Unsanitary housing

[Zephye]

Yes that is him in my avatar C: I found out he was a dumbo through a friend actually, the pet store I got him from (and his lice) just labeled him as 'fancy'.

I sorted out his weird toiletry habit actually, I removed the fabric that he sleeps on to a corner in his cage and he does his business on that instead. Seems he just associated that sort of fabric for the toilet. -shrugs-

I'll definitely post pics once I get everything sorted. Can a regular rat be paired with hairless one? I'm just curious really, I saw a hairless one at the same pet shop but he probably has lice too :/ considering Zephye got it from there.

 

[Zephye]

Yes that is him in my avatar C: I found out he was a dumbo through a friend actually, the pet store I got him from (and his lice) just labeled him as 'fancy'.

I sorted out his weird toiletry habit actually, I removed the fabric that he sleeps on to a corner in his cage and he does his business on that instead. Seems he just associated that sort of fabric for the toilet. -shrugs- Also I definitely need to get him a new cage, he's finally figured out how to escape, aha. Well at least when he thinks he'll get a veggie from me for being clever.

I'm also curious, those hamster tubes I know he's small enough right now but I'm assuming they won't be of much use to him when he grows bigger, right?

I'll definitely post pics once I get everything sorted. Can a regular rat be paired with hairless one? I'm just curious really, I saw a hairless one at the same pet shop but he probably has lice too :/ considering Zephye got it from there.

 

[dspch911]

He is adorable!! Yes, hairless can live with rats that have hair many people on here have mixed colonies.

 

[Joanne]

When you get another rat, you should put a drop of Revolution on them too just to kill off any buggies.

I would not bother with anything hamster-sized, as they will quickly grow too big to use any of it. I have a Critter Nation cage, and LOVE it - it is nice and big, and so easy to clean, and the bar spacing is appropriate for small animals like rats.

I even have boys and girls living together. They are all spayed/neutered so there are no babies.

If you have the chance to rescue a rattie or give a needy baby a home, I encourage you to do that as opposed to buying one. All my rats are from Kijiji and needed homes. I feel good knowing I was able to help them.

 

[Zephye]

I looked around but it seems there are no ratties currently for adoption :C and kijiji none near my town enough to get.

 

[jorats]

There is Ottawa Pet Rat Rescue. You could contact them.

 

[victoria]

There's a rat rescue in Ottawa... http://www.ottawaratrescue.com/ Contact them and see if they have anyone that would be a good companion for your boy.

 

[Zephye]

I took a look at the rat rescue's webpage, it looks like they have a few young rats C: Though I still have to put off looking for one for another week. An ice storm hit Ottawa and I can't safely get to the vet via bus so I had to reschedule. :/

 

[Zephye]

Just updating, I'm unsure if rat's lice can go away on it's own? So far on Zephye his nits seem to have mostly disappeared, I can only find maybe 3 at the most now rather than having his back covered. The vet appointment is tomorrow so I'll get him to look at it anyways.

I got Zephye a cagemate, they're currently in separate cages. I'm rather unsure how to intros, you guys told me that babies were the easiest? I'm just wondering how long I should wait until they meet, (after the lice treatment)

The new boy is 11 weeks old and also a dumbo. He seems more curious and less timid than Zephye.

 

[SQ]

If they are both under 12 weeks old, you should be able to just put them together.

 

[victoria]

You may be able to just put them together but you need to have a big enough cage.

Rat lice will not go away on their own.

 

[Zephye]

I bought them a new cage that should fit two rats, it's about 30" long. You guys are right they seem to like each other, they're just wrestling a lot so far, and humping one another.

 

[Joanne]

Boys will be boys! LOL
They'll be great company for each other.

 

[Zephye]

Indeed, they were very hyper and chasing each other around the cage, sometimes taking breaks to eat and drink. They seemed to have calmed down which is nice. Looks like things are good. C:

 

[SQ]

If your cage is at least 4 cubic feet in size (you can use an online cage calculator to check),
with a base of at least 30 inches by 18 inches, with height and levels, then it is large enough, otherwise it is too small for two rats.

Glad that they now both have a friend to play with and snuggle with.