Got A Rat For A Christmas Present

[WILDER]

Or tokis it's a cutie, but don't like the tail sorry.

 

[KathyM]

Thanks for all the info Kathy, you've really helped me out a lot ! I've been handling the rat a lot today, she's been sitting on my lap for hours (i really am amazed, you'd never be able to do this with a syrian hamster) i took some pics too;

She's a lovely rat, although she is very shy. I've named her Maya .

Oh my word, she's gorgeous! you have a black hooded rat there, and a very pretty one She's not a baby by the looks of it, probably not fully adult but definitely not a tidger. Be careful as pet shops are notorious for not sexing and separating, and rats can reprodue from 5 weeks old. You should be able to tell if she's pregnant by a week or two, her (forgive me in advance for what I'm about to discuss with a bloke) nipples will be prominent. Shemight not swell up until the last week of pregnancy (pregnancy lasts about 3 weeks). Fingers crossed she's not though, but its a risk with even the young babies from petshops (if that's where she came from - sorry to be presumptious).

If there is any more advice you need, feel free to ask, I just love rats and learnt a lot while showing, rescuing and a one off attempt at responsible breeding. I'm far from an expert though - there's tonnes of info out there though and I might be able to point you in the right direction! Had any thoughts on her new friends yet? I'm still tempted to hop on a train and nab her.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Yeah she is a pet shop rat, i will keep a close eye on her as i know the petshop where she came from and i know they keep their rats in community cages, so its not imposible that she's been in contact with a male at some point if the petshop wan't very careful about mixing their rats...
But i will definately post here if i have anymore questions and i really appreiciate all the help, info and encouragement and nice words everyone has given/said !

 

[LisaLQ]

My Maia says hello to your Maya

She was a pet shop girl who joined me at rough guesstimate age 12-16 weeks, and she was on her second litter (she was a foster rat I took in with her one day old babies, then decided to keep). She was rescued along with hundreds of other rats as part of a pet shop closure, she had 3 week old babies and the dad had been left in with them so she got pregnant again straight away. You never know, she could have had another litter before then. I'd keep a very close eye on your Maia (Maia means mum and fertile by the way lol), as if she's been in with males, it is probably 99% certain she's pregnant at her age/size.

Do get her a friend or two asap, the pet shop where she came from might have another in from her litter, which would increase the chances of them getting on (although like Kathy I've never had a problem with does, only bucks and even then it's not usually a problem as youngsters - only introducing adults). Although if it does turn out she was in with males, I wouldn't risk another female from the same shop lol. It's not as if they're super expensive - even from a breeder they generally cost the same, contrary to popular belief.

I'm down to 9 now, all middle aged and elderly. Maia is now coming up to roughly 2 years old, her babies are now about 19 months. Time flies

 

[KathyM]

We lost Buddy this morning He was 2 and a quarter, not bad considering his poor breeding, I know, but even so.

That's the one thing that made me rethink about ever having more rats. I nearly slipped and thought about adding a couple more girls, but this morning I remember why I said no more

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

My Maia says hello to your Maya

She was a pet shop girl who joined me at rough guesstimate age 12-16 weeks, and she was on her second litter (she was a foster rat I took in with her one day old babies, then decided to keep). She was rescued along with hundreds of other rats as part of a pet shop closure, she had 3 week old babies and the dad had been left in with them so she got pregnant again straight away. You never know, she could have had another litter before then. I'd keep a very close eye on your Maia (Maia means mum and fertile by the way lol), as if she's been in with males, it is probably 99% certain she's pregnant at her age/size.

Do get her a friend or two asap, the pet shop where she came from might have another in from her litter, which would increase the chances of them getting on (although like Kathy I've never had a problem with does, only bucks and even then it's not usually a problem as youngsters - only introducing adults). Although if it does turn out she was in with males, I wouldn't risk another female from the same shop lol. It's not as if they're super expensive - even from a breeder they generally cost the same, contrary to popular belief.

I'm down to 9 now, all middle aged and elderly. Maia is now coming up to roughly 2 years old, her babies are now about 19 months. Time flies

Wow your rat has such a similar sounding name and looks to mine ! I'm going to get her a new cage ASAP (probably at the start of january) and will start looking for some buddies for maya the same day and will probably buy some the same day as i get the new cage if i see any suitable and nice-looking female rats .

I asked my friends if there were any rats in the cage at the petshop that she was in, but they said that she was all alone as all her siblings had been sold earlier, so its very difficult to say wether she was with any males.
Is there any sort of behavior that female rats show when they are pregnant (i remember when we had a pregnant female hamser, she started to build huge nests, stored loads of food and generally had very manic/hyper-active behaviour)? She's probably not pregnant, but i just wanna be on the safe side if anything does happen.

We lost Buddy this morning He was 2 and a quarter, not bad considering his poor breeding, I know, but even so.

That's the one thing that made me rethink about ever having more rats. I nearly slipped and thought about adding a couple more girls, but this morning I remember why I said no more

Thats a real shame one of your rats passed away . When i kept hamsters, their average life expectancy was around two years old- i've had 4 hamsters during my life so far all within the time of about 3 years, it was very disheartening they lived for such a short amount of time. Even at a year old, they'd often start to show their age even by then (the average life expectancy of a hamster in the wild is less than a year) and would become less active and start sleeping more.

I'm happier about having a rat though now as at least they live longer on average than hamsters either way .

Something has concerned me though- Maya seems to be sneezing a lot. I've noticed it more and more over the last few days, she doesn't sneeze much when she's not very active, but when she's running around and exploring she sneezes qute a lot (maybe 3-5 times a minute roughly). Whats wrong with her do you know? Could she be allergic to something or is sick?

 

[LisaLQ]

It's probably myco, all rats (apart from lab rats) carry it but only some will get symptoms - bad breeding/pet shop bred rats are more likely to be affected as reputable breeders take care to breed only from strong healthy rats, whereas those supplying pet shops aren't that considerate and usually dont care what they breed from. They also need to be kept off any kind of wood shaving or dust, as that can cause severe respiratory problems in rodents, most rats will sneeze if kept on wood shavings - and it can also make their myco flare up. Switching to paper based bedding, or hemp, or shredded cardboard bedding (Ecopetbed etc) is best. If she carries on sneezing, or gets rattly in the chest, I'd pop her along to the vets to treat the myco with antibiotics. Otherwise it might just be a minor sniffle due to either the shavings or the stress of changing homes

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

It's probably myco, all rats (apart from lab rats) carry it but only some will get symptoms - bad breeding/pet shop bred rats are more likely to be affected as reputable breeders take care to breed only from strong healthy rats, whereas those supplying pet shops aren't that considerate and usually dont care what they breed from. They also need to be kept off any kind of wood shaving or dust, as that can cause severe respiratory problems in rodents, most rats will sneeze if kept on wood shavings - and it can also make their myco flare up. Switching to paper based bedding, or hemp, or shredded cardboard bedding (Ecopetbed etc) is best. If she carries on sneezing, or gets rattly in the chest, I'd pop her along to the vets to treat the myco with antibiotics. Otherwise it might just be a minor sniffle due to either the shavings or the stress of changing homes

Thanks for the info . Right now she has a layer of shredded newspaper and tissue paper, the only wood in her cage right now is 3 peices of wood i put in for her to chew and climb on, so i don't think it could be a wood thing .
I take her to the vets if she carries on sneezing over the next couple of days . She doesn't sound rattly in the chest, but sometimes when she sniffs stuff her sniffling can be quite loud (like she has a dry throat or something). Is there anything else i can do or should be doing? She also grooms herself very regularly, almost like everytime she takes a break she'll wash her face or something...I dunno if this is anything to worry about ? She seems totally fine and normal other than that.

 

[KathyM]

She's most likely washing more because of the sniffles, so it does sound like a touch of myco or other respiratory illness. Dont be alarmed if you see red stains around her nose and eyes, it won't be blood, it's porphyrin which is a red coloured secretion which is normal in small amount but can be an indicator of stress and illness in excess and/or with other symptoms. If her sneezing continues, a course of oralBaytril from the vets will help. Be careful with any injections in rats as they're prone to "Baytril burns" from injections, something I've had to deal with a couple of times because my vet was not aware of the risk of injecting.

As for life expectancy in rats, it's a tough one. The average is between 18 months and 2 and a half years, with 2 years plus being considered a good age. Some rats make it to 3 and even 4, but it's not common. Obviously rats bred for health have a better chance of making a decent age, but I have seen a small amount of petshop originating rats reach grand ages (Lisa's Angel being one - the brother to our old rat Otis who passed away this summer). On the whole though petshop bred rats don't seem to live as long, with the odd exception like Angel, who I believe is coming up on 3 now. Best way to ensure a longer healthier life is to provide them with a good and varied diet (like the Shunamite diet) and to keep a thorough check on them heath wise, and to provide a good environment for them, preventing stress/boredom/loneliness, etc.

Hope she picks up soon! A nice treat for her while she's under the weather might be some small amounts of Ferretvite, a yummy paste with vitamins in (made for ferrets but great for rats too).

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

She's most likely washing more because of the sniffles, so it does sound like a touch of myco or other respiratory illness. Dont be alarmed if you see red stains around her nose and eyes, it won't be blood, it's porphyrin which is a red coloured secretion which is normal in small amount but can be an indicator of stress and illness in excess and/or with other symptoms. If her sneezing continues, a course of oralBaytril from the vets will help. Be careful with any injections in rats as they're prone to "Baytril burns" from injections, something I've had to deal with a couple of times because my vet was not aware of the risk of injecting.

As for life expectancy in rats, it's a tough one. The average is between 18 months and 2 and a half years, with 2 years plus being considered a good age. Some rats make it to 3 and even 4, but it's not common. Obviously rats bred for health have a better chance of making a decent age, but I have seen a small amount of petshop originating rats reach grand ages (Lisa's Angel being one - the brother to our old rat Otis who passed away this summer). On the whole though petshop bred rats don't seem to live as long, with the odd exception like Angel, who I believe is coming up on 3 now. Best way to ensure a longer healthier life is to provide them with a good and varied diet (like the Shunamite diet) and to keep a thorough check on them heath wise, and to provide a good environment for them, preventing stress/boredom/loneliness, etc.

Hope she picks up soon! A nice treat for her while she's under the weather might be some small amounts of Ferretvite, a yummy paste with vitamins in (made for ferrets but great for rats too).

I think i'll take her to the vet then. Would it be a good idea to avoid putting any new rats with her until her sneezing issue has been cleared up? Or would she be fine with another rat or two?
As far as veg/fruit is concerned, so far i have fed her celery, brocali, a couple of graps, baby lettuce, turnip and some cooking/bitter apple. Are these fruit/veg good for rats and what other fruit or veg can i feed her that would be good? I also gave her some dried curly pasta- i will try out the ferrtvite if i can find some as well .

 

[KathyM]

The vet will more than likely say she's better off without company until she's better. I'm half and half on that one, as in my experience separating rats with myco isn't necessary unless there's another bug at play as all rats carry myco anyway. It could be that stress has brought this on - nothing you've done wrong, don't worry, it's common, but it's something that might be exacerbated by being alone. I think I would get her checked out, if the vet feels it warrants antibios, go for it, then when she's over the worst, get her some friends then when it's safer.

What you might run into is a bit of vet ignorance on rats. It's not their fault, it's just that unless the vet has a particular interest in them and reads up himself, you'll find they don't have a lot of training in rat care. Our local head vet can't even sex them *lol* - ask Lisa about that, it was hilarious. Luckily there's another vet at our practice that is interested in them, so he let's me take in info I've got off the internet or breeders, and works with me on that, if you get me. Our head vet still insists there's no such thing as Baytril burns, despite him having given one of my rats one twice (at the time it was necessary evil if you get me, my rat was too ill for oral baytril to be quick enough acting). He bases his opinion on the fact that dogs don't get them. Needless to say now I know more about that, he owes me a tenner (I made a bet with him, he's conveniently forgotten!).

As for fruit and veg, slowly slowly is the way to go. Rats don't need masses of fruit and veg, and it is generally better to slowly accustom them to each type. When I got my first I thought more variety sounded best, but young rats need very little at all. Curly kale is fantastic for growing rats if you can get hold of it, as it's a good source of calcium. Edited to add: Pasta good! She can also have a small amount of tinned sardines/pilchards (mine love the type in tomato sauce). It's a nice smelly food for them so if she's a bit bunged and feeling rough, it might cheer her up.

How is she today? I've been wondering how she's doing.

 

[babybell911]

My rat's were allergic to the sawdust they were on in the end I put them on kitty litter and it cleared them right up as there was no dust to irritate them. I know what you mean about vets and rats though. When I took mine about the sneezing my vet said "Rats don't often show symptoms until it's too late so if it is an illness it's likely they'll die". I was like thanks for your help. And she charged me for that too.

 

[LisaLQ]

LOL @ vets - some of them are really useless. Show them a horse, and they know what to do. Show them a dog and they usually get it right. Show them a rat, and they panic lol.

By the way, I am the only person in West Yorkshire with a hermaphrodite rat. Apparently. Stupid vet...if I can sex baby rats with relatively little experience at a week or two old, why did he mistake an adult rats hoo-hoo for a pee-pee?

 

[dgwebster]

just jumping on the band wagon here, but I gave my partner 3 rats for xmas this year.

I also gave her a ferplast avery and we are now at 31 rats 1 rabbit and 3 fish tanks. oh and 11 hamsters.

 

[grahamsokel]

LOL @ vets - some of them are really useless. Show them a horse, and they know what to do. Show them a dog and they usually get it right. Show them a rat, and they panic lol.

By the way, I am the only person in West Yorkshire with a hermaphrodite rat. Apparently. Stupid vet...if I can sex baby rats with relatively little experience at a week or two old, why did he mistake an adult rats hoo-hoo for a pee-pee?

My vets the other way he is great with rodents good with dogs and runs a mile if the horse moves