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Sup Ratthread! Long time no see. After a few years hiatus, I'm settled down enough to adopt a pair of young female rats. The guy selling me the rats sent me some pictures, and they're totally adorable! But I'm a little concerned about the possibility of dominant whites, and since I can't really identify it for crap, I could use a little help from PI.  Green light, yellow light, or red light? LadySage fucked around with this message at 07:00 on Mar 12, 2013 |
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Mar 12, 2013 06:57
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| # ? May 12, 2024 08:57 |
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I want the one with the diagonal stripe on its face 
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Mar 12, 2013 17:07
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Any time I see hooded rats like that, it looks to me like they are milling around with shirts on but no pants.
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Mar 13, 2013 15:12
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Atmus posted:Any time I see hooded rats like that, it looks to me like they are milling around with shirts on but no pants. And now, that's all I'll see too 
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Mar 14, 2013 05:01
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LadySage posted:Sup Ratthread! Long time no see. They all look like variegated hooded rats to me. I don't think you have to worry about dominant whites in this batch. I only know the high whites are associated with dominant blazed rats but I don't know the other types if there are any. Anyone else know?
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Mar 14, 2013 05:47
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Eeeee they've started running over to me when I walk by the cage and coming out on their own and one of them let me rub her belly and I heard my first ever brux and
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Mar 14, 2013 14:11
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Baika posted:They all look like variegated hooded rats to me. I don't think you have to worry about dominant whites in this batch. I only know the high whites are associated with dominant blazed rats but I don't know the other types if there are any. Anyone else know? The rat in the picture that is blazed has a recessive blaze, so it is a "safe" high white. The one with a headspot can't be determined visually but if it's related to the recessively blazed guy, he's fine. The only rat in the picture that is variegated is the blazed one; the rest are all poorly marked hoodeds and barebacks. edit: that said, the one little black hooded dumbo looks kinda runty and bloated. Are all those guys out of the same litter?
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Mar 14, 2013 21:47
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Ada is limping. For some reason. No swelling or bruising or blood or other obvious injury, but she's nontheless hobbling along on three legs with the fourth tucked up under her, and not using it unless she needs another foot to keep her balance. I have no idea what happened. She was fine when I went to work, and when I came home I opened the cage and she was a tripod. I can poke at her foot and she's not pleased about but she's not squeaking about it either. It's been suggested to me that she's faking for sympathy.
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Mar 15, 2013 00:11
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Superconsndar posted:The rat in the picture that is blazed has a recessive blaze, so it is a "safe" high white. The one with a headspot can't be determined visually but if it's related to the recessively blazed guy, he's fine. The only rat in the picture that is variegated is the blazed one; the rest are all poorly marked hoodeds and barebacks. No, there's two litters in that picture. I'm not sure which is from which. I've decided I'm going to take a hooded one and the one with the diagonal blaze! I can't wait!
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Mar 15, 2013 00:37
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RoboRodent posted:Ada is limping. For some reason. No swelling or bruising or blood or other obvious injury, but she's nontheless hobbling along on three legs with the fourth tucked up under her, and not using it unless she needs another foot to keep her balance. She's probably caught it in the bars or something, keep an eye on it but rat feets tend to recover well. Big Bug Hug fucked around with this message at 00:54 on Mar 15, 2013 |
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Mar 15, 2013 00:51
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Hey goons I hope you like rat balls. My vet said he'd neuter as soon as the testicles are descended, "which is typically 4-5 months" (not what I've seen online?). Oswald was born Dec 25 and Moomin Dec 15, so both are younger than that. That being said, their testicles look descended as gently caress to me:   My best friend is coming up from California in 12 days, so it would be GREAT if the boys and girls were integrated by the time she was here . So those balls: descended?
Invalid Octopus fucked around with this message at 17:43 on Mar 15, 2013 |
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Mar 15, 2013 06:04
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Superconsndar posted:The rat in the picture that is blazed has a recessive blaze, so it is a "safe" high white. The one with a headspot can't be determined visually but if it's related to the recessively blazed guy, he's fine. The only rat in the picture that is variegated is the blazed one; the rest are all poorly marked hoodeds and barebacks. Thank you for the correction. I'm a dolt in that I kept thinking this whole time "variegated=code word for poorly bred" when the type has a standard in itself. That clears a lot of things up. I found a couple of old pictures I took when Ruby was changing color. I've had males all my life and she is my first female. It eventually went away, but it's always been a mystery to me. Anyone else had this happen to their females? I can't find any information as to what is is. "Ruby Firemane"  
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Mar 15, 2013 12:54
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I still can't find my real camera, but I managed to get some almost-passable shots of the girls with my cell phone camera. They got blueberries afterwards for being such patient models. Faye, Amelia and Luna  Luna  Luna and Faye, mid-tussle  Faye, Luna, and Amelia's butt  Amelia  Faye
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Mar 15, 2013 17:31
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^^^ Sometimes I wish I had a smaller cage so my rats could run around on a table like that, but alas. Instead I have the giant beast cage   Valentine and Pandora  Moxxi  Pandora  Pandora and Moxxi  Panda  Chell and Moxxi  Valentine  Valentine  Alice  Valentine  Chell  Chell
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Mar 15, 2013 21:28
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Your Pandora seems to have a lot in common with my Amelia. Smaller-than-average, adventurous climber, up in everyone's business (and nose)... On the flip side, Amelia is also the most tolerant of being snuggled and played like a ukulele.
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Mar 15, 2013 21:45
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I don't know about smaller, but Pandora and Moxxi are definitely my troublemakers. They are obsessed with trying to get up to Pippin and Stumpy. They are such 'no gently caress you' rats; I pull them off the cage door/top of the cage so they don't escape, and ten seconds later they're back up trying again.  Neither of them are snuggly either (Chell is my only snuggler) and they take the longest to settle down when I'm having rat/game time. Bad rats.I demand evidence of ukulele rat.
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Mar 15, 2013 23:00
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Ukulele evidence will come later, but this morning I found out how many rats can fit into a hammock sized for one:
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Mar 16, 2013 18:02
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Imagine the hammock losing support and spilling out the rats, well if you use those office supply clips. If one clip fails its amusing to see them change their sleeping position to adapt. I wish I had pictures of my previous rats sleeping with a 3 clip supported hammock. Now all my hammocks are hooked based so there's no fun in it anymore.
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Mar 16, 2013 19:20
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I make my own hammocks with double-reinforced supports. They don't chew on this one, surprisingly.
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Mar 16, 2013 19:59
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I had a rearrange of the ladies' cage today. Top floor is now the sleeping and eating area, bottom floor the activity area. The top looks a little bare now, it's kind of weird.         This is what I spend half of my time doing:  
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Mar 16, 2013 22:22
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 Jesus Christ. Ratties are so loving cute I can't even take it.
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Mar 17, 2013 16:50
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I ended up with two rats today, little white girls I've named Clare and Teresa.  They're mostly hanging out in the corners, still a bit nervous though someone explored while I was at work today. Right now just the bottom level has the Carefresh on it, the ramps and upper level is just the bare wire. I assume I should cover up the wire with fleece or something?
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Mar 19, 2013 03:26
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No one responded to my last post about testicle descension, and I'm a little worried you guys missed the question there and just thought I wanted to talk about rat balls and post pictures of rat balls just for the sake of rat balls. That is not the case. Anyway, we had an appointment to get them neutered this morning, but there was a computer error and the vet overbooked, so we're going in tomorrow (but don't have to pay for the exam fee!). Also getting Liza put to sleep. And so it goes.
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Mar 19, 2013 03:40
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KariOhki posted:I ended up with two rats today, little white girls I've named Clare and Teresa. Enjoy telling them apart! You don't need to cover the wire; having exposed wires shouldn't be an issue. It can, however, be a pain in the rear end to clean. Invalid Octopus posted:No one responded to my last post about testicle descension, and I'm a little worried you guys missed the question there and just thought I wanted to talk about rat balls and post pictures of rat balls just for the sake of rat balls. That is not the case. Anyway, we had an appointment to get them neutered this morning, but there was a computer error and the vet overbooked, so we're going in tomorrow (but don't have to pay for the exam fee!). Also getting Liza put to sleep. And so it goes. Sorry to hear about Liza.  About rat balls - I have no idea what constitutes descended. If descended = balls are there in the scrotum or whatever then yeah they're descended.My experience with rat balls: look at rat crotch, does rat have balls yes/no.
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Mar 19, 2013 08:58
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Invalid Octopus posted:No one responded to my last post about testicle descension, and I'm a little worried you guys missed the question there and just thought I wanted to talk about rat balls and post pictures of rat balls just for the sake of rat balls. That is not the case. Anyway, we had an appointment to get them neutered this morning, but there was a computer error and the vet overbooked, so we're going in tomorrow (but don't have to pay for the exam fee!). Also getting Liza put to sleep. And so it goes. Rat balls descend really early, I have heard the reason vets like to wait is because neutering is easier when the rat is bigger. I assume it would be really tricky on a tiny baby rattling! Sorry about Liza. It always sucks. I hope it goes well.
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Mar 19, 2013 09:54
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^^^ it must be possible to do the surgery on teeny rats, though; I know some nutty rat ladies will neuter male mice.
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Mar 19, 2013 09:57
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Absolutely, I think it depends on the vet and how much experience they have. Its just what my vet told me, around here not many have experience with pocket pets so are more comfortable neutering when they're older.
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Mar 19, 2013 10:02
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There's also less risk of anaesthetic complications in an older/larger animal so that might be why the vets prefer to wait.
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Mar 19, 2013 12:01
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Big Bug Hug posted:Rat balls descend really early, I have heard the reason vets like to wait is because neutering is easier when the rat is bigger. I assume it would be really tricky on a tiny baby rattling! He said that they don't do it based on size (we offered their weights) and as long as they're descended they're good. What I found confusing was that he said descending happens at 4-5 months, when everything online says more like 4-5 weeks. He's great with rats, too, so I just don't know what's up with that. In the staff photo on his website, he is holding the clinic rats
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Mar 19, 2013 12:58
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So Biscuit isn't really good at socializing with strange people, as I've learned. Cubone was like KISSES FOR EVERYONE when I had guests over but Biscuit was a little nervous and ended up freaking out. He didn't bite anyone, just tried to run and hide in my friend's jacket and froze and looked traumatized. Was he just overstimulated? It's the first time he's been handled by someone that isn't a vet or around him every day. Also, Donut is in surgery for a tumor, Jasper passed away a few weeks ago due to aggressive tumors, and Vanguard is hanging out with my friend's rats because she and Cubone with no Donut buffer get into a lot of fights. There are only two rats at my house and it feels really quiet and lonely.
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Mar 19, 2013 14:00
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That blows, Pew. I'm not looking forward to when any of my five start to decline. They're all fairly similar in age too  I think rats should probably be socialised -- not as extensively as dogs, but it's something I'm thinking about for any future rats. Valentine will barely even climb onto my mum, though she's friendly enough with me. At least when I have company, Pandora and Moxxi are always keen to crawl on everyone (incidentally they are both my craziest girls and were socialised the most). Rats definitely know when you are handling them versus someone else. Mine can be a bit wary even if I've just washed my hands.
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Mar 19, 2013 14:45
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Those rat balls are very descended. Sprocket has one undescended testicle, and his 3rd birthday is this Sunday!  The undescended one is still huge and you can clearly see/feel it in his abdomen. The vet said its no biggie so whatever!
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Mar 19, 2013 16:02
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RIP Liza and rat balls. They've looked descended for ages, idk why he would expect 4-5 months but hey, at least they're getting done now. My little boys in surgery though 
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Mar 19, 2013 16:04
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My girlfriend just got a new baby rat. She's so adorable we can barely stand it and love her to death.Her name is Stitches! She has two awesome big sisters. The darker one is Taffeta, and the lighter one is Paisley. Taffy is is sort of derfy and affectionate, and Paisley is a handful. She is way smarter and more mischievous than any rat should be.  she is super tiny compared to the others. 
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Mar 20, 2013 04:55
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Uh oh, one of our girls has a marble sized lump next to her throat. It doesn't seem to be hurting her or affecting her in any way. We're going to wait a week and see if there are any changes before we decide what to do. Is it likely to be a tumour?
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Mar 20, 2013 16:45
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Unfortunately there's a strong chance that it is, yeah.
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Mar 20, 2013 16:59
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Tumor is likely, especially if she's older. But someone else in this thread had a marble-sized throat lump on a rat, and I did as well, and they both turned out to be cysts or something (Moomin's went down in a couple days).
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Mar 20, 2013 19:04
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I ended up buying some cheap fleece blankets at work and cutting them up to fit the top level. The girls seem to like it since they moved their nest up there. They're still pretty nervous, though I had a breakthrough with Teresa tonight - first time she's eaten a treat while sitting on me! Clare's a bit more skittish and still shivers a lot when I'm holding her.
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Mar 24, 2013 02:50
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Thanks for the advice on my post PI. Trixie has been adjusting well, I got rid of the ball and her wheel and bought her a cage that's 3x bigger. Plus it has no wood in it so it doesn't reek anymore. Ugh, that thing stunk. I can't imagine that her previous owner ever cleaned it besides scooping out the bedding. She's much calmer about me picking her up and yesterday during playtime she actually came up and sniffed me and climbed all over me. It was awesome! I usually let her out on my bed on a towel with a few shoeboxes or something for hiding spots for a couple of hours, sometimes a tiny treat or two. She's a nice weight now with the larger cage and playtime several days a week. I do give her treats but try to do it every other day at least and keep it to pea-sized bits.Her previous owner didn't give her much to do. Now she has stuff to shred in her cage and different chews. She goes insane over corn tortilla, that was the first thing I got her to take directly from my fingers. It's so awesome watching her get more comfortable around me and be happier in general. I love that she doesn't wiggle too much about coming out of her cage but squeaks when I pick her up to put her back in. Once I get my own place she'll be able to stay out much longer. Right now I'm limited by my sister's cats. They like to watch her and she's not afraid of them but they can open doors so I have to be vigilant about keeping her safe and seperate. drat adorable cats!
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Mar 24, 2013 23:43
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So those naked rats- is there a specific name for them? Watching an old episode of bones about a dead competitive eater, and they had some naked rats eating his corpse. Of course the first thing I think is 'ooh rats!' with the next being 'hey, rat balls!' This thread has taught me how to recognize balls on rats. 
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Mar 25, 2013 00:01
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