what does anyone use to make ramps less slippery older rats

[yoland]

We have fall proofed out oldest girls cage and added an extra shelf and
gentler ramps angles and have fresh fleece covers and she is slipping more each day.

The fleece she can't seem to get a grip on!
Any ideas on what to put on the ramp to get a better grip!

I feel taking away the levels will just depress her even more. She just moved back into her regular cage from the surgery cage ( two weeks ago she had mammary surgery) and she was so releived! But she can't manage the ramps all of a sudden. She is angry and frustrated about it.

thanks for any suggestions
yoland

 

[hopefloats]

I use men's work socks that go up to the knee. I have found those to last longer than using the actual ramp covers, socks will also hold tight longer and last a lot longer

 

[Cinderwolf]

I use socks too, but i fidn they slip on them, I just use it to save on ramp scrubbing

 

[Cinderwolf]

What kidn fo cage is it, I fidn they find it easier ot walk up wire ramps thne anything with a cover, oyu jsu thave tokeep thme clena

 

[M0onkist]

I found men's socks worked great for Mr. Honeycomb when he developed HED - they stretch very tightly onto a CN's ramps, and thus have just enough of a gap in the weave for nails to catch, but not a toe.

 

[lilspaz68]

You might try wrapping the ramp with that sticky wrap to see if it helps the rat grip? I use socks myself or ramp covers

 

[yoland]

wow thanks great ideas

I'll try and post how she does
y

 

[yoland]

i have the 2 double critter nations and one single

didn't have the flexwrap but i did have my physical therapy stretch kineso tape place that like runners up and then a few across- seemed to help as she got up okay

I'll try the socks w/hub gets home and gives up some oldies
thanks again

 

[Pluie]

I'd use kitchen anti slip mats, clip them to the side of ramps. These rubbery surfaces are not only easy to walk on, but easy to wash and soft and comfy for old rat feet. Its something like this:

 

[yoland]

ah fab- I stole some from the kitchen cupboards.

sadly we are sure that sophie has PT, I had some clues last friday that I desperately called the vet about-
but he ignored me. called on monday and said she was fine leave her be- no steroids that pituitary tumors were rare........hmm not so much I have since found out the odds are really really high in an unspayed multiple
mammary tumor girl- like extremely high-

went to ER on monday night got pred okayed then
I found another vet and she was dx
he knew she had within secs- it explained all the sudden tumors
we started all the meds (dex shot then pills, cabergoline ,
the 2 herbs and baytril for the moment) today
she seems better- this last evening and ate lots of peas and soy - i couldn't peel them fast enough
hoping for a quality of life response soon- I think I caught it as fast as possible
given that until friday I had no idea what it was. wish she could have started meds on sat-

but I couldn't find anyone to see her who knew anything about anything
and she was still mobile then sigh

I will know for next time the first sign and now I have someone awesome vet in her corner
w/o their head you know where, trying hard not to be hating on her surgery vet, and praying that
he will learn a lesson from this. not sure even how to tell him-
although it's not like they'll call to find out how she is
but he does need to know so it doesn;t happen to someone else.

but the adjusting the cage came just in time before a major fall- so glad I trusted my gut
thanks again everyone
healing prayers- she's a great gal!

 

[RKEM]

I use vet wrap .... I also put it on wheels for obsessive runners who make their feet sore.

Another idea is to make “tumble safety nets” at the bottom of your ramps. Hard to explain and I don’t think I have a picture anymore but basically I would use a facecloth, punch holes through it to make like a hammock sort of thing and suspend it between the lower end of the ramp and the side of the cage so if a rat suddenly tumbled down, they would get a soft landing in the facecloth … you just have to make sure that it’s suspended high enough so that if a rat falls in he doesn’t hit the ground but not too high so rats can’t climb down easily. The facecloths worked fairly well with some rats with PT ... it allowed me to keep them in a multi level cage longer.

Another solution (if your ramps will move) is to use boxes to put under the ramp (reducing the incline) and then use more boxes to create steps for them to come down more gently.

 

[yoland]

Thanks REMX.

I do have 5 shelves in the critter nation and have all the ramps at low degree- added anti - skid shelf stuff
hubby taped them on top of fleece covers.

I have hammocks at every possible place she might fall and fabric tape making only one exit out! plus the clips so they are pretty flat hammocks- I like the face cloth idea- and will use it as her PT gets worse.

She was in a nose dive over the weekend- we had to syringe feed for 70 hrs.

her pred dose wasn't corrrect - as rxed we finally fixed it- w/o permission as the new vet is away and the one who Rxed it didn't call us back. and 2 doses in at the correct level- she started eating again! yeah

she lost 25 grams but gained 8 overnight

also doing the cabergoline daily at 1/3rd dose verses every 72hrs at reg dose- together seems to be working.

her hind end is weaker than I like- but front paw use is normal again- although I do see the stick out of the left on occasion- hoping more time on carb w/help that

she is on day 6 of treatment w/that
day 2 correct high dose pred
getting a bit of the agnus & tumeric dose but not all as she won't eat the entire things I mix it in
so sneaking small dose where I can

otherwise- I really thought we would lose her over weekend and she is doing pretty darn good overnight and today.

doesn't want to drink at all? but eating fruit and veggies easily so I'm not forcing her on that one

if her poop starts looking dry- i'll restart the syringe water

why she forgot how to drink but remembers how to eat? no idea
hoping for more improvements as the meds/ get going better

but she seems happy-
other than that darn seroma on the chest has not drained away
not tight so some is gone but still looks crappy and is no doubt a drag to hall around a water balllon on one's chest
- leg one is gone. asked 5 different vets to drain it and no one will.

thanks for all the great ideas
yoland

 

[RKEM]

Have you tried a shallow dish of water (sushi bowls made for soy sauce work well I find) instead of a bottle (might be hard to reach). Otherwise, you may want to ask your vet to show you how to do sub-cu fluids. It's 30 seconds of discomfort every 24h for the rat and may be less of a struggle / stress than syringe or hand feeding water if the rat is persistently refusing fluids.

And if you give something yummy afterwards, most rats learn to tolerate it very well. I've often seen less of a struggle over sub-cu than medication in most rats. I had an old guy who for some reason would always dehydrate badly (as in near death once) and the vet could find nothing wrong otherwise. He lived 6 months after that with fluids being the only treatment we would do and he got so used to it, no restraining whatsoever was needed, he would just chill leaning against one of my hands and wait (the nutrical he got afterwards was a powerful motivator I guess).