Rat Appreciation & Information

[thenightgoddess]

HELP! I have had two male rats together there both around a year and a half old and they have been eating oxbow adult rat food for about a year because its the best commercial brand of rat food. Well I went and got a new baby rat yesterday who is probably only about two or three months old and today when I went into work I realized the food they have is only ment for rats four months and older. Will the food hurt him if he eats it for the next couple months? I don't want to change it because the only alternative I have is kaytee block which I know is really bad or a seed mix which I also know they shouldn't have. Do you think he will be fine eating it even though he won't be four months for one or two more months. Sorry if this sounds weird I'm typing it on my phone on my break at work.

[hiysinphlay]

thenightgoddess

HELP! I have had two male rats together there both around a year and a half old and they have been eating oxbow adult rat food for about a year because its the best commercial brand of rat food. Well I went and got a new baby rat yesterday who is probably only about two or three months old and today when I went into work I realized the food they have is only ment for rats four months and older. Will the food hurt him if he eats it for the next couple months? I don't want to change it because the only alternative I have is kaytee block which I know is really bad or a seed mix which I also know they shouldn't have. Do you think he will be fine eating it even though he won't be four months for one or two more months. Sorry if this sounds weird I'm typing it on my phone on my break at work.

Honestly I don't think it should be too bad for him, many people get by with feeding low quality and do just fine, even if it is not recommended. I would suggest just supplementing his diet with plenty of veggies, fruits, and especially protein sources (eggs, unseasoned cooked meats), as growing rats require more protein than adult rats. At least it's a good quality food, that's not too far off base as far as nutrition goes.

[hiysinphlay]

I wish more people knew how wonderful male rats are sad We always seem to have extra males and not enough females for our adopters.

[thenightgoddess]

hiysinphlay

I wish more people knew how wonderful male rats are sad We always seem to have extra males and not enough females for our adopters.

Do the male parts bother the people that dont want them or do they just think females are better? Ive only ever had males because thats what we sell at my work but I get alot of people that find there large testicles funny, weird, or gross. I love my boys.

[thenightgoddess]

hiysinphlay

thenightgoddess

HELP! I have had two male rats together there both around a year and a half old and they have been eating oxbow adult rat food for about a year because its the best commercial brand of rat food. Well I went and got a new baby rat yesterday who is probably only about two or three months old and today when I went into work I realized the food they have is only ment for rats four months and older. Will the food hurt him if he eats it for the next couple months? I don't want to change it because the only alternative I have is kaytee block which I know is really bad or a seed mix which I also know they shouldn't have. Do you think he will be fine eating it even though he won't be four months for one or two more months. Sorry if this sounds weird I'm typing it on my phone on my break at work.

Honestly I don't think it should be too bad for him, many people get by with feeding low quality and do just fine, even if it is not recommended. I would suggest just supplementing his diet with plenty of veggies, fruits, and especially protein sources (eggs, unseasoned cooked meats), as growing rats require more protein than adult rats. At least it's a good quality food, that's not too far off base as far as nutrition goes.

Do you think I should get the vitamin drops that you put in there water or do you think its not necessary?

[hibi-tea]

How do you guys recommend cleaning wire cages? My rat's cage smelled absolutely awful after awhile because of the urine build-up on the metal mesh, so while going through her cleaning routine for the week I took some hard chemicals to the stuff with a gigantic bristled scrubber (making sure to rinse the hell out of the thing for like 20 minutes afterwards, of course), hoping it would get everything off. It got most of it off, but it took a million years to do so. It also didn't get rid of the smell as much as I'd had hoped.

Are there any chemicals or chemical combinations (natural or otherwise), you'd recommend for metal cage cleaning?

[Comis]

I've used white wine vinegar solution for smelly bars before.
Otherwise, if you can get a child safe paint like Plastikote, you could paint the bars and then they'd be much easier to wipe down in future.

[Trash Mammal]

Well after Surgery and 101 diagnosis to help control all my health issues, hopefully I can pop in here more with some more free time. Woo~

Time for adorable >.>


Baby Blue

Baby PEW Hairless (lost all his fuzz when he hit about 8 weeks)

Young dark hairless dumbo

[Trash Mammal]

Just realized some of my banners don't show up any more .-.
Annnd I no longer have them saved D= Nor do I have the program I made them in x.< frick.

[KisaRinny]

hiysinphlay

I wish more people knew how wonderful male rats are sad We always seem to have extra males and not enough females for our adopters.

While I don't regret getting any of my girls, I do think I would have enjoyed having boys. Maybe not letting the boys crawl on me, though, not sure how I feel about giant, hairy balls travelling on my skin >.>

[KisaRinny]

hibi-tea

How do you guys recommend cleaning wire cages? My rat's cage smelled absolutely awful after awhile because of the urine build-up on the metal mesh, so while going through her cleaning routine for the week I took some hard chemicals to the stuff with a gigantic bristled scrubber (making sure to rinse the hell out of the thing for like 20 minutes afterwards, of course), hoping it would get everything off. It got most of it off, but it took a million years to do so. It also didn't get rid of the smell as much as I'd had hoped.

Are there any chemicals or chemical combinations (natural or otherwise), you'd recommend for metal cage cleaning?

I myself use the all natural organic multi-surface cleaner you can get at your local grocery store. It cleans great, smells good and you probably wouldn't smell the pee unless you pressed your nose against the wire lol So, for me, it's a win win cause it's just as expensive (if not cheaper) than regular household cleaner C:

[KisaRinny]

thenightgoddess

Do you think I should get the vitamin drops that you put in there water or do you think its not necessary?

I think you'll be fine without the vitamin drops unless he has a deficiency of some sort. Just be sure to offer him fruits and veggies with his food and he should be fine C:

[emi desu]

The wheezing and sneezing hasn't stopped. Now his breathing own it's own sounds like he's got goo in his nostrils, he's very skinny, dirty feeling, and isn't keen on being held. He's still super excited for treats and chatters his teeth when I touch him .. but he's still got that red snot all over his nose and front legs. gonk

Edit: He has sneezed since the day I got him about 1 1/2 years ago, but it's never been this bad. I cannot figure out what he's allergic to!

[emi desu]

Does anyone know about rat euthanasia? I feel like .. it would be cruel to make him live like this any longer. My savings and minimum wage job can't pay for a vet visit and barrage of antibiotics. I might call a vet and ask how much it would be to put him down. His breathing sounds like a squeak toy and he is just lying in my lap squeaking and sneezing. He's grooming my fingers every couple minutes and trying to walk around my lap but having a hard time. I don't want him to suffer anymore .. I have to go to sleep now, so I placed him back in his cage with a yogie. If he's still here tomorrow I'm going to probably have him put down soon. I wonder how much they would charge to put him to sleep, cremate, and give me his ashes ..

[thenightgoddess]

emi desu

Does anyone know about rat euthanasia? I feel like .. it would be cruel to make him live like this any longer. My savings and minimum wage job can't pay for a vet visit and barrage of antibiotics. I might call a vet and ask how much it would be to put him down. His breathing sounds like a squeak toy and he is just lying in my lap squeaking and sneezing. He's grooming my fingers every couple minutes and trying to walk around my lap but having a hard time. I don't want him to suffer anymore .. I have to go to sleep now, so I placed him back in his cage with a yogie. If he's still here tomorrow I'm going to probably have him put down soon. I wonder how much they would charge to put him to sleep, cremate, and give me his ashes ..

It just sounds like a respiratory infection it didn't cost that much to treat. It happens to most rats at least once in there lifetime. I wouldn't put him down for just a respiratory infection unless he is really old or you have let it get so bad that it almost kills him. http://ratfanclub.org/resp.html that website has info on antibiotics you can get online without having to go to the vet and how to mix and dose it yourself. I have both amoxicillin and doxycycline on hand in case my boys start coming down with a respiratory infection. The different kinds of antibiotics and how to dose them are under the most useful antibiotics section and the links to the places online that you can buy the antibiotics online are at the bottom.