File :-(, x, )
Anonymous
ITT: Rats and rat stories, advice for a new owner (this anon)

I'd take a picture of my babies, alas I am cameraless.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
My rat.

Tip: An exercise wheel is important for a rat, but it has be the right type of wheel. Rats often get their tails caught in the exercise wheels with open backing (the type with just horizontal wires), and pretty soon will refuse to use them. A real rat wheel needs some kind of enclosed back to it, such as mesh (not my favorite, personally) plastic or solid metal. Also make sure that the wheel is big enough to handle a full grown rat. Hamster and gerbil wheels won't do.

I wish somebody had told me this before I bought a rat, myself.
>> Ugly Homer !kK24KJlRV.
Rats are fucking awesome
>> Anonymous
if rats are so smart why do they live in igloos?
>> Anonymous
>>255944
Yet more evidence that eskimos are not, in fact, people.
>> Anonymous
I used to have a rat that would drink coffee out of a little toy tea set if you'd give him some. He'd grab it by the handle too.

He got bit by a spider and got sick and died. :(
>> Anonymous
>>255927
thanks for that, good to know.
I'm looking at a model called a Wodent Wheel. They make it in all sorts of sizes, and it has a solid bottom and back. Only thing is it's hella pricy; $20 for the 12" one.
>> Anonymous
Kill it with fire.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
My rats don't run in wheels, they would only sleep inside them, so eventually I got rid of them and just let my buddies run around on my bed while I watched tv.
>> Anonymous
bump for rats
>> laurenthel
     File :-(, x)
Wodent Wheels are totally worth the price. Also look into buying scraps of polar fleece cloth from a fabric store: with safety pins it becomes hammocks, and larger pieces can be piled up for rats to burrow in when it gets cold.

One game my rats love is where I just wrap them up in a sheet and they have to tunnel out. They also love rope climbing, tight rope walking, pulling up a basket by a string, and they're getting the hang of jumping through the hoop; that it, they've got the "through the hoop" part down but haven't quite figured out that I want them to jump.

Make sure you get at least two rats of the same gender. They don't do well alone.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
Rats are the most wonderful pets I've ever had. I must admit, I'm a little jealous of>>256820, haha. My boys are lazy, lazy, lazy, and don't like to do much aside from beg me for treats. It's the best feeling in the world though to come home and see their little whiskered noses pressed through the bars as they cling to the cage corner closest to the door and greet me! Incredible lovable creatures.

Never give them food through the bars of the cage; always place it in a bowl or bring the rat out with you and give it the food. Otherwise they will associate snacktime with fingers-through-the-cage, and might begin to nip.
>> Anonymous
how can i get my rat to be more comfortable and friendly? whenever i put my hand in her cage she gets scared and runs in her home, also when i pick her up her heart rate shoots and shes too afraid to stay still/do anything
>> Anonymous
>>257296
OP again
Yeah, anyone know of any really good ways to socialize the younguns? I could use some...
>> Anonymous
>>257321

Just play with them constantly. I had three for quite a while, and I'd play with them all the time when I was home. Particularly when I was browsing /b/, I'd just let them run around and play in the room. Sometimes I'd take one out at a time and just have her (they were all girls) chill with me on the chair. At first they hated that, but eventually I was snuggle times and they loved it. Rats are great, if a bit smelly (the pee everywhere is something you get used to.)
>> Anonymous
>>257363
my sugar glider does the same thing. kinda annoying.

i used to work in the rat lab at my college. we had bunches of white cute rats. no insane experiments. just mainly testing drugs that were already on the market to see if there were any unlisted side affects.

a few rats got tumors...dont take herbal estrogen. Its sold in stores as safe for humans but i'll tell u first hand it isnt.
>> That Gomez
One of my friends briefly had some rats before she found out she was allergic. But before she had to get rid of them, she found that under one of her front legs she had a lump that felt more like a fat deposit, but it was in a weird place. It was loose, and wasn't firm at all and didn't seem to hurt or hinder her in any way. Any ideas?
>> Fawkes
just pick the rat up, and hold it in your lap. wait til it gets used to your smell and scent and eventually it'll calm down. just don't hold it high off the ground...make sure it can still see its cage, so it feels like it can get to a "safe place" if it needs to. try that.
>> Anonymous
>>257387
That could be a tumor. I'd have a vet see her (the rat).
>> Anonymous
>>256168

If you think $20 is expensive, I'd advise against getting pet rats. A good cage for a pair of rats (and my good I mean, not one of those shit starter homes that people think are 'acceptable') will run anywhere from $80-$100.

I would advise on trying to find a breeder if you're looking to get rats. They are a little more expensive but it is SO worth it in the long run. I know friends of mine who got their rats at the pet store and have had to incur hundreds of dollars in vet bills because of their poor breeding. My rats on the other hand, have never needed vet attention, because they came from good lines. The extra few bucks for well-bred rats will save you a LOT in the future, believe me.
>> Anonymous
>>257387

Tumors are generally 'fatty' feeling. Abscesses usually feel more hard under the skin. A vet visit is probably a good idea, females are very prone to tumors.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
when i was training my rats i put a chicken leg bone with a bit of meat left on it (cooked) on my hand, put my hand in the cage and waited.

before long the smell draws the rats out, they'll grab the bone and drag it back to their hiding place, and more often than not they'll come back and lick the chicken grease off your hands. then they'll love you forever.

probably not a good idea to do it too often though. with all the rats i've owned i only did it once or twice while training them, and maybe four or five times over the rest of their lives just gave them a bone as a special treat.

pic related: Pickle on the left, Chutney on the right

i miss having rats :(
>> Anonymous
I love rats! They are so intelligent. Vive la rats!!
>> Anonymous
I like to build mazes for my rat. Complete with a prize at the end.

I usually use old video tapes. First I would make a big rectangle with the movies on their side. It worked better with small rats because the maze was only 6 inches high. Then I would fill in the maze, creating little corridors and dead ends.
>> Anonymous
My tip: All of my pet rats, but particularly my one dumbo rat ( I totally suggest this breed, they're huge, cute and very affectionate) loved sitting on my shoulder like a parrot. I'd put them on my shoulder while I did homework, or was on the computer, etc. and they loved to chill there, play with my hair or run across my back from shoulder to shoulder. Maybe this could help with bonding, too.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
not op but also new rat owner. 2 male dumbos, cagemates at a Petsmart whose small animal manager is a rat owner and handled them daily, so they're already tame and love playing with my hand after only being home for 6 hours. Pic related
>> Anonymous
>>257442
I think it's expensive for a running wheel (which it is; most are a lot cheaper); it's not that I'm not willing and able to spend another $20 on my pets.
>> Anonymous
It's sad that they only live around 3 years, they can be great pets.
>> Anonymous
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myuceywaOUs
Rats are ticklish! And they bond to things that tickle them. Once they're used to you try doing what the guy in the vidya is doing.

>>257725
And this is why I don't think I'll be getting new rats. Someone invent a longlived rat please.
>> Anonymous
Enjoy your Black Plague ratfags?
>> Anonymous
>OP here, if you like that then you will like this definately
http://www.outwar.com/rec/mystikal try to sign up
>> Anonymous
>>257649
What kind of cage is that?
>> Anonymous
>>257815
OP here, that's not me. Fuck off, adfag.
>> Anonymous
Looks like a martin's, maybe?
>> Anonymous
>>257809

Black Plague comes from fleas, not rats. Many cats and dogs carried it and contributed to deaths as well.
>> Anonymous
>>257809
>>257904

Not to mention that the plague was carried by a different species of rats than the one that is domesticated. But he was a troll anyway.
>> Anonymous
>>257840

Martin's rat highrise powdercoated with roof that opens.
>> Anonymous
>>257931
Cool, thanks.
>> Anonymous
I'd love to get a pet rat, but I cant or my snakes will be in perpetual hunting mode when i play with them :\
>> ddrhero !xyUquwRsP.
i got a rat ball and some of them use it, but some of them just sit there and pee. i usually let those ones run around in my yard.
>> Anonymous
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3xKfUOWNb4

THIS IS MY PET!
>> Anonymous
>>257980
OP here
How do you know they'll come back? Or do you not let them out of the cage except for very confined areas until they're bonded to you?
>> Anonymous
I've been keeping rats as pets since I was small, they are friendly and inteligent but you need to give them things to play with and keep them in pairs if poss otherwise they get bored
>> Anonymous
Just made a hammock out of old underpants and paper clips (to hold it up)
Is this awesome? y/n
>> Anonymous
>>257912
Speaking of which, anyone kept a black rat?

>>258922
Enjoy your rat/human hybrids.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
This is Fernando Houdini Crentist. I've got two rats, he's the more adventurous of the two. And he loves shirt-diving.

He and Bosco are brothers, adopted from a rat rescue -- a good idea, by the way. They're well-treated, well-fed, and generally used to human contact, so they make good friendly rats. The two of them are brothers, so they get along fairly well, but since they recently grew up fast they're a little big for their cage, so when we're not letting them out to roam around their little rattie-playground we constructed on the counter, they get a little lazy and fight. They don't fight outright, not kicking and biting, but sort of trying to wrestle each other down and forcibly groom one another. It's supposed to assert dominance but to me it really feels akin to pinning someone down and doing their homework.

They're totally sweet and amazingly friendly. They love scraps (generally healthy stuff, pretzels, crackers, and GODJESUS THEY FUCKING LOVE MACARONI) and they love scurrying around on my shoulders, in my shirt pockets, and in the hood of my sweater, which now smells like rat pee.

They're curious, adorable, friendly, and cute as hell. Rats are awesome.
>> Anonymous
I've had three. My first was a little female from Petco. She lived to be about three, and I had a scare with a respiratory infection. I just put a humidifier by her cage and she was fine. She eventually had to be put down because of a tumor on her neck-carcinoma I think it was called.

A year later I got two boys, Rock and Roll. Roll would constantly harass Rock, so though rats do best in pairs or more, I had to give Rock to a friend of mine. Roll's fine on his own, and is just a fatass lovabole oaf. Males are typically lazier than females, which is true for his case. (Except, of course, when I'm eating yogurt, in which case he gets a bit. It's not that healthy, but he usually gets a small piece of whatever I'm eating. Crackers, ice cream, grapes, bananas. Essentially anything but chocolate.) Surprisingly, he's not overweight at all.

Rats are wonderful, but their short lifespan is very depressing. I probably won't get any more after Roll dies, for the simple fact that you can get so attatched.
>> Anonymous
>>259149
>Roll's fine on his own, and is just a fatass
>he's not overweight at all.
...what?
>> Anonymous
>>259307

Bwagh, I meant like fatass as in he eats a lot. Slang.
>> Anonymous
I had two rats once. I made the mistake of giving them an entire spare bathroom to themselves. The eventually gnawed away at the lining under the sink and created a little tunnel for themselves. Crafty bastards
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
At left: Two of my rats. My big male, Leonidas, and Blondie when she was younger. Not pictured are my other two girls, Mama and Stumpy. Leo is neutered, btw.

Stumpy is so named because she is missing a hind leg. Mama (who is the mama of her and Blondie both) had too many babies to handle, so she chewed on them, not knowing what else to do. We split them into two groups, half of which were hand-fed for a week while mama destressed. These were fosters, but we ended up keeping Mama, Stumpy and Blondie.

Anyway, Stumpy doesn't seem to be aware of her missing leg. She will still lean her body to that side, tilt her head, close her eyes, and wriggle her hip bone as though she is scratching her face with her back paw. It's rather pathetic to watch, and always makes me want to reach in and scratch that side for her. She also climbs the cage bars like an acrobat, though she is less coordinated on a flat surface.

If you look at the picture again, you'll notice the blue thing they are sitting in is a cat bed. That should give you some idea as to Leo's size. He is a huge rat. Weighs in at about a pound and a half, and is the laziest fellow you'll ever meet. He loves nothing more than to sit on my shoulder/under my hair and grind his teeth. He also likes to take naps with me in my bed. Ah, rats. I don't think I ever want to be without one again.
>> Anonymous
Be sure and name your rat Ben or Socrates.

Do not feed them human food. They get huge on it. (Unless you want an 15in long rat) Only feed them the seeds the pet stores sell you.

If you have yours in a cage, bind the latch or lock it, they will figure out out to open the door and escape.

If they do escape, they will sneak into bed with you and lick your face. I still have nightmares.

If you have to fumigate your home, don't leave them on the porch. Mine went feral afterwards and couldn't be handled.

Be sure and handle your every day. Otherwise they will bite you.
>> Anonymous
Look at the way the cage opens before you buy it. If the door is in the ceiling of the cage, make sure it's too high up for your rats to reach.
My rats usually only take a couple of weeks to figure out how the cage opens, and while you get used to waking up in the middle of the night with something fuzzy scurrying up your leg, it's still kind of annoying.
>> Anonymous
>>260287
>Do not feed them human food.
>Only feed them the seeds the pet stores sell you.
>Mine went feral afterwards and couldn't be handled.

dont listen to this faggot. rats should NOT only eat seeds. 'human' food is important to their diet. fresh fruit and veggies are important to their diet and most petstore crap can starve your rat(or make it obese).
you can read more about the rat diet here.
http://www.ratfanclub.org/diet.html


also putting your rats on the porch isn't going to make them feral wtf.
>> KOTG !!pRxvcXqrYDb
Congrats on the rat, they are loving animals and rather intelligent. I've raised three of them when I was younger.
Tips:
1. CLEAN THE CAGE AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK. The worst thing you can do is get lazy with a rat. Their urine is acidic and will destroy a plastic cage if you let the urine sit.
2. Fruits and veggies are a must for a healthy rat. My rats loved fresh grapes, strawberries, and especially carrots. (Sunflower seeds work, but give them some variety)
3. Handle the rat daily. A rat (may) become feral if it is neglected over time and forced to find for itself. Handling (with care) will establish a bond. My rats would rest on me while outside without running away and follow me after a few months of handling them daily.
4. If you get a new rat of the opposite gender, get them spade/neutered. Most pet stores will either sell the kittens or euthanize them if they do not have a policy on foreign animals coming to the store.
>> penis bug
rat balls are huge
>> Demyx's Landmaster !!vjyCRKGc15d
My rats loved M&Ms. Open a bag anywhere in the house and you could hear them rattling and clanking the cage around in their excited rush. I'd give each of them one M&M every couple of weeks or so as a treat. It's so nice that they can eat chocolate.

One time I had my completely gold rat, Lumine, on my shoulder while I was eating some M&Ms. I put one in my lips and got ready to eat it when he suddenly grabbed it right out of my grip and started chowing down.
>> Anonymous
>> Anonymous
I've been considering getting two rats for the first time for a while now. My only concern is this: The temperature in my house is usually in the high 80's or low 90's.

Is that reason to worry for them?
>> Anonymous
>>260737

holy shit, that's not suitable for human habitation, let alone pets.
>> Anonymous
I've checked cage calculators and a zillion sites, but I can't get a straight answer out of them--I built a cage myself, 22" long by13.5" wide by 15" high. It has a shelf that extends about 5" from one end. Is that big enough for two rats?
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
Rats are fucking awesome. they're the cleanest of rodents..right? this was my baby girl. she died unexpectedly. i loved how she used to sleep in a ball like that :3
>> Anonymous
I had rats that lived well beyond their life expectancy. I pampered them, sure, but its not like it's that hard to pamper them. First I had one, then got it a lady friend, which had 10 babies, 6 of which were given away to the pet store by the time they were about 3 months old because we can't handle that many rats. But anyways, from all that, I can tell you these things:
-Rats love fruits. Fucking love them. I used to give mine grapes and apple pieces. They were all over that shit. Like it more than their usual food, but that doesn't mean you should stop giving them the usual pet food.
-Let them outside. Let them run around in the grass. They like getting outside. Mine actually used to run to me whenever I would distance myself from it in the grass. Never thought a rat would do that, it was cute. Just don't let your eyes off of them, of course.
-Letting them run around your room is kind of a stupid idea. They're curious fuckers, so they'll run behind some drawer in seconds, because they're interested in dark little places like that. It's a bitch to grab them again.
(cont.)
>> Anonymous
-You can pick them up by their tail, doesn't really hurt them or injure them. Also a shit ton easier to pick them up that way. Just try to grab it at the base, or at least close to it.
-Two males or two females in a cage will kinda make friends, but they fight sometimes. And they squeal and make a lot of noise when they fight. Not fun when you're trying to sleep.
-Some of my rats like to bite. Regardless of how much gentle love and care I gave them, I could never really get them to stop biting me. Good luck with that.
-If a female has kids, don't touch the mother. She'll be really pissy for the next couple of weeks. Just stay away from handling her or the kids for a while. Just drop in some food every now and then. Also, the babies are fucking adorable at the point where they're just little puffs.
-The mom might eat the babies. Happened to mine once. Not the one that had ten kids, but one that had 4. Every day I'd see one less baby rat, until there were none. Just means the mom couldn't actually handle being a mother. Circle of life and shit. Get over it.
>> Anonymous
>>260866
I kept and bred mice for about 7 years when I was a kid, and I'm still disturbed by the memory of seeing what a mother mouse left of one of her pinkies. It was missing the top of its skull, its brains and its face down to the lower jaw. So its head was basically a wet red skull cavity and a pink tongue. ;_; Didn't breed from her again, she wasn't the mothering type.

Now that I have three cats, I couldn't have mice again or rats, but they make lovely pets :)
>> Anonymous
>>260866
you've had biters? thats strange i worked at an animal shelter with a large mischief ( 10 - 11 females 4 males + babies some times) and have only ever been bit once by the largest male, and i smelled like ferret at that time
>> Anonymous
Don't use sawdust/wood shavings as bedding, as it can give them serious respiratory problems. I use a mix of paper-based cat-litter and this stuff called "Carefresh".
>> Anonymous
>>260866
NEVER pick up a rat by the tail. Even if its by the base of the tail.

People need to stop giving advice here now as most of it has been covered and now its just a bunch of idiots.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
I'm happy to see mostly good advice in here (except for a few people that seem to have no idea). I've been keeping rats most of my life, and they are by far my favorite pet.

Of course rats can eat human food. They love just about everything. Some people believe you shouldn't give male rats citrus fruit, because d-limonene has been shown to cause cancer in males. Do not ever just feed them the pet store seed mixes! They are not nutritionally complete and the rats have to option of only eating the bits they like and burying the rest, so they end up living on sunflower seeds (which btw are not that good for them either).

I had a Wodent Wheel and it was great for some of my rats. At one point I had eight rats in a huge homemade cage thing (like an aviary), and one Wodent Wheel. Only three of my boys actually wanted to run in it, but they couldn't because one of the others would always be sleeping in it. I had to get a couple more eventually. They are perfect wheels for rats, though.

Out of the dozens of rats I've had over the years, only ONE was a biter. He was fucked up in the head and we had to keep him separate from the others. The only time it's normal for them to bite is if you put your fingers through the cage bars. Don't do that. There's a few theories on why they can't tell it's your finger coming through there, but they can't, so don't.

Boys are lazier than girls, but I've also found that they're more affectionate. Girls tend to act like they have ADHD. I think I prefer males overall... they're ridiculously affectionate - one of my boys would actually try to hug me. Girls are fun to play with, but they never sit still. Girls tend to get more tumors, boys tend to get respiratory problems. Most of my rats have been taken out my Mycoplasmosis, but a few got cancer.

<3 rats
>> Anonymous
>>261000
nonsence
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
No, you shouldn't pick rats up by the tail. I thought everyone knew that! Their tail is part of their spine, and you can seriously damage it by doing that. Rat's bodies are too heavy for that. There's absolutely no reason you should ever need to pick a rat up by its tail... just pick them up. If they're dangerous or biting, then you shouldn't be touching them anyway.
>> Anonymous
>>261084
>nonsence
nonsense?
>> Anonymous
>>260833

That's good for two young rats, and big enough for a travel cage. I'd definitely keep it, but get a bigger one eventually. What you have I'd consider bare minimum.
>> Anonymous
>>261804
Thanks, anon. I've been tearing my hair out over the size since I made the thing.
>> Anonymous
I have three female rats and one of them, although very curious, loves attention. She always demands attention from me while she is exploring, but as she gets tired she liked to come up to me and cuddle until she falls asleep.
Be weary where you buy your rodent, I had a bad experience with Petco and everyone I know who have gone to petco had similar problems.
Do research, I've found a few websites that have helped me a lot.
http://www.ratballs.com/RatTails/_medical.html - experience rat owners with a lot of info to share! Also has links to other ratty websites.
http://dapper.com.au/fun.htm - cute toy ideas.
>> Anonymous
Anyone have any input on ways to litter train?
>> Anonymous
>>262842
1. The litter they poop in must be different than the bedding they sleep in. IE if you use Yesterday's News cat litter for their bedding (which is cheap and awesome) you wanna use something else in their litter pan.

2. When you see a turd put it in the pan. They should eventually get the idea.

3. Give em time to figure it out, some rats learn more slowly than others.

4. If you introduce new rats to litter-trained rats, there's a good chance they'll learn from the others where to shit
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
I have 10 rats. They live in a little colony I built them consisting of an old table, and a wooden computer hutch. They don't have a cage, but since the table is 4 feet off the ground they don't go roaming about. I have a litter box, which is just a cat litter box, with recycled paper pellets (Be careful of Carefresh and the like that isn't well sealed, they can carry parasites so freeze those for 24 hours before you use them) I feed them lab blocks from the feed store, along with either fresh broccoli or soybeans. Don't worry about shelling the soybeans, they won't eat the pod. I also give them a weekly treat of "Bio Salud", which you can get at Wal-Mart for 88 cents for 6 bottles. It's a yogurt-like drink thats good for their digestive system.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
If you have the money, get yourself some Echinacea drops (alcohol-free) Give them some in their water every two weeks to boost their immune system. If you want to cut down on Vet visits, I recommend visiting http://ratsareus.com/ratmart/ . To combat the occasional respiratory problems, I get Baytril and Doxycycline which 9/10 times clears up the problem. If you want to do further self medicating of rats I'd check out this site http://www.rmca.org/Articles/dchart.htm which lists rat size doses of drugs. You'll want to get yourself a set of feeding syringes (sans needles of course) for giving medication, also you can purchase Nutrical to give to a sick rat as a food supplement, should they lose a lot of weight being sick.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
Never feed your rats peanut butter, fruit pits, or avocados. It's fine to feed them chocolate, in fact it actually helps them when they have a respiratory problem. Like anything else just don't give them too much. In the summer, when it gets hot, fill a tub with water and put frozen peas in it, my rats love to go "pea fishing" and usually once one figures it out, the rest follow easily. you can bathe your rats, and should, especially if they are male, since they get this orangey slick behind their necks. I recommend baby shampoo, or a mild cat shampoo. I put mine in the bathtub and let them swim around a bit, then towel them off. Make sure if they're wet not to leave them in front of a fan, because they can get cold quickly.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
You can also communicate somewhat with your rat. For one, they will come up to you and yawn. This is their Hello. If you're petting them, and they begin to grind their teeth and their eyes bug out creepily..this means they're happy. You can tickle a rat on their belly, this usually only works well when they're little, when they get older they tend to grow to dislike it. You'll find rats come in 4 flavors. You got the Butt types, who love it when you touch their butt, but nothing else. The Head types, who enjoy a good pat on the head, but get near their butt and theyll run for cover.You have the Full Body types, who love it when you pet them anywhere, and you have the Don't Touch Me types, who will run up and touch you, but won't let you touch them. If your rat starts to really love you, they'll start licking you, they're not after your flavur. They're just trying to groom you. And I think I'm done now, so here is a picture of a yawning Kiwi
>> Anonymous
You can give them peanut butter, but it's best to spread it very thinly on a cracker or some other treat. The only danger is that they can choke on it, but in tiny amounts it's fine.
>> Anonymous
>>263208
Yes, but also remember just like humans, rats are prone to food allergies as well, I had a rat that was allergic to peanut products, his face would swell up, luckily a little benedryl did the trick and I steered clear of it since then.
>> Anonymous
>>257365
Estrogen really exacerbates the tumor problems in rats, which is why for females, a diet rich in soy and certain oils (flax) containing "anti-estrogens" help prevent tumors. "But soy has estrogen in it," you say? Well the answer is it both blocks and creates, it blocks estrogen in pre-menopause, and increases it post. Rats most likely will never enter the Menopause phase of their life unless they get really old, so soy being the weird thing that it is, helps.
>> Anonymous
>>263513
>rats
>menopause

Rats don't have menstrual periods.
>> Anonymous
>>263090
>>263091
>>263092
>>263094
Helpful anon is helpful.

>For one, they will come up to you and yawn. This is their Hello.
>If your rat starts to really love you, they'll start licking you, they're not after your flavur. They're just trying to groom you.
Wow, I guess my rats liked me better than I thought. This made my day.
>> Anonymous
I might get a couple for my apartment when I go back to college and surprise my parents when I come back home for Christmas :3

We have three cats at home though...
>> Anonymous
>>263837
They don't have periods, but they DO go into estrus, by menopausal, i mean eventually their estrus cycles will cease once they become too old.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
These are my little babies -- they're the best, though I call them double trouble.

What I've found out after having many rats, is this:

- People food IS good for them; in portions. Fruits and veggies are yummy, and they'll eat just about anything/everything.

- DON'T give them coffee, they may love it, but it's bad for their little hearts.

- Play with them as much as you can. The more you handle them, the more they'll be comfortable around you and want to play with you.

- They SMART. They can get into, and out of just about anything, and they're super fast.

- Now this is my own personal opinion, but I HATE it when people grab them by the tails...So if I were you, I wouldn't do that.

- When they're babies they like to bite fingers, but they're only testing their strength and bounderies -- what I do is just tap them lightly on the nose and say "no". They'll eventually get it.

The rest is pretty much common sense. Keep the cage clean, NEVER use pine -- they're highly allergic and just bad in general for any animal.

OOH! And another thing that scared the crap out of me when I first got my rat -- Sometimes you might see what looks to be "blood" on their nose. Don't panic, it's NOT blood. It's actually red colored snot (lovely I know...), which means their nose is running, they have allergies, or they have a sinus infection. Listen to their breathing if this happens, if they sound raspy or their nose whistles it's more then likely a sinus infection, or the worst it could be something to do with the lungs :(

Ok...I think I've blabbed on enough, but I hope it's helpful!!
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
>>265508

Whoa thar!!! Sorry people, didn't realize it wasn't the resized version....here's a smaller pic.
>> Anonymous
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-admRGFVNM

Rats laughing is adorable!
>> Anonymous
Rats make the best pets if you don't want a dog.
>> Anonymous
>>265508
It's not just your personal opinion. Grabbing them by their tail can be harmful to them and either way it's very uncomfortable. Don't do it.
>> Anonymous
>>265508
what actually happens if you feed them coffee?
>> Anonymous
>>265833

Rats have very fast metabolisms and are well equipped to digest a variety of foods. My guess is nothing happens at all, but it's best to avoid giving them drugs on the off chance that they have an adverse reaction.
>> Anonymous
>>255921
The one thing I can tell you, is to check their noses for blood. They have a virus in them (forgot the name off the top of my head - sorry) that certain things like not cleaning their cage enough, etc. Will trigger. They can get sick and die from their lungs filling and getting pneumonia.

Also: get them (once he is big enough to not slip through the bars) one of those large ferret cages - they love to climb the bars and go up and down the levels.

My rat (before dying of said disease above) loved to climb (by way of the cage) up to the top shelf where the food was, then run down the flat, spiral, and elbow ramps to the bottom to stash the food, before climbing up to start the process again.

He was funny too - you could stop him in mid-climb by rubbing his tummy with your finger. he'd wait for a moment, grind his teeth happily, then be off again without a hitch.

We didn't need a weel for him, because he loved climbing so much. I hope our two new rats love the cage as much as he does.

Oh - and if you ever want more than one rat, I suggest getting them from the same place at the same time, so they a) won't be lonely and b) less likely to fight...
>> Anonymous
>>257296how can i get my rat to be more comfortable and friendly?

A trick I and my wife used, was each day to pick them up and cuddle him (her) or reach in and gently rub the top of his nose (me). We also would give him a treat whenever we held him(not every time as he'd have been FAT) so that he grew comfortable with us.
>> Anonymous
>>265849

Yes, nothing really happens. I had a rat and she used to always ...ALWAYS want her cream cheese and coffee in the morning (she would actually get cranky if you didn't give her any, lol)...Nothing horrible ever happened to her -- it just made her redicuosly hyper. But she has full reign of the house, so she burned the energy off quickly. I just read somewhere that it's bad to give rats coffee -- but I'm assuming, and this is just a guestimation, that if they get enough excercise and freedom that it wont really hurt them. I could see how it would drive anyone nuts if you had a ton of coffee then were locked up in a cage for the rest of the day... haha, so maybe that's what they meant.
>> Anonymous
>>265914
That red stuff is not blood... it's more like mucus. It comes out of their eyes too, when they're sick or stressed.

The disease you're talking about is called mycoplasmosis, and all (or almost all) domestic rats have it. The only way to get a myco-free rat is to get a sterile lab rat, but then you'd have to keep it in a myco-free environment forever, and that's pretty much impossible.


http://www.ratbehavior.org/porphyrin.htm
http://www.rmca.org/Articles/myco.htm
>> Anonymous
>>265959
Thanks for the name - I am not on the computer I researched it on. And I didn't know it was mucus, as a) it was on his nose (dried) when I could clean it up and b) on his hammock dried, and that was all I could remember - it's been a while since he died...