rattie in the house!

[katt]

i would like you to meed "charlie"

my roommate and i went to the petstore that i had gotten emma (broken blue holland lop, now rehomed) just to check and see how things were looking there (the last time i was in it was horrid) camera in hand i planned on sneaking some photos of the condition and turning them in.

but it seems like maybe someone else has already done so because the place looked a lot better. the animals seemed healthier.

so, anyway, jessica (my roommate) instantly went to charlie's cage. the lady that owns the store came up and told us that a girl brought him in saying she was moving and couldn't keep him. jessica fell in love and decided to bring him home.

he is such a cuddle bug! he snuggles right into you and will just lay there getting pets! he also is HUGE! i think he is about 20 inches from tip of nose, to end of tail.

 

[MsBinky]

Awwww :biggrin2:I love rats! I would have one but the Mr would run out... Lol. He looks so sweet and yes huge

 

[undergunfire]

What a GORGEOUS man rat :biggrin2:.

 

[luvthempigs]

Very cute! Rats are supposed to make very good pets. I can't believe how big they can get :shock:

 

[undergunfire]

luvthempigs wrote:

Very cute! Rats are supposed to make very good pets. I can't believe how big they can get :shock:

They are one of the best pets to have, next to bunnies...in my opinion :biggrin2:. I love all my rattie guys.

They can get huge if they are on a poor diet. It is probably the case that the girl who had this rat before kept him on junky pet store food. I hope your roommate switches him over to a good diet, Katt. Look into Oxbow rattie food...it is the highest quality "mix" that you can get...if buying organic products to mix are too expensive to mix .

I can't tell much from the pictures, but Charlie does look good. A lot of man rats are larger than others, as well. My little Louie (who isn't neutered yet) is already bigger than my two neutered rat boys :shock:.

 

[luvthempigs]

I didn't know they neutered rats. What about spaying females?

 

[undergunfire]

luvthempigs wrote:

I didn't know they neutered rats. What about spaying females?

They definitely do, and it is VERY reccommended. Most female rats that are left unspayed will develop cancer and tumors on the uterus....same reasons why we spay our female bunnies!

 

[luvthempigs]

I guess I just didn't realize they spayed/neutered such small animals. I know with guinea pigs sometimes males will be neutered (if they will be livingwith females and you don'twant babies)but they don't really recommend for females to be spayed.

Ya learn something new everyday

 

[YukonDaisy]

Aww, what a cutie! I think I'll get male rats next time around, I wantbig squishies instead of busy little girls, lol.

 

[EileenH]

The vet that I go to who used to see my rats actually bought pediatric surgical instruments to help when doing surgery on smaller animals. All my girl rats were spayed, after I ended up having to do an emergency spay on a 2 year old girl I adopted (she developed uterine cancer).

Gorgeous boy! undergunfire is right, be careful he doesn't get too big. If you need to order a good lab block for him, here is a good place to get them - you can order them in 1# increments:
http://www.kimsarkrescue.org/content/view/35