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Anonymous
I just got a pet rat about a week and a half ago. Her name is Stella and she's a dumbo rat. She's my first rat ever, any suggestions? Plus I have a couple of questions.

I noticed under bright light that one eye has a red tint and the other is black. Is something wrong with her eyes?

Also, what bedding do you use? I think the one I bought is giving her sinus issues as she sneezes a lot. I was thinking of using Yesterdays News.

She's sweet.. but she scent marks a lot. >_< I don't like getting marked, lol. She's extremely curious and she loves to run around everywhere. She's not too snuggly though. I hope this changes!
>> Anonymous
Rats can have odd-eyes, with one being black and the other pink/ruby, it's not unheard of. Also, I don't know if it's the picture but she doesn't really look dumbo to me.

I don't own rats, I'm a mouse lady, but I'm sure someone will be along to halp :D!

P.s. Get her a friend, amirite?
>> Anonymous
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Here's another picture.
>> Anonymous
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And one that shows her funky eyes... I don't use the flash anymore.. I felt really bad! >_<
>> Anonymous
Rats are social creatures, you should get another rat for her to play with, or you need to handle her A LOT. As for bedding, I've never had problems with aspen.
>> Anonymous
op you look like a rat yourself, a match made in heaven
>> Anonymous
>Is something wrong with her eyes?
No.

>Also, what bedding do you use?
Aspen or CareFresh.

>I don't like getting marked, lol.
Probably never going to stop.

>She's not too snuggly though.
All female rats I've owned have been nonstop go-go-go all the time rats. Males are typically the mellow ones.
>> Anonymous
If you are using pine or cedar as bedding I would stay away from that, it causes respiratory problems and some other stuff, I use carefresh ultra but its pricey
>> Anonymous
>>316041
I agree you have to get her a cage mate if you want her to be happy. I use yesterday's news and carefresh as bedding. Just don't use pine or cedar since it can give them respiratory issues.

Her eyes are super cool jealous.
>> Anonymous
Is OP a guy or girl? I can't tell at all..
>> Anonymous
>>316088
girl with thick eyebrows.
>> Anonymous
>>316053
Since my rat is pretty cute.. thanks!

>>316087
I'm using carefresh right now. I know their noses are pretty sensitive so I'm not using anything that's scented. Her eyes turned out like that because of the flash, they don't look like that normally.

>>316100
Wow.. my eyebrows do look huge. >_< I blame the webcam.

>>316088
Girl.. but less about me... more about Stella!
>> Anonymous
She's very cute!

Like the other person said, get her a friend, or else you're going to have to carry her around with you all day. Rats get very lonely and bored and it's a sad thing to behold.

I use Carefresh Ultra, the white stuff. It's very neutral as far as odors and irritants go. It's expensive, though. I use Yesterday's News in their litterbox.

Hate to break it to you, but girl rats in general are not very snuggly. They are very active and curious, while boy rats are cuddly, lazy blobs. There are always exceptions, though, so she could end up being less hyper. Girls tend to be cleaner than boys, so that's a plus.
>> Anonymous
>>316066
to add to your last remark, some females will slow down, especially albinos seeing as they have recessive genes. my albino is pretty chilled and loves sleeping and cuddling all the time, but my black silvered is the go go go type. both are females
>> Anonymous
Aww, who's adorable :)
Get her a friend, that really is important, I've seen rats lose their mind when they become alone.
Stick to bedding that is non oily, scented or chemical, that organic/nature friendly/compostable cat litter is good, but some brands are too dusty.
She's a girl, she'll be curious and runny til the day she dies, but once she is really used to you she'll snuggle a little.
Oh and her eyes are fine.
>> Anonymous
I had a solo rat and she was pretty fine on her own , I didn't have to give her attention 24/7 either , but people say you should never get only one rat
>> Anonymous
youd want to be very careful cleaning out his/her cage (or whatever you keep it in)
even tho its not a wild rat, you can still get a nasty case of wiels from its turds and urine
also i heard that, despite their high intelligence, they dont tend to get that lonely once they have something to continually distract them.. tho i dont know what exactly would do that for them
>> Anonymous
>>317831
>you can still get a nasty case of wiels
You can get a nasty case of wiels [sic] (Weil's) if your rat came into contact with a colony of wild rats and ingested an infectious dose of the still moist urine of one of the 14%* of wild rats that carry the disease.

tl;dr: Worrying about Weil's in captive bred rats is like worrying about getting rabies from a litter of kittens.

*http://www.ratbehavior.org/WildRatDisease.htm