The Quick Question Thread

[Joanne]

Possible buggies - I would treat for mites anyway.

 

[jorats]

How old is he? That could have been sebum. But if you are finding scabs, then it's almost always mites/lice. Can you get Revolution? It's much better for them.

Okay, so I gave my rats a bath today, and I am cutting back on their protein, their akin is too greasy and they're starting to get little scabs on my hairless. With that said, my hairless and half hairless rats were fine...when I got to my haired rat Zer0, I noticed something. I was washing his fur and little red dots were visible. Not moving just there. After I was done I looked him over and didn't find any. Is this because of the protein? I've already given all 3 a dose of the horse dewormer stuff. or do you think it's mites? I've not seen this on any rats before.

 

[ziraous]

Only. My hairless has scabs on him and it's from their play fighting I believe. I don't are any scabs or balding on Zer0. He is around 6-7 months old now. Whats sebum?

I can try. I looked over Zero again and haven't found anything.. :/

Ridi. And Maddox are fine. I'm sure I can get some revolution, but I've always used the dewormer. And not had a problem when they've been treated with it.

 

[RatPack]

So what is the secret to litter box training rats? I have been trying to litter box train both my boys and girls for almost 2 months now and the boys seem to do ok for the first day or so and then it is like they just get lazy again and start peeing/pooping wherever. The girls are more interested in sleeping in theirs or stashing food and rearranging it in their cage I even heard somewhere that rats like to pee on rocks so I got them rocks to put in the litter boxes and still having to spot clean everyday and change their hammocks and blankets every 2-3 days.

 

[trihkal]

Not all rats can be litter trained. For me I spot clean daily making sure any poop ends up in the litter box. I change the box every two days but leave a bit of poop in the box. Most of my rats catch on pretty quickly. I do have an oldie who refuses to use it.

As for pee I have heard you can't really train a rat to use the litter box. The occasional rat will but it's unlikely.

 

[SterlingRats0408]

Just wondering if based on the weights and pics one of you knows how old baby Krieger is? He was tiny when I got him. ..likely weaned too early. Photo dates were
06/29/14 and today so almost exactly 3 months. He was 160g (approx. Had a cheap scale) and he's weighed in at 275g on the button with the new scale. He eats very well and is very active and outgoing.
Pictures #1 &2 June 29

Pictures #3&4 from tonight (Sept 26)

I wanna say 4-5 months but he looks so small compared to everyone else.


And my vet said Boots is teetering on "needing to watch his waistline at 780g while I'm supposed to try and get Tyrion to gain about 20g more. He's only 475g at a year. Do you guys think these weights are a worry in either direction?

 

[Sheldon]

I think your little one was probably around 5 weeks when you got him. He reminds me of a DR I have that was/is also stunted.

 

[Joanne]

I took in a bunch of nakies. The adults are bigger (around a pound), but the three babies are small in comparison. The two girls have not hit 300 g yet and they are 10 months old! Their brother is more average in his weight.
Numbers in and of themselves do not really mean much. Some rats will be heavier than others, some will be lighter. It depends on the CONDITION of the rat. If the rat has prominent ribs and backbone, then he needs more weight. If the rat has rolls of fat and a big belly, then he needs to lose some weight. Your nakie looks just right. I think your estimate of 4-5 months old sounds good.

 

[marissaceleste]

One of my babies seems to have been bitten by one of his cage mates... Last night was their first night spent all together after intros.. About 15 minutes ago, Ollie one of my adults (who was also the least keen on these intros) was holding Byron by the skin on his back for a couple seconds and Byron squeaked and he let go right after, so I'm guessing that's when it happened? It's right in the middle of his back. It seems very shallow and there is a small amount of dried blood. It looks sort of like a deep-ish paper cut more than anything else, not like a puncture, and he doesn't seem to flinch or anything when I touch it.

What should I do for it? Should I just wipe it clean with a cotton pad and let it heal on its own?

 

[Joanne]

I would just leave it alone. Either he will clean it, or someone else probably will. Rats' teeth are very sharp, and slices can happen easily, especially if they twist away while being 'held'. Just check it regularly to make sure it's healing normally.

 

[marissaceleste]

Ok thanks! It doesn't seem to be bothering him, so I'll just monitor it like you said.

 

[Zephye]

What could cause 'clucking' noises other than an URI? I took my rat, Nemo, to the vet's and his lungs were clear and he hasn't sneezed either. /: Just wondering what else it could be? Vet said that he might have fluid at the back of his throat or something like that. He's on meds just in case though.

 

[jorats]

That's a good question. I always thought it meant a URI.

 

[Sonja]

Is there anything I can rub onto the bars of my cage to prevent my little Sinclair from chewing on it? She's actually damaging her teeth and cheeks/fur with the excessive chewing. They get play-time every day out of the cage, but the second she's back in she goes right to gnawing on the bottom few bars. I've tried time-outs and a quick spray with a water-bottle paired with the word "No!" and neither worked.

 

[Joanne]

How about trying to redirect her chewing to something else? Put it right in the way of where her favourite spot is. She may start chewing on it out of frustration, thus getting her started.

 

[fumblesquid]

So, quick question: If the baytril+doxy combo is not helping symptoms of myco, what other antibiotics can I expect the vet to prescribe? What meds do you think they should be on? Another combo? They have been on baytril+doxy combo almost 2 weeks and symptoms persist.

Thanks

 

[jorats]

When mine have a severe uri, I always go for Baytril and Zithromax.

 

[RatPack]

Ok so I am currently feeding my ratties premium 8in1 rat blocks from walmart and in about a week they will need a refill of their container which takes four boxes and last 2 weeks. I have been seeing alot of people talking about feeding their ratties oxbow which is 40 bucks for 20lbs of it.Is that better then what I am feeding them now and how long do you think 20lbs would last with 10 rats?

 

[SterlingRats0408]

A 20lb bag of Oxbow lasts me 2 weeks with almost 40 rats so it should last you longer
I would assume Oxbow is better then 8in1 tho I have no experience with it at all.

 

[RatPack]

Thanks I will give it a try and hopefully they will like it more then the rat blocks.