Should I put my pet rat to sleep?
I have 2 female rats both almost two years old. My one rat has developed a tumor some time ago, the vet told us that her chances of surviving surgery are very slim and we din't want to risk it. Plus money is really tight right now for us. We decided to let her live her life out but it has grown to be almost as big as she is. When I look at her I feel so sad for her, she is thin, the tumor takes all her nutrition and she eats alot but when I try to give her a treat she grabs it so roughly she almost bites you. The tumor is right on her leg so she has a hard time gettin around in her cage because she has to step over it to move. Yesterday I watched as she tried to get through the door of the cage and she was struggling to step over the large tumor. I don't know what to do, I try to determine if she is happy or not but I know if I had a tumor as big as my body I would be unhappy. She sleeps alot, I always fear that I will wake up and she will be dead. Sometimes she is very energetic but more and more I see her sleeping. The hair on her tumor is falling out and it is turning purple and red. I also noticed she hasn't been grooming herself that often so she looks scruffy. I don't want her to suffer, but it is a really hard decision, should I put her down?
How do I get rid of fleas on my pet rats?
I did it for about 10 years when I had indoor outdoor kitties, now only indoor, so no need any more but it was a life savor!! How I got rid of fleas and bugs from my home You will need to purchase a simple bug/fly zapper; the type you use on a patio to kill flying insects. You can buy a small one that will cover a large area of your house at most home improvement stores for as little as 20.00-30.00 dollars. For faster results you can use one bug zapper for each room. However the fleas do gravitate to the bug zapper’s light once night sets in and all the lights in your house are out. So one should work for a small home, just make sure to place it in the room where the most fleas are seen or felt. Place the zapper on the floor in a corner behind a piece of furniture so kids and pets won’t play with or bother it. Set it on a plate or pie tin for easy cleaning up of the zapped bugs, you will be killing all bugs in your home as well, and then plug it in. Remember, it is a piece of electrical equipment. You have to use caution in where you put it. At night the fleas automatically want to go to a light, when they hop in to the bug zapper light they get fried! You can actually hear little, zits, zits when the fleas are getting zapped! All GONE! Keep the carpet vacuumed daily until your flea problem is under control, this will help tremendously in getting the fleas eggs out of your home and carpet faster!! I am not responsible for misuse of the above item. Use full caution in placing your bug zapper to the safest place. It will work for months, even years; it will continue to kill bugs in your home as long as the light is on. The bulb can be replaced once it burns out. The light bulb can be purchased at most home improvement stores. http://www.samstores.com/_images/products/FLOWTRON_BK15.jpg
How do i clean my Pet rats wound?
Rats lick themselves a lot, so I wouldn't put anything else on it. If it is still bleeding, you can press flour into the wound to help stop it. Warm water should be fine. Your rat will probably lick it clean herself anyway. Just keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't get infected. If it starts to look like it is, take her to the vet for some antibiotics. Rats usually don't seem too bothered by foot injuries. It is pretty normal for the area to look swollen and pink.
Is it okay for pet rats to swim?
“Is it okay for pet rats to swim?” (I know that water can be harmful to hamsters, is it the same for rats or is it okay? I’ve seen videos of rats swimming and even diving underwater, do they like swimming?)Norvegicus.Most pet rats are rattus norvegicus, the brown rat, which also lives in sewers. Unlike hamsters — which will avoid water like the plague — rats can enjoy swimming if they’re introduced gently to the joys of bathing.I have a two level bath, where I only fill the lower level with lukewarm water. By putting them on the high level, the rats can decide for themselves how to venture into the water.When you do this for the first time, be wary for extra excitement — I did this while my children watched, and their high-pitched excitement unnerved the rats, who frantically tried to climb my bare arms, scoring my skin with their nails. So, make sure they are comfortable with swimming before you allow excitable children into the bathroom.Be assured that it cannot hurt them, but you need to take care not to add anything to the water and to rub them dry in a towel or washcloth before allowing them to dry themselves in a drought-free environment.
Do I have to keep my pet rat in the cage?
My rats had places to sleep, mostly this was a very large wire cage with nesting boxes, shelves and a hammock. The only times the doors were shut with them inside were1) during a training time out2) when the gerbils, the hamster or a non pack rat was exercising3) when I wanted to eat without keeping a careful eye on my supper (pizzas can grow swift and determined feet in a house that contains loose rats)While I consider it cruel to leave rats locked up without frequent and regular exercise and exploring time there are negatives (and guidelines) to having house rats scampering about.no fabric, particularly leather or suede is safe lying around or drapped over chairs: it will develop holes with small scalloped edgesother items will also be at risk of chewing, the glue in book spines, the soap from the soap dish, fabric furniture..wires are a risk; both to property damage and potential danger to rat and human. This can be mostly mitigated by containing them within hose pipe split down the length. Wires are particularly attractive to small and super resilient teeth when they are hidden under or behind furniture.rats can be house trained but this does not extend to marking behaviour by male rats. This means that carpets are a liability and (chewed) curtains and fabrics will require frequent washing. Despite this, male rats are the laziest, sweetest and most affectiomate genderrubbish bins with need rethinking and securing: Objects of all kinds will be found behind furniture, in washing machines, under beds. This is bad enough if you're finding apple cores, used tissues and old teabags. Now imagine feminine items stolen from the bathroom bin moving around with independent agencydespite their savvy instincts, you will need to be a little careful of leaving anything potentially poisonous (bulbs etc) lying aroundyou can no longer wear shoes or hard-soled slippers in the houseyou will need to be aware before you sit, roll in your sleep, open a doorRats are marvellous animals with distinct personalities and the hearts and brains of far larger mammals. They experience a wide range of emotions including sorrow, affection, loneliness, jealousy and happiness. Like a dog, the relationship and interaction you get from them will be in direct correlation to what you put in. Also like a dog, a rat is for life.Don’t even consider getting a single rat unless you are prepared to be his pack and near constant companion.
Is it okay to put cotton balls in my pet rats cage?
I wouldn't suggest that because, if the rat were to ingest the cotton balls, they would almost definitely clog up his intestines...leading to health problems...leading to a vet visit...leading to a high vet bill...and so on! So just to be safe, NO!
Should i put a cover over my rats cage at night time? tips on pet rats?
I have four very healthy pet rats. I cover their cage at night simply because I have a ceiling fan that can often make the room cold. I use an old comforter, but I do not cover a couple inches of the bottom. However, if your room does not get cold, there is no reason to cover their cage. Feed them fruits two times a week and vegetables every day. Try tomatoes, carrots, cooked potato, bananas (not green), and apple. Make sure you change their water daily, do not use wood shaving bedding, make sure they never run out of food, give them plenty of places to hide, climb, and play on, and give them atleast an hour of play outside of the cage.
How can I socialize my pet rats? They're friendly, but won't leave the cage and don't like to be picked up.
Take your time. Walk around the cage, talk around them so they get used to your voice. They will eventually learn that your presence and sounds aren’t dangerous.Food is the answer to everything with rats. They are constantly in ‘forage mode’. You should always give them enough of the ‘basic food’ so they won’t get hungry. This can get boring, so you can make use of the more tasty stuff to ‘bribe them’.Put some food in your open hand, and put it in the cage. They will be afraid of it, but the food is very tempting. At first they will be afraid to even approach your hand, so be patient. The next step will probably be that they snatch it from your hand like a snake. Then they will be more relaxed and put their hands on yours while they do it. Eventually, they will stop being afraid of your hand at all. This could take a long time (days, weeks, months). You need to do it regularly, at least every day. Twice a day is even better.Having them leave the cage is the next step. If you ratproof your room, you could leave the cage door open for a whole day or night. Again, food is the answer. Put some food with a strong scent in front of the cage door, and spread some more around the room (I think crumbled rice cakes are perfect for this). You can leave them alone in the room to take their time, but you can also do it when you’re in the room with them (I work at my home desk a lot, so this is perfect).
My Rats tail is so dry, what can i put on it to fix this?
Does your rat's tail look like this? http://ratguide.com/health/figures/ringt... Or this? http://ratguide.com/health/figures/ringt... If it doesn't then it's not Ringtail. Rats prefer a humidity of 30 - 70% and a temperature of 65 - 80 °F. You can buy a humidity indicator and a temperature indicator at pet stores. They are in the reptile section. I have one of each on the wall in my rat room. If the humidity is too low you can run a humidifier for a few hours a day. Another cause of an excessively dry tail, which would mean a dry skin under the coat on it's body as well, is your choice of bedding. Paper-based bedding can be drying to some rats. Wood-based bedding can be drying to others. Switch from one or the other to see if that makes a difference. Or, switch to rags (torn up bed sheets) for a few weeks and see if this makes a difference. If it does then you know it was the bedding. You will have to wash the cloth bedding in a hypoallergenic liquid detergent or your powder detergent may set up an allergic reaction. Bedding not the culprit? Consider diet. Lack of EFAs (Essential Fatty Acids) can cause dry skin. http://goodfats.pamrotella.com/ There are products made for dogs that will work well for rats. http://search.onlynaturalpet.com/search.aspx?searchterms=Essential-Fatty-Acids-Dogs Or give your a rat a bit of canned salmon every day. It's full of EFAs in a natural source that is easy to find. For a quick fix you can rub your rat's tail with Olive Oil. Unlike mineral oil, which a non-food petrolium product and can cause diarrhea, olive oil is nutritious if the rat should lick it off. The bonus is that rats will rarely clean their own tail but the olive oil will encourage them to do so. spazrats "my life has gone to the rats"
Can I put my rat in an aquarium?
Please dont house a rattie in a glass tank. It would defenitly be in their best interests to avoid it for health and well being reasons, as you have heard from other comments here, there is no proper ventilation and the tank would have to be sanitised atleast 2 times a week to keep it at a good health standard for ratties as they pee and poo a lot. I change my cages out at the least 2 times a week! Plus, they would have nowhere to run, climb and jump as there are no levels in an aquarium tank. Rats need lots of mental stimulation to help keep them happy and mentally stimulated, cages are the best set-up for this, it would be worth spending the money on a wire cage. I hope this helps in your decision :)