I am going to adopt a rat from the shelter!!!

[undergunfire]

As for wire floors hurting the rats feet, we don't really know. I'd imagine it isn't comfy! If you get a cage with wire floors, you could cover the levels....many people do. There are people online who make and sell fabric sets of floor covers, or you can do it yourself. I have also heard of people using stick on lino tiles, but that seems rather messy and pee would just puddle. You can check out http://www.javakittie.com/ to see the floor mats that I am talking about.

The main thing about a rat's cage is that it needs to be kept clean. Rats are clean animals, if you allow them to be. A lot of rat people are pretty OCD about making sure their rat's cages are never sticky with pee or smelly. I have seen some people post pictures on goosemoose of their rat cages that they call "clean" and it sickens me. If you want to see an example of a dirty Ferret Nation cage that someone posted on the rat forum, then I will PM you the picture. Rat's don't like living in filth.

If you get a Martin's, just be sure to get it powder coated...you don't want the galvenized wires to rust. Also....don't put it together with the "c-rings" they give you. I have heard that those will rust and when you take them off, then it peels off the powder coating that it was wrapped around. Just use small black zip ties in place of the c-rings.


Lab blocks are definitely okay for ratties. They are probably feeding him a cheapo version at the shelter, like Kaytee or something. I'd only go with Harlan or Oxbow. You can order Harlan from the rat shop (online)...like 25lbs for $33 and it will last you a veeeery long time!

I am going to eat dinner now, but I will be posting in a little while about my homemade grain mixture and what meals I feed my rats. I will also post some pictures !

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Daw you guys are making me miss my ratties. That picture pocketsizedrhino posted looks just like Colby Jack.

 

[Maureen Las]

Well I decided against a Martin cage because I figure with only 2 rats this cage will be fine.


http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753352

it is helpfulfor me to have part of the initial set up in the cage like the hammock, and the big wheel and the food dish. I am going to make sure to wipe the plastic daily.
I bought the cage and went to the shelter and when I got home and went upstairs my husband had assembled it and it was sitting all gorgeous in the area I had designated for it.
because I have never really done a rat cage right I am going to be looking at pics and shopping around for stuff to put in it ; I am going to get some of those cardboard tubes and a lot more cloth to put in the hammock and also to place on some of the shelves. I might also get some parrot toys.

he is not coming home until he gets his oral ivermectin or at least until his skin looks somewhat better. Even if the lice cannot live on anything here it can still be in the house and that is sort of gross thinking it is on me and my floors etc. iI want to make sure the lice are dead.
This is going to be overwhelming for this little rat as he really looks as if he has not had an easy life,... the tip of his tail is missing.
Can anyone here tell me how I can be sure that the lice, (didn't find fleas), mites maybe but she didn't see any are gone ;in the back of my mind I am terirfied of spreading something to the other animals. The treatment was an injection of ivermectin, I weak pyrethrin bath (kitty flea shampoo diluted ) and oral ivermectin x1 in 10 days.
anyway I petted him today and his hair looks a little better and he let me pet his head..

soI am about to become a rat mom.....
Maureen

 

[undergunfire]

You will still like the SP Exotics cage . It would be a good cage for just 2 ratties! I'd buy some unscented baby wipes, so you can put those by the cage to wipe up a pee puddle every time you see it.

Ya know...I was actually worried about lice too because the babies had them when they were nursing off of Spice. I thought I recalled someone on the goosemoose forums telling me that "rat lice" can't be given to the other animals or me...they were species specific. I just gave Spice some Ivermectin and the lice all went away.

Don't forget I'd like to send you some hammocks as a gift !

 

[Maureen Las]

You're an angel Amy
I'll send you my address....
The lice are specific to rats but then the animal control officer said that even though they wouldn't be harmful they would still be on the rat . So they would still be around my house . What if i do get another rat then I would be afraid of the new one getting something.

I will wait to get another rat as I want this guy to adjust first.
I saw a hairless rat today at petsmart andi really thnk they are beautiful. I can only imagine that someone would need to sell little outfits for them because they look so cold LOL

OMG what if I become more into rats than rabbits. :shock:
I seem to be into most all animals anyway

Amy I also want you to expain your rat diet to me

I'm going to join that forum ( like I have time to do the infirmary and another forum also LOL) but i do need to learn more

Iam not very rat saavy

 

[CKGS]

Wire on a rats feet can be bad. They get what is called 'bumble foot'. I have had many rats in my lifetime. You should consider visiting a rat discussion forum. If I can find the one I used to visit (which was extremely helpful) I will post it! Congratulations on adopting one of the most misunderstood, beautiful creatures on this planet! Rats are extraordinary animals. I had 8 males at once, years ago, and they each knew their names and would respond to them. They loved to be petted and some would lay on their backs, tummy up getting belly rubs from me for hours if I could hold out. lol. They are somewhat like little dogs but with better temperment than most small dog breeds have. And they are excellent with children! My kids will never have a hamster in their house (Don't get me wrong- I love them) but a rat or a mouse is our first choice.

 

[CKGS]

http://www.goosemoose.com/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,118/forum,rat
Here is that forum. I looked it up for you. Check it out, you won't find a better place to learn about your new guy.

 

[undergunfire]

angieluv wrote:

You're an angel Amy
I'll send you my address....

:biggrin2:

The lice are specific to rats but then the animal control officer said that even though they wouldn't be harmful they would still be on the rat . So they would still be around my house . What if i do get another rat then I would be afraid of the new one getting something.

I will wait to get another rat as I want this guy to adjust first.

Yeah, it is definitely okay to wait on another rattie for right now, so this guy can adjust to you first. To be honest (can't believe I didn't think of it before), I'd consider getting 2 baby rats or another older male. Since you don't know how old Merlin is....if you get a baby rat, then obviously Merlin will pass on before the baby..leaving the baby all alone, then you will need to go back out and adopt another rat. If you'd like, I can help you look up rat rescues in you're area who you can get in contact with when you are ready...they may be able to help you with 2 younger rats or an older male.





I saw a hairless rat today at petsmart andi really thnk they are beautiful. I can only imagine that someone would need to sell little outfits for them because they look so cold LOL

Remember my Ralphie? He was a hairless . He's the daddy to my 4 curly haired boys and my 3 rat girls. Spice is their momma and Spartan is the "uncle". Ralphie kept warm by cuddling with his furry buddies!




OMG what if I become more into rats than rabbits. :shock:
I seem to be into most all animals anyway

To be honest, as much as I LOVE my rabbits dearly...I connect more with my rats. It could be that I spend more time with the rats then the rabbits because rats require so much care and I do have quite a few. Rats just want to love you dearly and make you laugh....while bunnies are a bit more independent and will make you laugh when they feel like it. They both have pluses and minuses. Rats are like dogs where as rabbits are like cats....both are charming in their own way!
[sup]
(hrm....don't know why the quote boxes broke?!)[/sup]

Amy I also want you to expain your rat diet to me

I am going to be heading for the couch right now for some "tv time" with my doggie ....but I will get my rat diet all wrote out for you and post pictures of it tomorrow. It will probably be a big post h34r2.


Iam not very rat saavy

Oh...just you wait....you will be a crazy rat slave in no time!!!

 

[undergunfire]

CKGS wrote:

Wire on a rats feet can be bad. They get what is called 'bumble foot'.

Wire is just fine for rat feet, but I can imagine it isn't comfy for their feet....but they can still walk on it.

Bumble foot is caused by a dirty cage, not by wire cages. Very common misconception . Bumble foot can happen on fabric bedding, plastic flooring, etc. It is caused by a cut on the foot that gets infected because of a dirty cage.

 

[CKGS]

I was just adding what I know has happened in cases where rats have lived on wire flooring. The 2 I personally knew of were very clean cages. They both had 'bumblefoot' and were treated for it. I guess cuts from the wire floors could have cause it but either way... they had it. I never had wire floors in my rats huge cages. They were very clean and I had gotten into breeding them but decided it was too hard to find good homes for these babies so I ended it when I kept most of the babies for myself and the others went to family and friends.

 

[Maureen Las]

I joined the goosemoose forum but I am not posting but ony reading. I know that wire is bad for their feet as I have had rats before but only had basic knowledge.
The cage I bought will be great for their feet it has plastic landings and ramps.

Ijust need to adorn the cage...

Iwill be seeing little Merlin tomorrow at the shelter; I hope his hair looks better....
Actually I can adopt rats from my shelter; we get them fairly often and many times in pairs. Some are older some younger butI don't remember any really very young ones.

I might like to get a hairless one unless they are prone to more health issues...or a rex rat like the pic of Amy's older guy
in that case I would have to go through a rescue.

 

[CKGS]

I hope the forum helps you at least a bit. I loved it when I had my ratties. I covered any wire floors in my cages when I had them too. I wish you the best of luck with your new rattie. :thumbup

 

[CKGS]

My first rat was a rex and he was a big lovebug. I named him 'Gentle Ben'. He lived to be 3 years of age and was a lovely guy his whole life.

 

[Maureen Las]

I still have to learn to identify breeds but i did see the pic of the rex that Amy posted and also a hairless one at petsmart.
Gentle Ben is a cute name ...