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Invalid Octopus posted: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. I normally don't take allergy meds because they never seem to work. I took a couple last night to no effect but my allergies went away after I closed the door to the closet. Of course that might be the meds doing.  And they got out by popping open the top of the cage. I don't know how I'm going to be able to stop them from doing it again.
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Nov 14, 2013 21:05
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JGBeagle posted:I normally don't take allergy meds because they never seem to work. I took a couple last night to no effect but my allergies went away after I closed the door to the closet. Of course that might be the meds doing. Clip it? Multiple carabiners?
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Nov 14, 2013 21:22
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Invalid Octopus posted:Clip it? What kind of clips should I use? I don't want to use something they could either break through or injure themselves trying to chew it.
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Nov 14, 2013 21:27
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JGBeagle posted:What kind of clips should I use? I don't want to use something they could either break through or injure themselves trying to chew it. When my girls had a cage they could pop open, twist-ties worked well enough, honestly.
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Nov 14, 2013 21:32
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^^^ Yeah, wire twist ties would probably work. Or any relatively secure clip. They're not going to break their teeth off trying to chew a thing.
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Nov 14, 2013 21:35
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Whoever design the rat harness has never seen a rat before. The drat thing is way too small. Just wasted 12 dollars and got nothing but sliced up hands and a killer allergic reaction. Plus piss all over my goddamn clothes. I hate these rats. 
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Nov 19, 2013 03:32
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Rats take a lot of effort and handling and some experience before they're fun to own.  They don't just bust out ready to walk on a harness and not pee on things, it sounds like you're moving waaaaaaaaaay too fast. For the record I've had rats for almost 20 years now (most of my life!) and if I tried to put a harness on one that would last about 3 seconds and would prob take at least 2 people to accomplish in the first place.
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Nov 19, 2013 03:37
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JGBeagle posted:Whoever design the rat harness has never seen a rat before. The drat thing is way too small. Just wasted 12 dollars and got nothing but sliced up hands and a killer allergic reaction. Plus piss all over my goddamn clothes. I'm sorry dude but maybe if you'd asked if getting a rat harness was a good idea people would have told you it wasn't. If you want to rehome the rats, rehome the rats.
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Nov 19, 2013 03:37
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Invalid Octopus posted:I'm sorry dude but maybe if you'd asked if getting a rat harness was a good idea people would have told you it wasn't. If you want to rehome the rats, rehome the rats. Pretty much this. You're expecting your rats to act super socialized and like they've had a bunch of conscious training while also being allergic to them and not being able to contain them. They're not dogs, it takes way more work than the average person is willing to put in (myself included) to get them to the level you seem to expect rats to be at by default. It's cool, just rehome them.
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Nov 19, 2013 03:42
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I can't rehome them, no one will take them. The animal shelter only takes in dogs and cats. And judging by the craigslist ads in my area people only buy rats as feeders. I'm not going to give them away to be someone else's food. Besides, I just spent 80 loving dollars on a new cage that'll (hopefully) make a five hour trip so they can be with me while I'm at my parent's for Thanksgiving. And I'm not "expecting" them to just do tricks and be amazing little superrats. Hell, I didn't even know I could train them when I bought them. I wanted a caged animal so when I had to eventually move (which I did) I could hide them away. And I can do that. But now I don't have a job and it's getting harder to justify buying them food over food for myself.
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Nov 19, 2013 03:55
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JGBeagle posted:I can't rehome them, no one will take them. The animal shelter only takes in dogs and cats. And judging by the craigslist ads in my area people only buy rats as feeders. I'm not going to give them away to be someone else's food. Besides, I just spent 80 loving dollars on a new cage that'll (hopefully) make a five hour trip so they can be with me while I'm at my parent's for Thanksgiving. Well, harnesses kind of suck for rats. It's better to just rat-proof a room and let them hang out with you, or have them on the couch and hope they don't realize they can jump down. Even my nicest rats would probably just freeze and have emotions if I put a harness on them. If you really want to get rid of them, sign up for some rat forums and find some rat ladies to take them in. There are lots of rat rescue networks you can reach out to.
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Nov 19, 2013 04:00
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I lost my little man Finn the other day. Poor little guy never had great health, but he was such a happy lovey boy. I'm still sad, I miss him a lot. He used to hang out down my shirt or chill next to me on the couch a couple of hours a day. I'm just so used to him always being there wanting to come out and snuggle  Now that I think about it, taking care of him helped me through some tough times. Having him run out to see me and sit on my shoulder, and even when he was often sick and I'd nurse him. Maybe that's why I'm so broken up about it. He's the third I've lost in 3 months, but he wasn't as elderly as the others and it was relatively unexpected. And yeah, he was my little buddy.
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Nov 19, 2013 04:20
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JGBeagle posted:I can't rehome them, no one will take them. The animal shelter only takes in dogs and cats. And judging by the craigslist ads in my area people only buy rats as feeders. I'm not going to give them away to be someone else's food. Besides, I just spent 80 loving dollars on a new cage that'll (hopefully) make a five hour trip so they can be with me while I'm at my parent's for Thanksgiving. It'll be ok. Before you know it, they'll be sitting on your shoulder just chillin like your bros. It just takes time for them to get used to you. They're prey animals after all, and you're pretty big and scary. Just keep dispensing cheerios and they'll realize it's cool to hang out and they don't have to worry that you'll eat them. And yeah, lose the harness. They're made for getting into and out of tight spots, a harness is really no match for either their Houdini skills or their teeth. You won't really need it soon enough.
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Nov 19, 2013 04:28
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So I was able to make the trip to my parents okay, but when I went to go wash out their cage one of the rats ran into a hole I had no idea about (If I had known there was a random hole in between the cabinet and wall I wouldn't have put them in there. It's been hours now and our attempts to get him out have failed. I'm at a loss of what to do. I've already had two mental breakdowns over this poo poo today. I'm a horrible human being, and a horrible rat owner.
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Nov 22, 2013 00:53
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What kind of cage are they in? If it's a double level just close the remaining rats in the top, leave the bottom door open with food, and wait. It's what I have to do when my little turds decide they'd rather explore than stay with me/let me refill their food and water. They always came back, even the first day they were in their cage. Or set up a box trap with food. I've done that a bunch too. Mine think it's great fun to escape and make me worry. They do it at least once a week. 
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Nov 22, 2013 02:19
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...you put the rats in a cabinet when you were cleaning their cage?
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Nov 22, 2013 04:17
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No, one of them bolted out of the cage right into the hole that I had no idea existed. I should've put them in the cabinet so they wouldn't have been able to escape.
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Nov 22, 2013 04:37
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Going to be staying with my folks for about four days next week for Thanksgiving, does anyone have any recommendations for a good travel cage?JGBeagle posted:No, one of them bolted out of the cage right into the hole that I had no idea existed. I should've put them in the cabinet so they wouldn't have been able to escape. Early on when I first got my girls, I had one of them get underneath my bathroom sink cabinet once while I was cleaning their cage and she refused to come out for hours. I wound up sitting on the bathroom floor until 6 am waiting for her to come back out so I could snatch her. It happens, you shouldn't beat yourself up over it. Misc fucked around with this message at 03:44 on Nov 23, 2013 |
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Nov 22, 2013 17:48
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After +12 hours of trying to catch him every time he came out I ended up just being able to take apart one of the cabinet panels and yank him out. He's not very fond of me at the moment. He just keeps glaring at me.
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Nov 22, 2013 21:59
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JGBeagle posted:After +12 hours of trying to catch him every time he came out I ended up just being able to take apart one of the cabinet panels and yank him out. He's not very fond of me at the moment. He just keeps glaring at me. Rattes!  He's probably mad you interrupted his AMAZING ADVENTURE. Give him a cheerio or a piece of puffed rice or something and he'll forget all about you being the big evil adventure ruiner.
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Nov 23, 2013 00:39
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So a seller on amazon dicked me over on my Ivermectin, I went with Zimecterin brand because I've used it before. But the seller never mailed it. I had a brand I've never used before overnighted and it's apple flavored, hopefully it will be more easily accepted. I figure it doesn't hurt to double check that this is the correct stuff?  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003NYACAS/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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Nov 23, 2013 06:37
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That's what I used with my rats and it seemed to work alright. Also they actually ate it which was useful.
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Nov 23, 2013 15:43
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Awesome. Thanks I'll clean everything and dose everyone after I go to the bank. Edit: Yeah the stuff I bought is tasty to them, all 3 rats gobbled it up on top of a honey yogurt drop. nunsexmonkrock fucked around with this message at 23:13 on Nov 23, 2013 |
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Nov 23, 2013 20:02
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Anyone have experience caring for a single, elderly rat? My rat Edith's last remaining cagemate just passed a week ago from what I suspect was a pituitary tumor. For most of her life Edith has lived with 3 other rats, but this last rat dying was especially rough because they came from the same litter. This is the first time Edith has been apart from her for more than a day. I don't know what to do here. I feel terrible that Edith is alone. It's had a noticeable impact on her demeanor already. I feel obligated to adopt a new rat to keep her company, but I don't know if I want to start the cycle of rat-ownership over again. I've loved my rats and they've been awesome pets, but its hard getting so attached to a pet with such a short lifespan. Anyway, I'd appreciate some guidance from someone who has been in this situation. Are there things I can do to uphold her quality of life on my own, or should I just give in and find her a new cagemate?
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Nov 24, 2013 21:08
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Chell has a couple of scabs on her back; I'm guessing it's bites from Moxxi (no hair loss, which I associate with mites). Anything I need to do, or just keep an eye on it?J A V A posted:Anyone have experience caring for a single, elderly rat? I know Razor Bunny had a solo male rat for quite a few months. I think the only thing you can do if you don't want to get more rats is to have her on/with you as much as you possibly can, or rehome to someone who has other rats.
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Nov 24, 2013 22:40
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It's definitely a tough call. I think van Buren was fairly happy as a solo rat, but I made sure he was always out with us whenever possible. He basically lived on our couch for the last few months of his life, and just went back to his cage to eat, sleep, and poop. He liked to just hang out under my laptop while I sat cross-legged on the sofa, and poke his head out occasionally to say hi. Physical comfort is important - right now Garrus wants nothing to do with the other rats, and is MUCH happier by himself, but he gets cold easily without a ratpile to snuggle in. I wadded up an entire twin-sized blanket and squished it into his cage so he can burrow in. I'd say try to keep her interested in things like new foods and exploring, and play with her a lot, and see how she does. Hopefully she will bounce back from her loss and be okay.
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Nov 25, 2013 02:11
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Holy gently caress. Holy gently caress. I have 2 lady rats, and they'd just turned a year old a week ago. And I left for two days, leaving them with a warm room, plenty of water, tons of food, and someone who was gonna check up on them... And now they're both dead. I'm freaking out really hard right now. They were so young and so healthy and they don't look like they killed each other... does anyone have any ideas as to what happened? Did I gently caress up? I'm sorry, I've just been a lurker, but gently caress sakes, I'm really hosed up right now so some help would really be appreciated. Pics of my girls:   Gail  Lita
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Nov 25, 2013 18:15
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I'm so sorry it doesn't sound like you did anything wrong. Don't beat yourself up. I can't even imagine what might have caused it other than a possible heat stroke if the room was too warm? Like if you left heating on and it got hot. People here in Australia have to deal with heat stroke in rats a lot. It doesn't sound like something that could happen easily in winter for you though. You didn't do anything wrong by leaving them a couple days though. Maybe they got sick. Just a freak thing
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Nov 25, 2013 21:41
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Clandestine! posted:Bad things. Do you use more than 1 water bottle? If you have just one it could have malfunctioned and not have been dispensing water. Sorry for your loss, it sucks when something like this happens. nunsexmonkrock fucked around with this message at 05:04 on Nov 26, 2013 |
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Nov 26, 2013 04:58
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Thanks, guys. It wasn't the water bottle, nor was it heat stroke - the bottle seems to work fine and it wasn't too hot in the room they were in, unless somehow the space heater spiked the heat up randomly. I might see if my vet will be able to do a biopsy, because I kind of just need to know. Previously I had a single crusty old lady rat who died at 2 and a few months (just in her sleep), so I guess I'm no stranger to the short lifespan of rats, but this is different, because Gail and Lita were so young.
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Nov 26, 2013 22:30
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Gramps is starting to look better now that he has received his meds. Less itching, some scabs are disappearing and he seems a good bit more active now that he isn't constantly scratching, everyone gets a cage cleaning and another dose tomorrow. The new rats are socializing with me rather well. Eclipse (brown hooded) absolutely loves my hoodie, he walks right into it and refuses to leave when I open up the cage. Nebula (tan hooded) is the same, he accepts me picking him up and putting him on my shoulder and he like to roam back and forth, sniff the air. In a week or so, I'll try to introduce new guys and old guy in the bathtub to see how that goes, hopefully there won't be blood.
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Nov 29, 2013 18:36
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Do you guys have any recommendations on keeping my rats from chewing through the plastic base of their cage? I have a replacement base and I'd like to figure a way to keep them from putting holes in the new one. Are there any of the bitter sprays that will work, or anything I can line it with to keep them from pulling a Shawshank Redemption again? Or are you pretty much just screwed when you try to mix ratties and plastic?
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Nov 30, 2013 23:35
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Some rats do fine with plastic bottoms, some don't. If you don't want to buy a new cage try adding in more things for them to chew on, plastic in particular. I wouldn't use bitter apple spray inside their cage since they will frequently be coming in contact with it. Personally, I'd say just buy a new cage with a metal base, it's not worth the risk of them escaping and injuring themselves/getting lost if they have a tendency to chew through the base in my opinion. Edit: You can also try lining it on the inside with aluminum foil, most rats from what I've found don't like to chew it but they could still push it down, scratch it off, etc... and then chew the plastic. nunsexmonkrock fucked around with this message at 04:43 on Dec 1, 2013 |
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Dec 1, 2013 04:41
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I've found it also depends on how hard/thick the plastic is. If it's good quality and thick, they find it a little harder to get their teeth on it. Metal is probably the way to go though.
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Dec 1, 2013 06:05
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SlipkPIe posted:Do you guys have any recommendations on keeping my rats from chewing through the plastic base of their cage? I have a replacement base and I'd like to figure a way to keep them from putting holes in the new one. Are there any of the bitter sprays that will work, or anything I can line it with to keep them from pulling a Shawshank Redemption again? Or are you pretty much just screwed when you try to mix ratties and plastic? You can't really, except by offering them more appealing things to chew on, and blocking off the area with other stuff (heavy food bowl, for example). I always keep a beef knuckle (dog section of any pet store) in the cage, and toss bones in there from dinner as well. Plus occasional rawhide and wood stuff to chew on.
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Dec 1, 2013 06:33
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I've had my rattes for 2 weeks now, they were about 6 weeks old when I got them. They know some tricks already, they love to lick my hand and are generally curious. Yet, they are really jittery, averse to touch and try to run back to their cage the instant I pick them up. How do I win their absolute love I've read so much about? Romulus and Remus. Pic is kinda lovely, I didn't want to scare them with flash.
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Dec 6, 2013 20:22
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Forced socialization. Stick 'em in your hoodie while you're at the computer. Continue until they love you. It's weird, but that's kind of how it works.
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Dec 6, 2013 21:06
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I tried it once and got ratty diarrhea on my pants. Oh well, guess it's time to get my hands dirty with this.
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Dec 6, 2013 21:23
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They'll poop on you less the more socialized they become - rats poop out of fear/stress, and it tends to be runnier than their normal droppings.
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Dec 6, 2013 21:28
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And stuff their faces full of (healthy-ish?) treats during forced socialization, so they start to see you as a source of Good Things. Rice Krispies or Cheerios are usually a favorite. Also, your rats are super cute, so you'd better protect them from ERS! Exploding Rat Syndrome can happen any time, any place, to any rat whose adorable face isn't making enough appearances in the rat thread. 
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Dec 6, 2013 22:37
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