Few questions about pet rats

[Jolena]

So, my mother talked me into purchasing pet rats for my two oldest children (who have wanted them for a while now). We bought 2 blue fancy rats at Petsmart and the fancifications to go with it all. Got them home, set it all up, put them in their new home etc. For a few days the people at Petsmart said that they would be nervous of their new surroundings, people, etc and would need a bit before we could pick them up and play with them much. We abided, though the children did stick their hands inside and let the rats smell and crawl along their hands without much incident. Now, we've had them a week and suddenly one of them is sneezing from time to time. I'm not sure if this is an issue with a rat getting sick, or what. Any advice from those of you who've had pet rats?

Oh, and they also keep turning over their food bowl in the middle of the night. Two nights in a row, they have turned it upside down and dumped out the food. We change it and clean the bowl 2x's a day so its not an issue of cleanliness, and we are using the exact same food for them that they received at the store before we got them. Any suggestions on what to do to make them stop?

[Olanan]

Rats are pests, not pets.

[SpunGirl]

I've had rats as pets before. They may be turning over the food bowl because they're bored. Do they have a wheel or anything to play on in the cage? Encouraging your kids to take them out and play with them for 10-15 minutes a few times a day should stimulate them, too.

Eventually, the rats should acclimate themselves to your or the kids' schedule. Mine did that - they slept while I was gone and were ready to play and run around when I got home. With the sneezing thing, check to make sure the temperature is OK where the cage is, and watch for crusty blood-looking stuff on his little nose. I had a rat that died of a respiratory infection and that's how it started.

-K

[FinallyDomesticated]

Yes, definitely check the temperature. We had a rodent once that was a triple sneezer. He would always sneeze three times in a row and so powerfully that it would launch him straight up in the air an inch or so. As amusing as it was, I realized it was because the cage was too close to a window that, even though it was closed, was cold to be near. Another sneezing incident involved a cage that was just accidentally well placed to receive a cool breeze from the ceiling fan.

As far as the bowl, I gave up and bought a really heavy dish for them. They had the wheel, the ball, the little wooden veggie shaped toys, and they still did it.

Also, I'm not sure how old your kids are or how crafty/creative they are - but my daughter loved to make treats for the rodents. Its a good bored, rainy day project. You mix alfafa and honey, press and mold it, then bake. It comes out hard like wood and you can build structures or just make shaped treats.

[Jolena]

Thanks for the information/insight. I made my son move the cage from his window and checked the little rats noses, and nothing seems amiss. So here's to hoping. Also, I'll definitely let them make them treats. The kids who own the rats are 7 and 13.

[thornhappy]

Rats are very sociable and get bored easily. They love being held and played with, so definitely encourage that. They're not 'hands off' like hampsters, etc.

Having worked at these places as a dog groomer, I can attest that the 'small animals' they sell are not always very healthy. I used to be the person they sent to the vet with cages upon cages of sick critters, because I was the most often free.

Just keep an eye on them, and if the sneezing rat becomes lethargic or has any discharge at the eyes or nose you should seperate them ASAP. (Can buy a small isolation cage for about $10.).

[Skeeter]

Avoid the Plague - Jimmy Dugan.

That's good advice!!

[Jolena]

Welp, we took them out to play on the bed for about half an hour today, and they seemed to have a really good time. Both of them ran all over the bed, tunneled through the blanket my oldest pushed up around the edges of the bed for them to roam through, and crawled all over our hands and legs. The one is still sneezing though, and I'm not quite sure what to think. No discharge around the eyes or nose, she's not lethargic and played with us today, but her ears just at the back where they connect to her head are rather red. The other one doesn't have that, and I'm not sure if its just part of being a rat, or if its a sign that something might be up. :shrug:

[Celephais]

Names?

[Jolena]

They are girls, Lola and Daze. (I didn't name them, the kiddos did. My daughter named hers Lola, and my son named his Daze because she was really sleepy when we got her)

[thornhappy]

The red is just a rat thing, generally, assuming you don't mean a bright blazing red.. heh. They all have different markings and can have darker patches in different spots.

I'm not sure there is anything else you can do except keep a close eye on the sneezing one and perhaps seperate them to prevent any spreading of infection. Generally when a small animal is not feeling well they will not run around and play, though.

[Jolena]

Yah, I figured that if she wasn't feeling good, she would never have come out of the cage and played so much on the bed. She was really really active but kept sneezing. Perhaps there is just something in the room that she's allergic to, who knows. (Assuming rats can have allergies)

[thornhappy]

Er.. Are you using sawdust/paper shavings/pellets etc to line their cage?

Might be an allergy issue. If that's the case it could be causing skin irritation as well.

You read my mind. :P

[Jolena]

We are using 100% natural Aspen shavings with no aromatic oils, that's what the shop recommended using because it eliminates dust.

[thornhappy]

Hrm. Well, it's unlikely but I wouldn't completely rule it out. If you have a cardboard box or something you can put her in for an extended duration (an hour or two) you can test for allergies to the bedding.

If you use anything like airfresheners or perfume around them they are very sensitive to that as well.

[Ignot]

Rats are hard to kill. I remember when i was younger i had a pet ball python. I did not know anything about snakes but from what i read if the snake isnt eating live rats then i should try feeding him dead rats.

So here I am with this live rat trying to figure out how to kill it (i really did not want to kill it but i had no problem watching it get eatin by a snake). So my friend suggested i try to suffocate it. We wrapped it in a plastic bag so it couldn't breath and waited and waited but it didnt die. I left for the day and came back many hours later and the thing was still alive!

So i unwrapped it and decided to try and stepping on it to kill. It took me awhile to build up the courage but i finally stepped on it with all my might. I was expecting a dead rat but the damn thing just stood up and started walking around! My friend stomped on it as well but no luck.

We also tried freezing it, left it in there for a whole day and it still lived.

It was all very barbaric and I decided to give the rat one last chance. I threw him in the cage with my snake and decided that eventually he will die or get eaten.

4 days went by and the damn rat is still in there and still alive and my wussy snake is just curled up in a corner not doing anything. The local pet store guy told me to try putting the snake and the rat in a brown bag together and the snake should eat him. So that's what i did and the rat beat the fucking crap out of my snake.

I finally decided that the rat deserved to live and let him go at this field that was by my apartment.

Eventually i did get my snake to feed live food but it was tricky and rats are very hard to kill, at least that one was.

[TheEschaton]

Dude, have you ever had a serious psychological analysis?

-TheE-

[Sean of the Thread]

Rats are easy to kill with a 750fps .177 pellet.

[B4Hand]

We are using 100% natural Aspen shavings with no aromatic oils, that's what the shop recommended using because it eliminates dust.



Our vet advised us to use the recycled paper shavings instead of the pine/cedar etc, as these often cause allergies or respiratory problems in rats. It's fairly inexpensive and the rats loved it. I can't remember the exact name of the product, however.

[Sean of the Thread]

Thai delicacy!

Recipe for ground rat meat and chili paste:

Ingredients:

* 1/4 cup fish oil
* 1/4 cup vegetable oil
* 1-1/2 cups of dried red chili peppers
* 4 long green peppers
* 8 large bay leaves
* 1/2 cup holy basil leaf
* 1 tablespoon salt
* 4 chopped garlic cloves
* 4 small rats

[Jolena]

Pictures of the girls. :)

[Celephais]

Now I'm hungry...

[Tisket]

I feel totally guilty about it but I laughed pretty hard at Ignot's post.

[DeV]

So did I.

[Celephais]

I feel totally guilty about it but I laughed pretty hard at Ignot's post.

I did too, but that might have had more to do with me reading it in an entirely mono-tone mooninite voice... he should have used the quad glacier to kill that rat.

[Daniel]

Lol. I was good until TheE's response. Then I lost it.

[HarmNone]

They're really cute little rats, Jolena! I'm sure the kids will have lots of fun with them, and the rats will have just as much fun with the kids. :)

[thornhappy]

They're very cute... and looking happy and healthy. :)

[Fallen]

Their pelts sell for 20-50 silvers at the furrier. Stupid rats.

[thornhappy]

Okay that made me laugh. A lot.

That's only giant rats. I imagine a normal rat pelt would be worth like 1/5 the price.

[Ignot]

I did too, but that might have had more to do with me reading it in an entirely mono-tone mooninite voice... he should have used the quad glacier to kill that rat.

The bullet is enormous. There is no escape!