 |
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dog days are over posted:... A quick search turned up http://www.neratsociety.co.uk/links.html, which looks like it would be a good place to find rat breeders -- even if they are not local, some might be a short(-ish) drive away, so pick a a couple and give them a ring. Most breeders of small animals I've dealt with are pretty much family-run businesses/sole traders, so a bad website or no website shouldn't concern you too much (after all, you're not going to mail-order them, so you're not really interested in their web-design skills), but if you get a bad feeling after speaking to one, then look somewhere else. A rescue rat (or any rescue animal) may have issues that you would not get with young rats from a breeder, like poor socialisation, illness/injury or it even may have been abused, so while there's no problem with getting one you may have to give it some special treatment. If you want an easier time, it might be better to get your first couple of rats from a breeder and look at rescuing when you have a bit of experience. Just remember, you can't buy a single rat, it's not fair on it as they are very social, and while you'll be a great owner/friend, you're not a rat and you're not going to be around 24 hours a day. Donkey Darko fucked around with this message at 00:42 on Aug 3, 2010 |
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Aug 3, 2010 00:27
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