The Quick Question Thread

[ziraous]

Is it normal for young adult rats to make a chirping nose? My little boy Ridi is a hairless male about 5 months now and now and again he'll make a chirping noise while exploring.

 

[trihkal]

I'm not 100% sure what you mean by 'chirping' but that can be a sign of URI or other respiratory issues.

 

[ziraous]

He doesnt have weezy or labored breathing. Its like when he gets excited he starts to literally make a chirping noise. Its once in a while when he is out for playtime.

Edit: well, I just googled it and it said they do it when extremely happy and youngsters sound more like a bird.

 

[SterlingRats0408]

And Nakies have like a whole second language. I find them more vocal! Krieger is always chattering in his own language to Doyle.

 

[ziraous]

Hehe. Thats good to know! Tysm!

 

[alienpmk]

My baby is making tiny noises that sound like squeaking, but I think its wheezing. She was sneezing maybe ten times a day for the last few days but no sneezing today. No other signs of illness. What do I do? Get meds, go to a vet, put her in a steamy room? There are so many different recommendations and I don't know how to choose.

 

[Joanne]

How long have you had her?

 

[alienpmk]

She was born in march, and I've had her since April.

 

[trihkal]

Have there been any changes in your house? Any irritants?

If you think she is wheezing it's a good idea to take her to the vet. They can evaluate her and let you know the best course of action.

 

[alienpmk]

No changes, I have a lot of allergies myself so I would be aware if there were. We took her into the steamy bathroom and she is not making wheezing noises now. She might be being a bit more cuddly than normal. She's gained weight quite a lot this month so no loss yet. We found a vet that will do a phone consultation before bringing her in too.

 

[Joanne]

Respiratory disease in rats is very common. If any noises don't disappear in a couple of days, it warrants a vet visit.

 

[Buttercupxo]

This is my first time posting on the forum and I am on an iPhone so please excuse me if I'm posting in the wrong place..
My boyfriend and I are planning on getting two male rats sometime in the near future. I think Rex's are so adorable as babies, but I've never seen a full grown one as most the photos I can find are of babies. I hear that past 18 months their coats get patchy with bald spots so I was just wondering how true this is and if anyone could post a photo of their full grown Rex ratties I would appreciate it so much!!

Also one more question; what do you guys think of care fresh as bedding? And any recommendations about what to use in the litter box would be wonderful.

 

[Sheldon]

This is my boy (a poor rex) at about 6 months

 

[trihkal]

The rexes that I have had do get a little patchy when they get quite old. It's not horrible however. I think of it kind of like how men lose some of their hair as they get older.

CareFRESH is considered acceptable but it can be a bit dusty. I personally use fleece liners with towels underneath.

In the litterbox I'm currently using Harlan's pelleted paper litter but that can't be purchased at a pet store. Yesterday's News and Fresh News are another pelleted paper litter. Some worry YN contains 10% pine others say it's so processed it doesn't matter. Eco bedding is pretty popular as well.

 

[SterlingRats0408]

Here's a few of my rexs:
Sterling who was 2yrs this is right after a babywipe bath but he's not too patchy

Little Boots at 7/8 months

I don't call it patchy but he can look like he has balding spots where his hair parts and he looks like he has bedhead sometimes but it all ads to the cuteness.

As for bedding I don't personally like carefresh I find it makes me sneeze and smells bad. I use aspen and living world or vitakraft recycled paper pellets. Aspen to line the non potty trained groups and pellets in the litter box and it does great absorbing smells.

 

[ziraous]

I have a quick question.
This here is Ridi. I got him when he was about 4 months old the person said. Ive had him a month now. I was told hes a hairless. Will he lose the hair he has?

 

[Deer]

My rats destroy their fleece; it doesn't even last a week I really don't want to go back to aspen/carefresh. What can I do to stop them from wrecking it?

 

[Joanne]

My rats destroy their fleece; it doesn't even last a week I really don't want to go back to aspen/carefresh. What can I do to stop them from wrecking it?

Sometimes they wreck it because it is stinky and they are trying to remove it from their house. If so, then just clean the cage more often.
Sometimes they wreck it just for fun. If so, sucks to be you. Hahaha! Just kidding. You can try to redirect their energy to other things to destroy. I save empty glove boxes and put one or two into the cage. They like shredding it, and they can hide/sleep in it too. I will also rip up paper towel into smaller pieces and put it in the box so that they can redecorate as desired. Hang an entire toilet paper roll in the cage and let them play. Or a full box of Kleenex. You are just trying to give them something else to do.

 

[Joanne]

I have a quick question.
This here is Ridi. I got him when he was about 4 months old the person said. Ive had him a month now. I was told hes a hairless. Will he lose the hair he has?

When I got my nakies, they were already very naked, even the three young ones that were six weeks old. I think there are varying degrees of hairless. Another girl I picked up had peach fuzz. It made her quite endearing.

 

[ziraous]

Yeah, Ridi has peach fuzz like hair. But its so weird...his head hair is very very short and thin almost nonexistent. Going further down his back it gets longer. I wasnt sure if hed be a rex or not. His whiskers are not curled. Yet my true hairless boy has curled whiskers. And no hair at all.