The Quick Question Thread

[*Rebel_Angel*]

O they are past that age, the young one's are 6 months approx.

 

[hopefloats]

their attitude can still kick in. I have some late bloomers here that are 6 months old and havent shown it. It can happen up to 8- 10 months old.

 

[ruthlessbliss]

Is this regurgitation?

[spoil:186h3rzo]

[/spoil:186h3rzo]

 

[Joanne]

Hmmm, theoretically rats can't vomit. Perhaps it was never swallowed, but just chewed up and spit out?

 

[ruthlessbliss]

Could he (Jacqueline is the one half in the picture but that was Preston's mess) have been eating enthusiastically/too quickly and then just... I don't know, stopped and gotten rid of it? It seems rather liquidy for food, but then again, I've never tried eating a lab block.

 

[hopefloats]

When rats choke they produce extra saliva to loosen it up or work it out. They can also sound as if they are extremely sick. That looks to me like they may have been choking. I have a boy that did that, he was worried about the other rats... I had to start feeding him alone. when I took the 6 problem children out of the cage, he was ok finally. Well so far anyway.

 

[ruthlessbliss]

Okay, that makes sense— I recently introduced the two groups, and while I thought Preston was just fine with the girls, perhaps he's more nervous than I thought? Thank you!

 

[hopefloats]

I had found some rats really seem to be more in a rush to get food than most. Usually in new groups where they are unsure of how they place in a group or when others like to steal their food. Which is my boys case. He could be a gobbler or thinks he needs to take the food before they do.

 

[RikkiTikkiTavi]

Quick Question:
When I get my rats, if they don't already eat oxbow (which I plan on feeding them), how do I change their food? Like do I do it over days, weeks, ect.?
Also, how much Oxbow and how much veggies per day? Do I feed them twice a day?

Thanks,
Thea

 

[jorats]

Quick Question:
When I get my rats, if they don't already eat oxbow (which I plan on feeding them), how do I change their food? Like do I do it over days, weeks, ect.?
Also, how much Oxbow and how much veggies per day? Do I feed them twice a day?

Thanks,
Thea

Many of us change our rats over cold turkey. It has never affected any of mine ever. They adapt real fast.

 

[RikkiTikkiTavi]

thanks

 

[Joanne]

Quick Question:
When I get my rats, if they don't already eat oxbow (which I plan on feeding them), how do I change their food? Like do I do it over days, weeks, ect.?
Also, how much Oxbow and how much veggies per day? Do I feed them twice a day?

Thanks,
Thea

I would have some of the old food mixed in with the new food to see how they take to the new stuff for a few days. When I tried my kids on Oxbow, they didn't like it. I hear they have a new formulation now though, so hopefully it tastes better to them.
The dried food should always be fed 'free choice', ie there should always be some available 24/7. That is their base food. Then feed other stuff to supplement their diet. Veggies, etc, that aren't consumed should be removed before they get yucky.

 

[RikkiTikkiTavi]

great thanks :mrgreen:

 

[fexpress]

How far can rats fall without doing themselves an injury? Since we moved the cage around, some of our girls have decided they can jump from one hammock to the next (rather than walk across the shelf, which is right there, thank you very much :emb: ) and I've seen them miss a couple times already. They seem fine and the cage is only 36" from top to bottom, but I wanted to see what you all thought. I don't want to add too many more hammocks (although the reality is, that may not stop the jumping anyhow), because I want them to have some opportunity to use their muscles rather than just walk everywhere, but I don't want injury to be likely either.

Thoughts/opinions/experience?

 

[hopefloats]

I would put hammocks under to break their fall, if they land on something wrong they could cause injury especially as they grow and gain weight

 

[Joanne]

Yeah, sometimes it's not how far, but rather HOW they land. I would strategically place hammies underneath so they will have a safety net if they miss.

 

[jorats]

For some rats, a very short distance, falling the wrong way can be really hard on them. I like the idea of extra hammocks to break the fall.

 

[MissGuardian]

How much weight loss is normal from them being more active?
Stefan has lost some weight(not sure exactly how much - I forgot to write it down last time, since it was at the vets) in the past couple of weeks, but he seems fine except his age(starting HED).
It started when he was put in a smaller cage it was easier to get in and out of. He´s been wandering around a bit more since then..
He´s a bit over two years old, which for those of you that don´t know, is rather old over here.)

 

[Joanne]

I found that once my rats became senior citizens, they stopped gaining weight, and slowly started losing weight. I would monitor how much he is losing. A small amount is not worrisome. A rapid weight loss or a large amount of weight loss would make me look closely at their health.

 

[MissGuardian]

I THINK he´s lost around 20 grams in about a month.. But I can´t tell for sure..
I´ll pay more attention to his weight. But he´s been a bit more active than normally too..