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I keep a beef knuckle in the cage and toss leftover bones from dinner as well. That keeps them from chewing the cage pretty well. One of these: http://www.chewy.com/dog/merrick-tank-meaty-beef-knuckle-dog/dp/29406
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Oct 31, 2013 17:03
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Baika posted:She has some severe respiratory issues going on. She's been on doxy and baytril for about a year. She gets albuterol + gentocin in a saline mixture for nebulization. She was placed on a topical form of prednisone, oral furosemide to bring down inflammation down in her lungs and midazolam for anxiety (for her respiratory attacks). That's an awful lot to go through, what a little fighter. My sympathies for your loss. 
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Oct 31, 2013 19:33
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Invalid Octopus posted:I keep a beef knuckle in the cage and toss leftover bones from dinner as well. That keeps them from chewing the cage pretty well. I have to second throwing in bones really seems like the best options. I think I will try out that beef knuckle as well!
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Oct 31, 2013 20:08
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Javid posted:They LOVE flipping their food bowl, though. I had to stop using the food bowl just because they kept flipping the food out and using the bowl to pee in. They seem to enjoy sitting on the roof of their house all the time. I bought a ton of fleece for their cage (because my god, gently caress the wood chip bedding) and I just want to know how much of the stuff I should put in. Should I cut up the fleece into sheets and lay them down that way or should I just fold up a ton of it and lay it down that way. Also, what is the best way to wrap the second floor? I don't want the guys to get bumblefoot.
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Oct 31, 2013 22:16
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One of my rats is a weirdo and hopefully someone can shed some light on it. I got 3 rats from a pet store, and the clerk who sold them to me breeds them at her house. She said she's been doing it for over a decade, used to do it for shows, said she would handle them all from birth, so I figured she will have at least a leg up from a mass bred feeder. 2 of the rats were brothers (Muhammad and Pig Pen), and the 3rd was a black eyed siamese (Moby) from a previous litter that no one would buy because white coloring isn't as exciting, so we scooped him up to give him a nice home. He was the only rat she brought in from that litter cuz her "Co workers really wanted to see the black eye siamese". When we first got them home the two brothers were way more active than Moby with wrestling and exploring, and they seemed to both gang up on him with the power grooming. I figured this was just the age difference even though he isn't much older and they'd sort out their hierarchy. Even now when he's just walking by they will sometimes "attack" him and groom the crap out of him. He spends a lot of his time sleeping in his house, and when the other rats come in he will squish himself up against the wall as much as he could, like he's trying not to draw attention. No blood is drawn, and they never seem to be hurting each other, but now I'm concerned because I've been finding poryphyrin on Moby 's whiskers, and some staining the inside of the house he likes to hide out in, and I think the other 2 may be peeing on him a lot because he is extra smelly, or maybe he isn't grooming himself as much as he should be. He is a really sweet rat, he doesn't give a crap about being picked up and takes treats from my hand so gently, it's like his teeth don't even touch it. I'm concerned he was the only one she brought in because he was the weirdo, or that he has some serious defect that I'm not aware of... Should I separate him into another cage and see how he does for a while? Will two rats gang up on another and make him miserable? I just want my rats to be bros. Jbeagle, I just wrap it in a single layer that's big enough to go around and not come up around the edges and cut up enough largish strips for them to do with as they please for bedding. Seems to work out well. Small strips become a pain in the rear end to pull out and clean. kazr fucked around with this message at 04:14 on Nov 1, 2013 |
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Nov 1, 2013 03:26
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This fleece was a terrible idea. All they do is go underneath it and knock their cage open.
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Nov 3, 2013 00:38
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I put several layers of newspaper down, then fleece. They do get under the fleece but the paper usually stays.
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Nov 3, 2013 00:58
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I put paper down once and regretted it as soon as they tore it apart. Also, is there a way to trim their claws? Because holy hell they sliced my hand open.
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Nov 3, 2013 01:22
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JGBeagle posted:I put paper down once and regretted it as soon as they tore it apart. Also, is there a way to trim their claws? Because holy hell they sliced my hand open. Yeah, hold a rat, trim the claws. Human nail clippers work fine.
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Nov 3, 2013 02:21
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Invalid Octopus posted:Yeah, hold a rat, trim the claws. Human nail clippers work fine. I'm still terrified to do mine, pinky is pretty chill but brain is so squirmy i'd probably chop off a toe by accident.  Might just peg some sandpaper to one of their cage ramps...
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Nov 3, 2013 11:39
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Extra Smooth Balls posted:I'm still terrified to do mine, pinky is pretty chill but brain is so squirmy i'd probably chop off a toe by accident. I only have one who has nails that get obnoxiously sharp. I pick him up when he's sleeping and cut off the nails on one paw while he's still a little groggy. I also saw somewhere that you can get wheels with sandpaper inserts.
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Nov 3, 2013 16:15
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Cool, just wanted to make sure before doing it. This might be tough since both of them never like to be held for more than like ten seconds.
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Nov 3, 2013 22:25
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Sometimes I use an emery board. Or a bit of sandpaper on the couch at playtime. I can't hold my rats still either.
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Nov 3, 2013 23:19
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So I finally, after 20 years of ratladying, built a rat rack to streamline the crap out of my obsessive BYBing.   I am officially a horrible person and I would love to show these pics and this post to me, circa 2005.  I also picked up these dudes from Petco day before yesterday:  The one on the right is prob the most minimally marked rat I've found in a pet store, so that's cool. I'm more interested in merle-ing than I am in extreme HW's now though. The one on the left is actually more useful to me right now because he's a poor rex and I'm trying to work rexing into everything and it's hard as poo poo to get around here, the last few years. ~~ratz~~
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Nov 4, 2013 02:13
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Blah, so I was a bad pet owner a few weeks ago and forgot to freeze my bag of bedding before cleaning his cage when going on vacation (I do everything last minute.). Now that I'm back I'm noticing small scabs on his neck and face along with lots of scratching. I just ordered the correct dosage of Ivermectin from Amazon but is there anything I can do to ease his itchyness until that arrives (aside from thorough cleanings of everything and information that's in the O.P.)? I've been reading a Melafix bath can help short term, and I do have some of that on hand from my aquarium but I don't really want to trust a random website on google with using that on him even if it is diluted. Edit: Bonus pictures: Rattie that now has mites   Ratties that I bought today (before I noticed the mites )that will now have to be treated too. (Don't worry. The tiny cage isn't their main, just used for transporting them and and is being used for short periods a day for them to get each others scents because the 2 large cages won't fit anywhere near each other.
nunsexmonkrock fucked around with this message at 06:25 on Nov 4, 2013 |
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Nov 4, 2013 06:07
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I lucked out not getting mites the first time I used wood bedding, second time I made sure to freeze it. Now I just need to figure out where to put their water where they wont knock the ball bearing against the fleece and dump all the water out. I've had to refill their water twice in a row, and I usually only have to refill it once a week.
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Nov 4, 2013 21:35
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I honestly don't know if I would bother with the Ivermectin, it seems a bit risky to me, what with the possible side effects. When I took my guy to the vet for mites it cost me all of 30€ to get them both treated, with the meds applied externally right on the spot. Better than risking an overdose.
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Nov 4, 2013 22:34
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Cardiovorax posted:I honestly don't know if I would bother with the Ivermectin, it seems a bit risky to me, what with the possible side effects. When I took my guy to the vet for mites it cost me all of 30€ to get them both treated, with the meds applied externally right on the spot. Better than risking an overdose. A horse-sized tube of ivermectin is $5 at my local feed store and you put a dab literally the size of a grain of rice on a cheerio and feed it to the rat. There's a whole write-up in the OP about this under the heading HOW TO CURE YOUR INFESTATION. Unless your rat is extremely small, underweight, sick, or a baby, it'll be fine.
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Nov 5, 2013 02:15
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daggerdragon posted:A horse-sized tube of ivermectin is $5 at my local feed store and you put a dab literally the size of a grain of rice on a cheerio and feed it to the rat. There's a whole write-up in the OP about this under the heading HOW TO CURE YOUR INFESTATION. Unless your rat is extremely small, underweight, sick, or a baby, it'll be fine. Yeah the new guys are old enough to get half a grain of rice sized dose of the meds older guy full grain of rice sized. I just want information on how to keep him less itchy while I'm waiting for the ivermectin in the mail. if for some. reason it isn't mites (it is) I will take him to a vet. For reference I don't use Aspen as bedding. the pet store does because its cheap. I use carefresh but it still has the same problems with mites that others have from stores if not frozen. any information on keeping him less itchy for a couple days would be much appreciated.
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Nov 5, 2013 09:32
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Congrats to Invalid Octopus for winning the Halloween Pet Photo contest with a cute rattie costume!! http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3577099&perpage=40&pagenumber=2
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Nov 6, 2013 01:30
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Haha, congrats IO - surprising, and awesome, to see rats winning contests over cats and dogs!
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Nov 6, 2013 04:48
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Thanks guys
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Nov 6, 2013 05:38
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What would be a good food to give my rats as a treat for training? I'd like it to be something they wouldn't get in their normal meal that way they'd hopefully understand trick = treat.
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Nov 6, 2013 07:58
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I like to use Cheerios or puffed rice
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Nov 6, 2013 10:40
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Little bits of people food work really well for that too. Cooked meat is a favorite when you want to keep their attention for more than five seconds.
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Nov 6, 2013 16:12
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I used to take yogies and cut them into 1/4ths so they were training treat sized. Cheerios def worked when I ran out though.
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Nov 6, 2013 16:25
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The baby food row sells cereal puff things and if you look at the nutrition facts it takes like 6 to equal 1 calorie. So you can give them a dozen or more during training and not affect their diet. There are also like 6 flavors so you can mix it up.
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Nov 6, 2013 16:37
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My guys love white chocolate. Just little bits, because goddamn there's a lot of sugar and fat in that stuff, but they go absolutely crazy over it.
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Nov 6, 2013 17:48
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Big Bug Hug posted:I like to use Cheerios or puffed rice Yeah, when I was attempting to clicker-train my bozos, I used Rice Krispies. It needs to be something they gobble fast and come back for more.
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Nov 6, 2013 20:45
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Ugh, I already use puffed rice in their mix. And I used cheerios before that.  I might try the cooked meat idea though.EDIT: I love how one rat has taken the house as his own now that the other just lives amongst the fleece.
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Nov 6, 2013 23:52
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Chimay has had a total personality overhaul at a year and a bit and has decided to become the most affectionate and chill shoulder-rat ever. Before this, we were just lumpy and inconvenient obstacles on her path to explore the world - now, she throws herself against the cage door as we pass in a frenzied attempt to love us. Naturally, since these are our first rats and they haven't been hugely affectionate until this point, this has had us enthralled with adoration for weeks. Excuse my hobolike appearance, it's very cold: Never fails to amaze me in photos how big they are now!  My glasses interest her deeply.  She enjoys doing this for long periods.
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Nov 7, 2013 01:25
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Oh god, I thought the fleece would be a lot easier to clean up. I didn't think the cage would end up looking even grosser than before. And so much harder to clean. How the gently caress is this supposed to be better than the lovely bedding?
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Nov 8, 2013 23:23
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JGBeagle posted:Oh god, I thought the fleece would be a lot easier to clean up. Yep fleece sucks, you don't know HOW glad I am to not have to deal with fleece and/or lovely thin trays anymore. I can just pull my cage in two, dump the substrate, fill and reattach. Wham, bam, thank you ma'am, takes like ten minutes as opposed to the 1hr+ it used to. 
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Nov 8, 2013 23:29
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I've stuck with fleece for three reasons: 1) the cage I bought has a shallow bottom tray 2) the fleece blankets I use are $3 each, I could throw them away every time and it would still be cheaper than most commercial bedding 3) I'm allergic to Carefresh But I can see why it isn't a solution for everyone.
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Nov 9, 2013 01:01
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Is it possible to contract an allergy to rats? Because I just picked one of them up and where their claws scratched me is now swelling and getting very itchy. I've been scratched by them multiple times before and never had this happen.
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Nov 9, 2013 03:42
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JGBeagle posted:Is it possible to contract an allergy to rats? Because I just picked one of them up and where their claws scratched me is now swelling and getting very itchy. I've been scratched by them multiple times before and never had this happen. My daughter gets this from 2 of our rats (brothers) and not the other 2. It's just from bacteria on their claws I imagine but why some not others is a mystery. Like most allergies I guess you can develop it later on, or lose it if you have it.
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Nov 9, 2013 04:35
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I am super duper allergic to rats and it took about 10 years for me to get that way. Now anywhere they touch me leaves an itchy welt and handling them makes my eyes and nose run.
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Nov 9, 2013 14:54
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Our new vet just prescribed 0.6ml of baytril a day for our rat (done in two 0.3ml sets). We've only ever given one lot of 0.3ml a day - does this sound look too much to you guys? The vet said several times "I'm not an exotics expert", hence me double checking when usually I'd have no issue taking their advice at face value.
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Nov 9, 2013 15:47
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My allergies are getting worse the more I handle them. On top of that last night one of them broke out of the cage. This is starting to become a hassle I might not be able to handle. I don't want to throw in the towel and get rid of them but I can't even pick them up off the ground without my nose going into a sneezing fit. If they keep breaking out of the cage I don't know if I can keep them here. I can't stay at this apartment 24/7 I'm still trying to find another job.
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Nov 14, 2013 20:16
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JGBeagle posted:My allergies are getting worse the more I handle them. On top of that last night one of them broke out of the cage. That sucks, man. Have you tried taking regular allergy meds? I know a lot people have rats despite allergies, so it is doable depending on severity. Do you know how he broke out of the cage? Because that should be the next thing you figure out.
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Nov 14, 2013 20:36
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