Rat pics!

[starmaiden]

Awww...cute ratties! Here's my two darling girls! I got them about 6 weeks ago. They were dumped off at Petco, so I'm not sure how old they are. I'm guessing about a year. This is pictures of their first bath:

Pansy is the fawn hooded rat, Petunia is the darker marked one. Pansy plays while Petunia gets right to work.

Pansy:

Petunia says, "Gotta get behind dos earsies!"

I put them in a 10 gallon on a warmed towel to dry while I cleaned their cage. They looked so cute with their clean and fluffy white fur, I took some pictures.

Clean n' fluffy Pansy:

Clean n' fluffy, Petunia:

Here's a picture of their home. I have the same cage you do Scorp Guy! Mine love the wheel in there. They get a lot of exercise on it. I like to cover the wire floors with cardboard and old rags so that its easier on their feet.

Petunia asks: "Do you ever get the feeling you're being watched?"

 

[LeilaNami]

I have the next size down of that same brand of cage

 

[Scorp guy]

I already enjoy them The only porblem is, the female and babes stink...reeaaaally bad. you can smeel them in the other room when the tops off....is there any substiute for aspen shavings i can use temporarily?

 

[LeilaNami]

I like Ultra carefresh because it absorbs odor pretty well.

 

[AneesasMuse]

If you use CareFresh, be sure to freeze it for 48 hours before using it or you may get mites. It's prone to mites. My kiddos are allergic to it, too. We use Yesterday's News instead.

Also, frequently cleaning after them will reduce the odor. I have 17 here.. no smells.

 

[starmaiden]

I don't notice my 2 smelling either. :? My dog actually has more of an odor. I use a little Total Comfort in a litter box and have old towels on the bottom that I wash at least once a week. Every few weeks I remove the cardboard, put the whole cage in the tub, hose it off with the detachable shower nozzle, spray it down with sanitizer, rinse well and dry it, then replace the cardboard floors.

 

[Scorp guy]

I got a few questions to ask:

im thinking aboiut (in the future, not soon) trading my female for a pure-colored one, or buying one at a petstore, to re-breed with my male. Because the thing is, all my babies came out fine and all, but all i got was albino (red eyes) Black and white, or brown and white no blue or anything like that...just the colors of the parents. so...should i (later on) buy a pure-colored female to breed with my male, or just get 2 new rats to breed? Also, im not giving away my female for breeding purposes, it's because shes not nearly as tame as my male, and i dont want any more babies with her personalitys.

Another thing, like i said, i have plans for the babies already, but not all of them. would it be wrong to post a sign in our nearest vet/animal hospital for baby rats for free? or is it illegal?

 

[starmaiden]

I got a few questions to ask:

im thinking aboiut (in the future, not soon) trading my female for a pure-colored one, or buying one at a petstore, to re-breed with my male. Because the thing is, all my babies came out fine and all, but all i got was albino (red eyes) Black and white, or brown and white no blue or anything like that...just the colors of the parents. so...should i (later on) buy a pure-colored female to breed with my male, or just get 2 new rats to breed? Also, im not giving away my female for breeding purposes, it's because shes not nearly as tame as my male, and i dont want any more babies with her personalitys.

Another thing, like i said, i have plans for the babies already, but not all of them. would it be wrong to post a sign in our nearest vet/animal hospital for baby rats for free? or is it illegal?

You need to do some serious research before you start breeding rats. They have been bred for centuries so much is known about the genetic patterns of pedigreed rat bloodlines. Rat breeders know which colors and patterns to cross with which to get the results they want. They also breed for health and temperament. Pet store rats have been produced mass quantity in puppy mill like facilities. They are often inbred and unsocialized.

Most of your babies will probably end up as feeders if you try to give them away or sell them for cheap. Please, please, please reconsider before you breed any more rats! There are waytoo many pet rats in need of good homes already.

Goosemoose Pet Portal: Personal Stories about Breeding Rats

 

[Marcel_h]

i have two rats too. I bought as breeders the only problem is they wont breed breed:wall yes i have an male and female). I wanted too feed them but my girlfriend didn't want that. And i'm glad too they are funny critters:8o

 

[starmaiden]

i have two rats too. I bought as breeders the only problem is they wont breed breed:wall yes i have an male and female). I wanted too feed them but my girlfriend didn't want that. And i'm glad too they are funny critters:8o

One might be the wrong sex. Pet stores are notoriously bad at sexing rats sometimes. They often get it wrong. And rat sex can be very very quick, less than a second. So they may be 'doing it' all the time and you just don't know it!

 

[starmaiden]

Here's a good article about breeding rats with tips on what it will cost and where to get good stock if you decide to become a breeder:
To Breed or Not

Here's a link to the Rat Coat Types and Colors:
http://www.ratspacnw.org/rat%20standards.htm

Here's a link to an info packet about keeping Fancy Rats with links to breeding info and how to sex the babies:
Rat Info Packet

It's important to be able to sex the babies young because rats become sexually mature at 5 weeks and should be separated before this time so that all the does, including the mom, don't become pregnant again.

 

[Marcel_h]

I'm quite sure there a male and female on has big oval shaped thingies under his tai l and the other doesent have those thingies. They are together for about an year now so they should have some babies by now

 

[AneesasMuse]

I agree with starmaiden... could be wrong sex.. 2 males, 2 females... OR, believe it or not... one could be a hermaphroditic kiddo. Some things will be present, while others won't.. it can be very confusing

I had a "female" hermie... no goolies, but a penis and a vagina... and her nipples showed, too (usually a good sign that you have a girl, just don't use it as a sole method for sexing them). "She" urinated from her penis, but she lived with all my girls and never impregnated anyone... probably due to lack of visible goolies and the physiological aspect that their absence indicated.

Good Luck with your pair! They are a lot of FUN!!

 

[LeilaNami]

lol you call them goolies I haven't heard them called that before. I always like to know the morphs of my animals including the fish. So lessee I have two black hooded rats and pink eye white dumbo rat.

 

[starmaiden]

I'm quite sure there a male and female on has big oval shaped thingies under his tai l and the other doesent have those thingies. They are together for about an year now so they should have some babies by now.

The female or male could also be sterile. :? Or the one without those 'thingies' as you call them could be a male whose testicles never dropped.

 

[skinheaddave]

Here's pirate. She doesn't actually wear an eye patch -- but she very well could, as she was born with only one eye. She is the only mammal among a large collection of reptiles, amphibians, fish and of course invertebrates.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[Yuki]

Does anyone know where you can get Dumbo rats? i can't seem to find them in the pet stores here.