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Hey, rat gurus! Long time petter, first time ratter here. My rats Panther and Bear came to live with me around the beginning of April. Does, just over 3 months old now. I am besotted. Of all the pets I've had in my life, I really can't understand why I didn't have rats until now. They're absolutely amazing. Panther is black, Bear is agouti. I don't have picture posting privileges but I'll try and get a photo up somewhere else later and link to it. I have some questions. First some rambly context: Now they're a few months old (and growing FAST) it's becoming really noticeable that Panther is considerably bigger than Bear. Panther had a real growth spurt a few weeks ago where I swore she got bigger every time I looked at her, whereas Bear has grown more gradually, but slowly. Panther is getting to be a big strong girl , chunky and quite 'solid' when you pick her up, with a delightfully fat round tummy (although not too fat, I think/hope!) and a face like a puppy. Bear, however, is smaller, more delicate; she's very slender and dainty and sort of more 'floppy' feeling when you pick her up. Her face is much narrower and even her tail is notably thinner than Panther's. They are sisters and came from a great breeder, so shouldn't be harbouring any secret nasty infections or anything. I'm just a little worried about whether Panther is too fat, or Bear is too thin, or a bit of both, or neither and they just do have very different builds. I love them both just the way they are as long as they're healthy being that way! They also have very different personalities. Again, I love this, as long as it's not signalling anything I should be worried about. Panther is like an excitable dog, bounding around everywhere and eating whatever she can get her mouth around (this very possibly ties in with/explains their size differences...!) and is very possessive of me. I joke that she thinks she actually is my human baby. Both of them have bonded with me very strongly, which is awesome, but Panther is REALLY keen - she's reluctant to play with anyone but me and gets jealous and frustrated if my attention is focused elsewhere. I sometimes have to make sure Bear gets her own playtime with me, as Panther will run over and physically wedge herself in between Bear and I if she notices me scritching Bear and not her. Bear is much much more gentle, and likes to just be close to me and be peaceful. She was less so as a proper baby but has become more passive as time's gone by - sometimes I worry she's a little subdued, which concerns me a bit. As they've grown she's definitely developed a more gentle/timid approach to the world around her than Panther's bossy bolshy one, though Bear's much more chill with new/other people. She LOVES having a quiet fuss and if I stop stroking her for a second she'll nudge at my hand for more - it's ADORABLE. She sleeps more than Panther and loves to curl up in my armpit while I go about my daily tasks, whereas Panther plays a lot but comes to me for specific cuddle time, snuggling my face, gazing in to my eyes and bruxing away while having a biiiiiiig fuss, before going off on another little adventure. It's a bit like Panther is the silly excitable adoring puppy, and Bear's the lazy wistful floppy cat (for example: they're on my bed with me now - Bear is very warm and flat and floppy sleeping under the duvet and buries herself further in to it if I lift it up, Panther is waddling around investigating every corner of the bed, coming to me for cuddles, going to check in with Bear, and then off adventuring again, etc). They play fight a fair bit, at times there's a LOT of squeaking which has had me frantically googling terms such as "rats play fighting or real fighting"  but as I understand from my research it's totally normal and not aggressive - I think they've probably also been sorting out who's the Alpha Rat, and I think it's probably Panther. They snuggle and groom each other and sleep together all the time, so I'm pretty sure they are very loving sisters who just like playing/bickering together. I'm aware this is becoming a bit of a massive wall of text, so I'll summarise with a few questions, but I just wanted to give you the context so y'all can (hopefully) help and/or reassure me! - Should I be worried about the differences in their size/weight/general figure, or is it normal for this stuff to vary quite a lot from rat to rat? - Should I be worried that Bear has gone in to her shell more while Panther's come out of hers? Is this probably just different personalities/Panther's assumed the 'dominant' role and Bear the 'submissive' one? - Is there a chance I've done anything to make Bear become more subdued? Or could she be sickening for something? :/ - Do you think Bear is negatively affected by Panther's possessiveness of me, or is it all good and normal and just carry on making sure they do get equal attention? - I've found the very occasional odd spot of what looks like blood in a few places in the last few days - a few tiny spots on some tissue in their cage, once a tiny spot on the base of Panther's tail, and once a few spots on the food bowl. I haven't freaked out too much yet, but I'm a bit concerned. I can't see any wounds anywhere on either of them and general health wise they seem healthy, although I know rats are good at hiding illnesses and not making a fuss. What do you make of it, rat goons? Just a bit of fighting that's gone slightly too far, am I mistaking it for poryphrin, or anything to be more worried about? - Does any of this warrant a vet trip, and also does it sound like I'm doing ok? I'm so in love with them and I live in fear of doing anything to upset them or, god forbid, break them! Really really sorry for the massive post that doesn't even have any pictures of rats in, but thanks in advance for any words of wisdom you guys can give me. 
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May 20, 2015 01:53
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| # ? Apr 17, 2024 00:44 |
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None of what you are describing is abnormal for ratties. Some are bold, some are more timid or aloof, some want to be near you all the time. They mostly benefit from early socialization which can make them more confident but just like people they all have their little quirks. As to the red substance, check over your girls for scabs or wounds. If they don't have any, and especially if you see porphyrin around their eyes or noses, it is probably that around the cage. Have you done a well visit/ new pet visit with your local exotic vet? That might help put your mind at all ease. Don't forget to hop on over to the rat mega thread there are lots of folks with a ton of good advice there.
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May 20, 2015 03:45
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We have had at least two young rats that somehow got wood chips stuck in their throats before we got them (both dumbo's coincidentally), which was causing them to not eat much at all. They were probably starving at the pet store or just eating them out of curiosity but a vet was able to help both just fine. Probably not an issue for Bear, but might try feeling around her throat and make sure you don't feel any lumps. Reminds me of a funny story, the last one that had the issue was given banana flavored, antibiotics. For the longest time after that she refused to eat bananas. Now she will begrudgingly but its never been a favorite, unlike most of our other rats over the years.
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May 28, 2015 22:49
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Hi hi, I'm so sorry, I posted this big long post and then didn't come back to it, things have been a bit urgh here lately and I've not been on much, and forgot to reply, my bad. Thanks so much for that advice and reassurance - it really helped. I took them for a check up at the small animal vet and was delighted to find they're totally normal and in fact are in "beautiful condition"! Which was really nice to hear. Lots of people were cooing over them loads in the waiting room too, it made me feel almost as warm and happy as cuddling my actual rats makes me They're both definitely very confident and happy, and just have really different personalities, which is good to know and is part of what makes me love them so much. Rats 4eva. See you all in the mega thread in future and thank you for the advice!
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Jun 10, 2015 02:43
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