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 The padlock became necessary after they developed the strength to push the cage door open. Thinking about getting a new cage with a different style of door because this setup looks a bit like a hostage situation.
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Oct 18, 2018 04:05
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One of my girls had surgery today to remove a smallish tumor under her armpit. They said the removal went fine but there wasn't enough subcutaneous tissue to put catgut stitches in there, so they had to use regular stitches on her skin instead. "Don't worry, she won't try to remove the stitches, she's too loopy on pain meds." Naturally, a couple hours later, she has removed all the stitches. The wound is only to her skin. They didn't have to dig around inside her, so she just has a big cut. No bleeding. We called the vet and asked what to do. They recommended making a cone out of plastic to put around her head. We tried to improvise a few designs. She can wiggle out of anything. We ultimately decided to apply povidone-iodine to the area and leave her alone. She desperately wanted to go back in the regular cage with her sister and her sister seems content to leave her alone, so that's good. We'll apply iodine every few hours. Welp.  (They're almost 2 and in great health otherwise, btw)
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May 3, 2019 03:53
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Wound cleaned, sutured, stapled, and glued shut. And they gave us antibiotics for her. She is very unhappy to wear the Hello Kitty shirt, however.
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May 4, 2019 02:41
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Carebear posted:If you are thinking about getting another rat, get a new cage. It doesn’t have to be anything terribly expensive or large, but remember that you might have to keep your new rat in there for a few weeks. Place the two cages next to each other and let the rats become accustomed to the scents of the other cage. After a few days, have the rats trade cages. If this goes well, have your rats meet in neutral territory (somewhere that your old rat’s smell isn’t overpowering). Rats are extremely sensitive to new smells and you might want to put everyone on even ground before the meeting. Putting a few drops of vanilla extract on the rats will help mask their scent, or you can try bathing them. The Rat Fan Club’s rat introduction page even suggests smearing the rats with some chocolate pudding so they all smell the same, and this has the added bonus of the rats bonding by cleaning a tasty treat off of one another. Is this still generally considered good advice? I have a couple of two year old females and I want to get some replaceme..... some new little friends for them.
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Aug 16, 2019 22:38
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Okay, but was it manual transmission? 
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Oct 24, 2019 19:31
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Old meets New: 
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Oct 25, 2019 01:11
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Babby is home from her second successful tumor removal. She is currently zonked out on RAT DRUGS. She recovered great last time. edit: Dummy is pulling out her staples.  Vet appointment tomorrow. Hope the layers of glue, stitches, and subcutaneous sutures hold until then.
Animal-Mother fucked around with this message at 18:32 on Oct 31, 2019 |
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Oct 31, 2019 00:58
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Has anybody had good luck getting a rat to resist the urge to pull out their surgical staples, stitches, and sutures? This two and a half year old is groggy for a little while after getting out of surgery but then proceeds to start tearing away at the foreign objects. We managed to find an elizabethan collar for rats but it won't arrive for a couple days and I really doubt it's going to work anyway. It doesn't help that our new critters, about seven weeks old, have stressed her and her sister out. They want to wrestle constantly. The old girls don't appreciate that and have repeatedly ended these matches with extreme prejudice. One of the new ones seems to be getting the hint, the other does not. Currently, the surgery surviving, staple removing, stitch eating badass is spending the night by herself in the medium cage, as the doctor recommended she should be quarantined for a week. Some infected stuff had to be removed from the area, you see. Her sister has the huge three level cage to herself because the babies absolutely would not leave her alone. The kids will have to chill in the travel cage overnight, with water, food, and their little playhouse they both fit comfortably in. All of this was avoidable but my partner doesn't listen to me until it's too late, but that's e/n stuff for another day.
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Nov 9, 2019 07:14
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Our two and a half year old Katja may be heading toward that great cardboard box full of ripped up paper towels in the sky soon. In the last two weeks, she's begun constantly... hyperventilating? I think? Obviously breathing more heavily and quickly than normal, but not making any raspy troubled breathing sounds. She's noticeably lost weight in the last few days. She'll still gladly accept special treats, though. Chex mix, bits of cookies, mashed vegetables and chicken. What's most worrisome is that she appears confused. Lost. She hardly reacts to her sister or the young ones. She'll still cuddle up in bed with everybody, of course. She's survived two surgeries to remove tumors and had quite a tough time recovering after both. Vet appointment Friday. I'm worried the experience of going to the vet again will be traumatic enough to worsen her condition. Then again, maybe she just needs some probiotics. I wish rats lived longer. They have so much more character than people realize.
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Dec 31, 2019 06:25
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No, she doesn't really wander. She's wanted to spend a lot of time on my lap, something she didn't really do previously. We've been hand feeding her baby food and she's doing a little better today. She loves the mac and cheese flavor but declines the pea soup one.
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Jan 3, 2020 00:45
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I should've gotten video. She almost ran away with the whole thing.
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Jan 23, 2020 03:44
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Jaded Burnout posted:Unfortunately despite being rushed to the vet for a few hours, we had to put him to sleep. I'm sorry to hear that. We feel for you. We had to put our little Katja to sleep a couple weeks ago. She was about two and a half. Her sister is currently growing a tumor and we're debating whether or not we want to go through with surgery again, especially at her age. Their little cousins appear perfectly healthy. Here's Katja on her last day, looking sweeter than ever. Those last couple weeks all she wanted was to rest inside my shirt, feeling my heartbeat. 
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Feb 7, 2020 23:42
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-Zydeco- posted:A few questions. I'm planning to adopt three female rats and I want to make sure I start right. Despite how Web 1.0 this website looks, these guys make great cages: http://www.martinscages.com/rats.html I have three females and they're quite comfortable in the "tower" with a couple hammocks, a couple igloos, and a Quaker Oats box. quote:Wheel
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Mar 13, 2020 20:57
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Apr 6, 2020 02:38
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As long as it isn't used. Rats instinctively run from the scent of cats. Dogs, though? No problem.
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May 1, 2020 03:17
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May 13, 2020 02:43
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Antimony is quite groggy and upset after having a big ugly tumor removed, but she isn't turning down perfectly good food:
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May 21, 2020 01:21
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clockwork chaos posted:She like the corn Ghost Bear enjoys part of a Cheeto in some hidey-hole, probably wondering why I'm shining a flashlight on her: 
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Jun 27, 2020 04:22
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Antimony is almost 3 years old and does not like to pose for pictures while eating snacks.
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Jul 4, 2020 07:22
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Smoke Jaguar coming straight out the motherfucking crevices:
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Jul 14, 2020 02:32
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This lady is 3 years old.
Animal-Mother fucked around with this message at 02:17 on Aug 21, 2020 |
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Aug 21, 2020 02:13
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Aug 27, 2020 23:20
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Antimony is recovering nicely from surgery, for a very old rat. Her staples were removed yesterday and she'll only eat her medicine if it's mixed with warm cream cheese. Ghost likes to hang out in this box of paper scraps. 
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Oct 9, 2020 22:03
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Slightly warm cream cheese mixed into mac and cheese flavored baby food was the magic trick for my rats when they didn't want to take their meds.
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Oct 22, 2020 19:59
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One large rato burrito, please.
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Oct 31, 2020 00:01
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Nov 25, 2020 18:12
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The old one:
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Dec 12, 2020 05:01
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Antimony is three and a half years old. She went blind. She's got some health issues and is probably not long for this world.
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Jan 4, 2021 16:23
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Jan 7, 2021 00:53
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My very old one is unable to take care of the claws on her hind feet. She's got feet like Master Splinter now. Anybody ever had any luck clipping a rat's nails? Or is that a fool's errand? She got one of her claws stuck in a fiber of a sweatshirt and was terrified until we could help her out. Said very old one, napping in a pocket:  Younger cousins acting as blankets: 
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Jan 31, 2021 04:34
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Our more than three-and-a-half year old survived another surgery to remove a massive tumor. Between the time we made the appointment and the time the operation could be done, the thing grew so rapidly, we were really worried she wouldn't wake up from the anesthesia. But she's super-rattus, so only 48 hours later she's already demanding the freedom to run around. Wound healing quickly, staples should come out in a couple weeks. She'll be spending at least a few more days in her special cage away from the others, just to be safe.
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Feb 24, 2021 23:38
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Today Antimony can't fully use her back legs.  She's probably one of the oldest rats in the world now. We're giving her some of the leftover anti-inflammatory meds from her last surgery. Yesterday she was running around quite well, for a blind old lady. Good days and bad days, I guess.
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Mar 28, 2021 00:38
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Guinness claims the oldest fancy rat on record lived more than seven years. I find that unbelievable.
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Mar 28, 2021 17:12
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Good old Antimony has probably taken a turn for the worse. It's hard to tell from this photo (and she's not in the mood to be a good model) but she has a lump swelling up on the right side of her face. Started a couple days ago. Infection? Tumor? We don't know, but we know she's very tired, very old, and almost certainly in pain. Tomorrow we'll try to see the vet.
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Apr 5, 2021 02:56
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The funeral. Catrina, copal, coconut thing she loved to nap in, a few of her favorite treats, and a little liquor. Rest in peace, Antimony. You were the greatest mammal that ever lived. Her very last act alive was giving kisses to the vet.
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Apr 8, 2021 02:57
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May 5, 2021 03:07
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No, we've had her for about a year and a half. She was just holding uncharacteristically still on my lap for a while, so I got a closeup.
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May 5, 2021 21:07
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"I slep. Itz comfay."
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May 26, 2021 00:24
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Those are excellent rat names.
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Jun 15, 2021 22:49
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| # ¿ May 3, 2024 03:18 |
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Had to cut up a perfectly good box for a mod challenge in GBS:
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Jun 25, 2021 01:57
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