SilverMoon
Active Member
Two of my boys have very thin fur and I was wondering if this is normal for their age (2 months old). Their one brother seems to have a full coat of fur, and all his brothers and sisters all look like their fur has grown in already.
Oscar's fur is thick on his belly and around his legs, but all along his back I can see through the hair to his pink skin. His brother Cecil isn't as pink but his fur is still more thin than Loki's. Unfortunately I can't get a decent picture because Oscar is the most active of the three and won't hold still long enough... and when he does, my camera won't pick up that level of detail so it looks like his coat is full when it's not.
There is a visible line where his thick coat ends and his thin coat begins. Is it possible his hair is just growing in more slowly than on his bros? He doesn't have any scabs and he doesn't scratch more than your average rat. I'm fairly sure the other two aren't barbering him, because he wouldn't let them hold him down (he's the bossy one of the bunch).
My other question involves Loki. He has scabs next to his eyes and I'm just wondering if that could be because his nails are too long and he's scratching himself when he grooms? That I DO have a picture of.
He's the one grooming (he does it ALL the time, he's very clean). I'm afraid to trim their nails because I might hurt them. I have very shaky hands and have a hard enough time trimming my gigantic dog's nails without hurting him. Other than the scabs he seems fine. He eats like a pig (he's already squishier than his brothers) and he drinks just fine too. He doesn't have any discharge from his eyes or nose than I can see and he's no more lethargic than usual (he's a lazy boy, he loves to sleep).
My final question is how do you know when rats are FIGHTING? I see Oscar and Loki bouncing around their cage all the time nipping at each other and smacking each other in the face but they never squeak or make any kind of noise at all really. I think they're just playing but I want to make sure. Is it normal for rats to 'wrestle' like that? They roll around attached to each other like they're one big ball of fur, but yeah, no squeaking at all.
Sorry to ask so many questions, but I just want to make sure my boys are all healthy!
Back to the fur issue before I post; my boys spent the first three weeks with me in an aquarium. Could that have something to do with it? I got them out as soon as they were big enough to go in their wire cage without escaping through the bars (even though the cage was recommended to me as safe for baby rats :emb: silly petsmart employees. They're also a little smaller than most of their brothers (though I just took Cecil yesterday night and he's smaller than both of them and never spent time in an aquarium). My sister's boys, who are from the same litter, are much bigger than mine, so much so that I needed to pick them up in both hands when I went to visit as opposed to only using one hand.
Thanks in advance you guys, for the help/knowledge I know you will undoubtedly bestow upon my unknowing self! :bow:
Oscar's fur is thick on his belly and around his legs, but all along his back I can see through the hair to his pink skin. His brother Cecil isn't as pink but his fur is still more thin than Loki's. Unfortunately I can't get a decent picture because Oscar is the most active of the three and won't hold still long enough... and when he does, my camera won't pick up that level of detail so it looks like his coat is full when it's not.
There is a visible line where his thick coat ends and his thin coat begins. Is it possible his hair is just growing in more slowly than on his bros? He doesn't have any scabs and he doesn't scratch more than your average rat. I'm fairly sure the other two aren't barbering him, because he wouldn't let them hold him down (he's the bossy one of the bunch).
My other question involves Loki. He has scabs next to his eyes and I'm just wondering if that could be because his nails are too long and he's scratching himself when he grooms? That I DO have a picture of.
He's the one grooming (he does it ALL the time, he's very clean). I'm afraid to trim their nails because I might hurt them. I have very shaky hands and have a hard enough time trimming my gigantic dog's nails without hurting him. Other than the scabs he seems fine. He eats like a pig (he's already squishier than his brothers) and he drinks just fine too. He doesn't have any discharge from his eyes or nose than I can see and he's no more lethargic than usual (he's a lazy boy, he loves to sleep).
My final question is how do you know when rats are FIGHTING? I see Oscar and Loki bouncing around their cage all the time nipping at each other and smacking each other in the face but they never squeak or make any kind of noise at all really. I think they're just playing but I want to make sure. Is it normal for rats to 'wrestle' like that? They roll around attached to each other like they're one big ball of fur, but yeah, no squeaking at all.
Sorry to ask so many questions, but I just want to make sure my boys are all healthy!
Back to the fur issue before I post; my boys spent the first three weeks with me in an aquarium. Could that have something to do with it? I got them out as soon as they were big enough to go in their wire cage without escaping through the bars (even though the cage was recommended to me as safe for baby rats :emb: silly petsmart employees. They're also a little smaller than most of their brothers (though I just took Cecil yesterday night and he's smaller than both of them and never spent time in an aquarium). My sister's boys, who are from the same litter, are much bigger than mine, so much so that I needed to pick them up in both hands when I went to visit as opposed to only using one hand.Thanks in advance you guys, for the help/knowledge I know you will undoubtedly bestow upon my unknowing self! :bow:
