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Pet Forum / Mammals / Rats / December 2008A new addition to our rat family
So, we have a good vet, and my daughters have sneeze free ratties, the only thing missing.... My very own rat. Not anymore. Well, Sukey is small, white and grey, almost like a capped rat, but with a white blaze down her forehead... Is there a name for a rat like this? Not that it matters; I think she's gorgeous. I have to admit, I bought her from the petshop; the breeder we bought from previously seems to have packed in, and I can't find another locally. The weird thing is; she is much better socialised than our original rats were. She's perfectly happy to sit in my clothes, has never sneezed, and I'm just besotted. She is in quarantine for the time being, but she's in a smaller cage so it goes where we go, for company, and she has a good four hours a day of snuggles! The only cloud on the horizon is the introduction into the main cage, but I've done my research so it should go smoothly... > So, we have a good vet, and my daughters have sneeze free ratties, the > only thing missing.... My very own rat. [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > The only cloud on the horizon is the introduction into the main cage, > but I've done my research so it should go smoothly... Good luck with the intros, and I hope Sukey settles in well. Rosemary > So, we have a good vet, and my daughters have sneeze free ratties, the > only thing missing.... My very own rat. [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > The only cloud on the horizon is the introduction into the main cage, > but I've done my research so it should go smoothly... She sounds gorgeous. Is she possibly a roan? Here's a site that shows varieties, maybe you can find the same type on there... http://www.nfrs.org/varieties.html I've been struggling to contact a local breeder so i joined the "fancy rat forum" there are loads of members, including breeders who have their websites in their sigs. Maybe you can find someone local to you on there. If not, it's still a great site and worth a look around... http://www.fancy-rats.co.uk/home/ How did the introduction go? I recently got another girl I've named Pippa as I'd lost my original two (Nibbles and Rascal) leaving my other girl Tiny on her lonesome. They get on great. :) Thanks for the good wishes; Sukey has settled in fine. I ended up not exactly introducing them as I intended; first Sukey ran around on top their cage, and then they met her one by one in my t-shirt. It sounds mad now I think about it, but honestly, I went with my intuition and we've had no problems. We have the four rats now, and they tend to sleep in pairs; so cute! Thanks for the e-mail addresses, Andrea; I was so chuffed when I found a picture very similiar to Sukey! She wouldn't win any prizes, but you're right; she's a striped roan. Good call! I will check out that site for local breeders if we should decide to get another rat :) but I have been pleasantly surprised by what a lovely rat Sukey is; wonderful temperament, and no health problems at all. (The others have always had occasional sniffles, but I have never heard Sukey sneeze.) What colour are Pippa and Tiny? I bet Tiny is pleased to have a new friend :) > What colour are Pippa and Tiny? I bet Tiny is pleased to have a new > friend :) Tiny is a red eyed champagne and Pippa is a black hooded. Tiny was very pleased...they were only in separate cages for one night before I could see that I could trust Tiny with the baby :) I've been in contact with a breeder and think I'm going to have two Xmas babies. Andrea > So, we have a good vet, and my daughters have sneeze free ratties, the > only thing missing.... My very own rat. [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > The only cloud on the horizon is the introduction into the main cage, > but I've done my research so it should go smoothly... i'm a breeder who sells to pet stores. my little guys are always hand-socialized. perhaps the person who sells to the pet store that you shopped at is the same type of breeder. contrary to what some people in rat forums claim, we're not all monsters :) I think sweeping generalisations are always a mistake. I'm quite prepared to believe that there are responsible breeders selling to responsible pet shops, and also that there are rat breeders not selling to petshops who use dubious or ill-judged methods. I guess the trick is to work out which is which :) > i'm a breeder who sells to pet stores. my little guys are always > hand-socialized. perhaps the person who sells to the pet store that you > shopped at is the same type of breeder. contrary to what some people in > rat forums claim, we're not all monsters :) I would think, to be a responsible breeder, you'd have to be doing it because you love keeping and watching the development of rats rather than it being a profitable business. To make a profit, it would have to be a large scale/low cost breeding program, which is where the monsters are. I was ignorant as to where large petshops got their stock from when I got my first three girls...they were from pets at home. My 4th and most recent addition was from a small independant petshop. I first saw my 4th girl when I visited the shop looking for supplements to add to the mush I was feeding my sick girl. They had a lone doe on shavings in a small glass tank. Two weeks later, I called in again and she was still there. There were no toys or even anywhere for her to hide under, I felt so sorry for her. After I lost Rascal, leaving Tiny on her own, I decided I was going back for my 4th girl, Pippa. I felt like I was saving her from a miserable life. To my amazement, the shop owner wore a pair of thick gardening gloves to pick her up....all of this proved to me his lack of care and knowledge and I will never set foot in that shop again. Not even for foodstuff or toys. After getting Pippa I saw this thread on a forum. It was horrifying and I'll never use a large company petshop again for buying rats. If I ever use a small shop I will ask questions and only use them if I'm happy with the answers, and that's a very big IF. This is the thread, showing pictures of a rodent farm.... http://www.fancy-rats.co.uk/community/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=85838&st=0&sk=t&sd=a Poor Pippa! Was she very scared when she came to you? What is her temperament like now? I got Sukey from a small petshop, she was on carefresh bedding, had toys and I was told the rats were handled daily, (NOT with gauntlets on!) and certainly her temperament tended to confirm this. I can't believe she came from a rodent farm, but if I ever get tempted to buy from that pet shop again I will make sure first. I couldn't in all concience support such a monstrous industry. I have checked out breeders in my area, and they are far and few between, but I do want to do the right thing, assuming that at some point we will be ready to have another rat... Are you definitely getting your christmas babies? How exciting! I loved having four rats, it was a good number which seemed to work very well. > Poor Pippa! Was she very scared when she came to you? What is her > temperament like now? She was terrified. :( I left her alone for a few hours to calm down before I started to handle her. I use the same method as you, so if you think you're mad, you had better include me on your list of nutters lol. I sat with her inside my clothes to get used to me and know I'm a safe place. I introduced her to Tiny in there too. She comes to my hand when I open the cage for a stroke and will play...she races off when I tickle her haunches, then races back to be tickled again. :) so she's a lot better socially now and hasn't once went to bite, not even if I put my finger through the bars.(Tiny would take a chunk out if I did that to her) When I take her out, she's happy to sit in my sleeve for ages but once bored with that, she'll leap from the sofa straight back to the cage, whereas Tiny will play at getting inside cushion covers and escaping again...and if I have my laptop on, she'll try and type out an email...it might look like gobbledegook but I'm sure will make perfect sense to her lol ;) > I got Sukey from a small petshop, she was on carefresh bedding, had > toys and I was told the rats were handled daily, (NOT with gauntlets > on!) and certainly her temperament tended to confirm this. It's quite possible this is a good petshop. I found another that has a great housing area for their rats. Two levels, plenty of toys and a place to hide in. They look very well cared for. > Are you definitely getting your christmas babies? How exciting! I > loved having four rats, it was a good number which seemed to work very > well. The breeder has just had one litter of 5 born that will be siamese, two of them are does. She has another litter due tomorrow which will be russian blue/russian blue agoute, so will see how many does she has in that litter and hope I'm first in the queue to pick mine. :) I'll let you know when it's definite. Hi Andrea, Wanted to wish you luck with your babies. Hope you get the ones you want, but they all sound gorgeous. You should definitely post photos when they come home with you : ) It's amazing that Pippa has never gone to bite, given her history. Aw. Her story is really moving. It must feel pretty good to have turned her life around. Does Tiny bite? After nearly five months of rat-keeping we haven't experienced any rattie bites, but when they yawn.... Boy, those are some serious gnashers. Everyone talks so casually about rattie bites; but I'm wincing! > Hi Andrea, > > Wanted to wish you luck with your babies. Hope you get the ones you > want, but they all sound gorgeous. You should definitely post photos > when they come home with you : ) Thank you, Sarah. :) I will post pics. My son is super excited too as he is going to get them for me for Xmas...he loves getting me the best presents ever! :)) > It's amazing that Pippa has never gone to bite, given her history. > Aw. Her story is really moving. It must feel pretty good to have > turned her life around. Does Tiny bite? After nearly five months of > rat-keeping we haven't experienced any rattie bites, but when they > yawn.... Boy, those are some serious gnashers. Everyone talks so > casually about rattie bites; but I'm wincing! It's lovely seeing Pippa come out of her shell more and more. She's a sleeve girl...as soon as I open the cage, she's straight up there and usually ends up sat in my cleavage with her head poking out of my top lol. <makes a mental note to make sure I keep her nails trimmed> Tiny will bite if you poke your fingers through the bars. She thinks it's a great game seeing who can move the fastest <strangles son for teaching her it> She has only ever bitten me once though. It was just after I'd lost Rascal and she was on her own. I'd reached in the cage to take a bowl out. I think she must have been asleep in her bed and I startled her. She shot out the bed and bit me. It was so lightning fast, she'd jumped back in bed before I even realised I'd been bitten. It didn't hurt when she did it but it bled quite a bit. I'd liken a rat bite to a paper cut. Their teeth are so sharp you hardly feel the incision, but it can feel a little sore afterwards. :) > She has only ever bitten me once though. It was just after I'd lost > Rascal and she was on her own. I'd reached in the cage to take a bowl [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Their teeth are so sharp you hardly feel the incision, but it can feel a > little sore afterwards. :) Stinky used to nip at any fingers stuck into the cage, but it was only because she thought they might be edible. Following a tip I read on a rat forum somewhere, whenever she nipped, I'd make a squeaking sound by sucking air between my lips, sounding something like a rat's distress squeak - speaking rat to her, as it were. It seems to have worked, because she never nips anymore, or maybe she just figured out the difference between fingers and ratty treats. > Stinky used to nip at any fingers stuck into the cage, but it was only > because she thought they might be edible. Following a tip I read on a rat [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > she never nips anymore, or maybe she just figured out the difference > between fingers and ratty treats. Tiny does that. I suppose the only reason she has only bitten me once is that I wouldn't dare poke my fingers through the bars. She doesn't bite if hands go in through the door though, apart from that once. Mind, having said that, Tiny disgraced me today. I entered both my girls in the pet class at a fancy rat show. Tiny got herself disqualified for biting the judge :-O! It was the first time I've ever taken them to a show so I think she must have been scared. I don't think I'll be showing her again, which is a shame because I've discovered today that she is not just a Champagne...she's a Champagne Berkshire with rather good markings. All she is missing is the white head mark but not many points are lost for that. :) > Tiny got herself disqualified for biting the judge :-O! It was the first > time I've ever taken them to a show so I think she must have been > scared. I don't think I'll be showing her again, which is a shame > because I've discovered today that she is not just a Champagne...she's a > Champagne Berkshire with rather good markings. All she is missing is the > white head mark but not many points are lost for that. :) How embarassing that she nipped the judge! Luckily, our girls have never bitten anyone in fear or anger, even the vet as he poked and prodded them, though they were clearly frightened (squeak, squeak!). Champagne rats are really beautiful, though I've read that animals with that sort of very light pigmentation can have some inborn immune deficiencies. Have you had any problems with mycoplasmosis? >> Tiny got herself disqualified for biting the judge :-O! It was the first >> time I've ever taken them to a show so I think she must have been scared. [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > light pigmentation can have some inborn immune deficiencies. Have you had > any problems with mycoplasmosis? She's 11months old and it's only recently she's developed a bit of a wheeze...more of a whistle sound from her nose. The vet said her chest sounds fine and she's had a course of baytril, but it's still there, so I'll have to take her back to the vet and ask for a different antibiotic. Apart from that she's never had any ailments. <touching wood> >> i'm a breeder who sells to pet stores. my little guys are always >> hand-socialized. perhaps the person who sells to the pet store that you [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > This is the thread, showing pictures of a rodent farm.... > http://www.fancy-rats.co.uk/community/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=85838&st=0&sk=t&sd=a i've seen that before. yeah, quite disgusting. the smell must be awful. on the subject of large pet store chains, it was either "pet-cetera" or "pet-smart", i can't remember which, but they have very strict policies for buying their rats. they will also not sell them for food (at least that is what they claimed without me even asking). i guess i look like the type of guy who owns snakes or something :) they also check closely for sickness and mites, which i was impressed with. they would not buy my rats because they already had a supplier, but they seemed like decent people. |
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