Rat Appreciation & Information

[Comis]

Analog Trash

So many cute ratties! I just got some babies from my blue and mink, a surprise really. The person that had been living with me abandoned her rats on me and so I've been working with them. The blue hides a lot and I figured it was a female with the rest. Ended up not being so! Needless to say he'll have to be rehomed soon. The momma is doing wonderful with her babies though and the other ladies are helping out.

Oops! Lol.
I assume he's been split from the girls now razz Have you thought about rehoming him with a pair of his sons?

[Analog Trash]

Comis

Analog Trash

So many cute ratties! I just got some babies from my blue and mink, a surprise really. The person that had been living with me abandoned her rats on me and so I've been working with them. The blue hides a lot and I figured it was a female with the rest. Ended up not being so! Needless to say he'll have to be rehomed soon. The momma is doing wonderful with her babies though and the other ladies are helping out.

Oops! Lol.
I assume he's been split from the girls now razz Have you thought about rehoming him with a pair of his sons?

Not yet. I wasn't even aware there was babies until I went to clean the cage cause the girls always run up front and swarm the door to give me kisses and attention and suddenly I heard squeaks and I just thought to myself "what the hell?" And counted 7 babies. Probably about a day old and if I missed that then I'm sure momma is already pregnant so it doesn't do much good to seperate right now.

I thought about it but he's very skiddish due to the previous owner not handling him like ever. It's taken me about two months just to get it so I can pet him in the cage soi might take him to a place that knows rats to help socialize him more.

[Little Sholac]

Analog Trash

Comis

Analog Trash

So many cute ratties! I just got some babies from my blue and mink, a surprise really. The person that had been living with me abandoned her rats on me and so I've been working with them. The blue hides a lot and I figured it was a female with the rest. Ended up not being so! Needless to say he'll have to be rehomed soon. The momma is doing wonderful with her babies though and the other ladies are helping out.

Oops! Lol.
I assume he's been split from the girls now razz Have you thought about rehoming him with a pair of his sons?

Not yet. I wasn't even aware there was babies until I went to clean the cage cause the girls always run up front and swarm the door to give me kisses and attention and suddenly I heard squeaks and I just thought to myself "what the hell?" And counted 7 babies. Probably about a day old and if I missed that then I'm sure momma is already pregnant so it doesn't do much good to seperate right now.

I thought about it but he's very skiddish due to the previous owner not handling him like ever. It's taken me about two months just to get it so I can pet him in the cage soi might take him to a place that knows rats to help socialize him more.

I suggestion you take him away, because if you have multiple females in with him they are all going to be giving birth here soon...Which means those seven are just the start, you also might want to separate mother and babies as well from the rest of the group, to be sure she doesn't harm them because the other females do not leave them be. And if she is pregnant again as you think, you will need to supplement protein and other things as it is very hard on her body to be nursing these babies with more growing inside of her.

All and all this is not something to be taken lightly at all. A rat can have an average of about 10-12 babies in a litter with the highest on record being that of like 32 I believe.

So please do some research, separate the rats and start now on trying to find homes for these and possibly more. I do this as a side hobby and it is a passion I have to produce happy, healthy and then lastly pretty rats for people to love and enjoy as family pets. So taking something like this lightly is not a good thing, they may not be your's to begin with but you decided to keep them so you are taking responsibility of the rats and in doing so you should understand really what you are getting yourself into as an owner and now even more so caretaker of them.

[Analog Trash]

Little Sholac

Analog Trash

Comis

Analog Trash

So many cute ratties! I just got some babies from my blue and mink, a surprise really. The person that had been living with me abandoned her rats on me and so I've been working with them. The blue hides a lot and I figured it was a female with the rest. Ended up not being so! Needless to say he'll have to be rehomed soon. The momma is doing wonderful with her babies though and the other ladies are helping out.

Oops! Lol.
I assume he's been split from the girls now razz Have you thought about rehoming him with a pair of his sons?

Not yet. I wasn't even aware there was babies until I went to clean the cage cause the girls always run up front and swarm the door to give me kisses and attention and suddenly I heard squeaks and I just thought to myself "what the hell?" And counted 7 babies. Probably about a day old and if I missed that then I'm sure momma is already pregnant so it doesn't do much good to seperate right now.

I thought about it but he's very skiddish due to the previous owner not handling him like ever. It's taken me about two months just to get it so I can pet him in the cage soi might take him to a place that knows rats to help socialize him more.

I suggestion you take him away, because if you have multiple females in with him they are all going to be giving birth here soon...Which means those seven are just the start, you also might want to separate mother and babies as well from the rest of the group, to be sure she doesn't harm them because the other females do not leave them be. And if she is pregnant again as you think, you will need to supplement protein and other things as it is very hard on her body to be nursing these babies with more growing inside of her.

All and all this is not something to be taken lightly at all. A rat can have an average of about 10-12 babies in a litter with the highest on record being that of like 32 I believe.

So please do some research, separate the rats and start now on trying to find homes for these and possibly more. I do this as a side hobby and it is a passion I have to produce happy, healthy and then lastly pretty rats for people to love and enjoy as family pets. So taking something like this lightly is not a good thing, they may not be your's to begin with but you decided to keep them so you are taking responsibility of the rats and in doing so you should understand really what you are getting yourself into as an owner and now even more so caretaker of them.

Its been done. I hope I don't come across as I'm not trying to tend to them by saying I hadn't removed him yet. Two of the females I've actually known for quite awhile, previous litters included and they've always been in a group as their precious owner was a rat 'rescue' and 'breeder'. Ah but what I was getting at was that they actually cooperate with the litters and help each other out, right now most of them are leaving her be though so she can tend to the babies in peace. I'm actually more concerned over these girls being older and having babies, especially if one of them pops out a bigger litter. So far momma is doing well though from her litter, one of them I is either carrying a small litter or not pregnant at all and the other is bound is have a large litter but she's younger then the rest. I've owned rats in the past and the rats have been with me for the past 4ish months so I'm familiar with the girls as much as can be. I've raised litters previous to this so I'm thankfully not a starter at all this. Currently the girls are on a mix of high grade lab blocks and soobies. All are a healthy weight and maintaining.

[Charles Eppes]

Miss Middy

Charles Eppes

x

It sounds to me like she is just a drama queen. When I first got my rattie Roxy, My old baby who passed away a couple days ago would pounce on her and nibble. She would just scream and scream until she got off of her. She stopped when she became an old lady. haha. That is just my opinion. Now my other lady rattie Nala has anxiety. She chews on everything under the sun all the time but shows no intention of wanting to escape. She is just nervous, but of so lovable.

Thanks! It might be drama-queen or anxiety. She's actually gotten a lot better - she's not screeching in fear when she's pinned, although she's still shaky sometimes when I pet her. Still, she seems very happy biggrin

[Miss Middy]

So now I have a question. I may be moving here within the next couple of month about 10 hrs away from where I do right now. Uhm I have 4 ratties (two boys, two girls. girls live together but the boys are separate because they never got along.) as of right now and it would be a very long drive for them along with my other animals. What kind of container should I use to transport them? I have smaller containers that contain their bodies the way I imagine would fit a 200-250lb man in a closet, but I use those for vet visits only and when I make 2-3hr voyages. I guess I'm nervous.. What should I feed them? and if we stop for the night do I leave them to sleep in the cage or do I take smaller, fully functioning, collapsible cages with me? I have't been on a trip 10 hrs away, so this is new to me too.

[hiysinphlay]

Miss Middy

So now I have a question. I may be moving here within the next couple of month about 10 hrs away from where I do right now. Uhm I have 4 ratties (two boys, two girls. girls live together but the boys are separate because they never got along.) as of right now and it would be a very long drive for them along with my other animals. What kind of container should I use to transport them? I have smaller containers that contain their bodies the way I imagine would fit a 200-250lb man in a closet, but I use those for vet visits only and when I make 2-3hr voyages. I guess I'm nervous.. What should I feed them? and if we stop for the night do I leave them to sleep in the cage or do I take smaller, fully functioning, collapsible cages with me? I have't been on a trip 10 hrs away, so this is new to me too.

I moved from Utah to Iowa, it was a 24 hour drive (and that's straight through obviously there was stopping, it ended up being a 3 day affair) All, I think I had 16ish rats at that time, came with me. Boys got housed in your standard cat carriers in groups of two, girls all went into my huge 56 gallon tank because they are chewers and would chew out of anything else. They stayed in these cages for the entire trip, we changed the bedding on the second day.
A little advice regarding water bottles. Only give water bottles when at a stand still other wise they will leak all over their cage and the rats will be drenched. A great way to keep the ratties hydrated on long trips is to bring veggies, we used canned veggies for convenience and refreshed them every so often. Our rats also had lab blocks available to them 24/7.
This is how we did it anyway, I'm sure you'll find the way that is easiest for you smile

[hiysinphlay]

I'm supper excited for our current breeding! We already have several reserves I just hope momma has enough babies at this point lol. Here's the cute couple~
Ruger x Stellaluna
Ruger is a black berk dumbo rex and Stellaluna is a black masked dumbo standard fur.
We're planning to keep a little rex female, we have reserves for 4 boys and 2 girls.
That's already 7 babies planned out, and they aren't even born yet! lol
Here's a picture so that you can actually see the two of them smile Ruger x Stellaluna

[Miss Middy]

hiysinphlay

Miss Middy

So now I have a question. I may be moving here within the next couple of month about 10 hrs away from where I do right now. Uhm I have 4 ratties (two boys, two girls. girls live together but the boys are separate because they never got along.) as of right now and it would be a very long drive for them along with my other animals. What kind of container should I use to transport them? I have smaller containers that contain their bodies the way I imagine would fit a 200-250lb man in a closet, but I use those for vet visits only and when I make 2-3hr voyages. I guess I'm nervous.. What should I feed them? and if we stop for the night do I leave them to sleep in the cage or do I take smaller, fully functioning, collapsible cages with me? I have't been on a trip 10 hrs away, so this is new to me too.

I moved from Utah to Iowa, it was a 24 hour drive (and that's straight through obviously there was stopping, it ended up being a 3 day affair) All, I think I had 16ish rats at that time, came with me. Boys got housed in your standard cat carriers in groups of two, girls all went into my huge 56 gallon tank because they are chewers and would chew out of anything else. They stayed in these cages for the entire trip, we changed the bedding on the second day.
A little advice regarding water bottles. Only give water bottles when at a stand still other wise they will leak all over their cage and the rats will be drenched. A great way to keep the ratties hydrated on long trips is to bring veggies, we used canned veggies for convenience and refreshed them every so often. Our rats also had lab blocks available to them 24/7.
This is how we did it anyway, I'm sure you'll find the way that is easiest for you smile

Thank you so much! I am so nervous, but I am sure it will be okay.

[glitter_titties]

So I have a dilemma...One of my rats chewed a hole big enough for her to fit through in her cage and I have no idea how to fix it.

[Static Sludge]

I love that there is a thread like this, my baby rat Jacinto had to be euthanized yesterday and everyone seems shocked at the grief I feel.

her kidneys were failing her to the point where she could barely walk and eat or drink(she was also bleeding from her genitals, the doctor said it was her ovaries that got damaged as well). so we didn't want her to suffer anymore. ive been struggling since I had to make the choice by myself with no support afterwards. althought ive been crying like a baby at the thought of her, I don't regret my decision. I love her very much and always will!!

I had her for about 2 and a half years so she was a little old biddy, but the joy she brought(and her sisters ive got 3 others) couldn't be ever forgot. just because she was a rat my coworkers and mates are confused by how crushed ive been. rats will come to you by name, theyre clean(as long as you help em out) and the sweetest darlings by far.

theyre just as expressive and affectionate as any animal ive had so far. I highly recommend them as pets . although ir ealize this may not be the thread for this post, I just want to say anyone whose interested in getting a rat, definently do so! but make sure you know what youre getting into , they can be a handful smile

[hiysinphlay]

Our Sarabi is due any day now, can't wait! We have so many people on our waiting list, who have been there for a while since the last litter didn't take, at least they are willing to wait. This breeding is a fun one, can't wait to see the results, we are finally digging into our lines ( it's been a long time coming since we breed so slowly ).

Birtha my oldest girl has a rather large mammary tumor, she'll be 4 in June, and has lost weight and I just don't think she'd make it through surgery to have it removed sad It doesn't seem to be bugging her much (as is the nature of mammary tumors ) I'm just hoping that it progresses slowly enough to let her live out the rest of her life in relative ease.

A lot of the girls in our 'older' cage seem to be a little on the thin side despite the fact that they have a huge mound of food hidden away in the cage. We are going to start doing a baby food feeding I'm thinking at least twice a week if not more often, just to see if we can get some weight back on them.

Noticed some bite marks on Lucy this morning :/ someone must be picking on her, and doing it at night too because we don't seem to hear any fighting during the day, I'm unsure who the culprit is, but hopefully they show themselves or knock it off.

In March we will be getting a blue girl from Morphine, who we plan to pair with Admiral probably a few weeks or so later. smile

[hiysinphlay]

I have had to make the awful decision to let Coope go. He continues to get abscesses in the same spot over and over, not once since going to the vet has he not had an abscess on his neck/jaw line, and they just never get better no mater what we do, it's been months of constant gaping healing wounds that just never heal. We knew his line had a weakened immune system, I guess it was only a matter of time. I'm going to miss my Coopie but this is no life for him...

[ViiMermaid]

I'm a bearer of bad news today guys.

Although I'm not an active member of the thread (or of Gaia much lately), I need some help.

My beloved little Bookie has come down with something, I'm not sure what. I've already made plans to visit an Exotics Veterinarian first thing Saturday morning. But I'm not sure what's wrong with him just yet.

He's not breathing very smoothly (it seems labored, or troubled) and I picked him up just earlier to check on him and the poor thing was so cold! So I warmed up a soft, moderately thick cloth to wrap him up in and laid him in my blankets with a pillow to cover the top halfway (he likes hiding) and my mom informed me that my other rat has been avoiding him all day. Nothing but bad signs.

I need help.

[KisaRinny]

ViiMermaid

If he's having trouble breathing then I suggest giving him a little bit of chocolate. Surprisingly it helps with respiratory issues smile I wouldn't give him a whole bar but maybe cut a little square and feed it to him slowly throughout the day today

As for the vet .. you can't get in any sooner than Saturday? I know how agonizing it can be to wait for a vet appointment