new/old canadian owner seeking info

Thread view:

Enable EMail Alerts

Start New Thread

Thread rating:

elaine - 30 Sep 2006 19:30 GMT

We picked up a lovely pair of girls the other day named (by hubby)
Laverne & Shirley. I used to breed rats (pets only !) 10 years
ago..think I might have supplied whole public school with rats :) ..
but have been ratless for at least 5 years. I know how fast good
things can suddenly become bad (cedar) so I am looking to update my
knowledge for these new girls. I would prefer Canadian sites as US or
UK sites often have to be read and edited due to the difference in
rules and regs between here and there, but will take anything anyone
has to offer. At the moment the most pressing info is housing and
food of course..right now they are being fed lab blocks with only the
occational treat I know is safe(bagel peices, sunflower seeds etc) and
are living in a 40 gal aquarium with only a box for a hidey hole. Hubby
has own workshop and is quite handy so if anyone can point the way to
some plans for "furniture" it would be great. Also other than cedar
any bedding that is a definate NO NO? We have snakes and a mouse
colony or 2 to feed them so it has to be something we can buy in bulk.
Have to run to work but I am sure that there are lots more questions to
come. Thanks for your help
Elaine

Reply to this Message

Joanne - 30 Sep 2006 21:56 GMT

> We picked up a lovely pair of girls the other day named (by hubby)
> Laverne & Shirley. I used to breed rats (pets only !) 10 years
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
> come. Thanks for your help
> Elaine

Welcome Elaine and congRATS on your new sweeties.
Here's a great site on rats, lots of info and of course, this newsgroup
has lots of knowledgeable people here too.
http://www.petratscanada.com/
Opinions vary on rat food. I'm a strong believer that rat blocks are the
best, this is backed by my vet and her colleague (animal nutritionist)
In Canada, Oxbow Regal rat is the absolute best food for rats but not as
palatable. Oxbow is usually bought through vet clinics. There's also
Harlan Teklad blocks, mostly a US base company but there is a supplier
in Mississauga. I'm not sure where you are situated. Also, Ren's feed
store (popular in and around TO) sell big bags of Mazuri rat blocks.
In Ottawa, some people buy Hagen blocks in bulk, not sure where but
could get that info for you.
Rats should have daily fresh veggies, clean water and as for treats,
just keep three criteria in mind: no sugar, no salt and low fat.
Ideally, rats should be kept in cages. Tanks do not supply sufficient
air flow/ventilation. The bigger the cage the better. I order all my
cages from http://www.martinscages.com/ They are great people to deal
with. They ship to Canada but of course you will have some Canada Post
shipping and handling costs.
Depending where you are, Petsmart also carries a variety of cages.
Cedar as you know is bad but so is Pine. So none of those for the rats.
I don't use wood chip bedding. I keep my guys on fleece and they have
corner litter trays with Yesterday's News which is excellent for odor
control.
You can see my rats and their cages if you click on my Webshots link in
my signature.
Rats are highly social as you already know. They also need lots of human
interaction and should be taken out of their cage for exercise and to
explore and have fun, at least an hour each day.

Signature

Joanne
Owned by 20 rats.
Webshots: http://community.webshots.com/user/joanneb70

-------------------------------------------------------
~Ignorance is not innocence but sin. *Robert Browning*

Reply to this Message

Pet Forum / Mammals / Rats / September 2006

new/old canadian owner seeking info