What did u do to piss him off?
We have a couple of Rats. Both are very gentle. And both will eat out of our hands, being very careful not to bite us. I wish I had some pics, but these little guys will curl up and sleep when we watch tv.
They will bite, but only when a finger is put into the cage, since rats can't see worth a damn and will almost always mistake a finger thru the bars as food. :Q
We have a couple of Rats. Both are very gentle. And both will eat out of our hands, being very careful not to bite us. I wish I had some pics, but these little guys will curl up and sleep when we watch tv.
They will bite, but only when a finger is put into the cage, since rats can't see worth a damn and will almost always mistake a finger thru the bars as food. :Q
Cute rat, although if it's biting people then it's either very scared, or needs training. 
[Edit] Or blind
Pics and video of our four rats coming as soon as I get the Bluetooth software reinstalled.
[Edit] Or blind
Pics and video of our four rats coming as soon as I get the Bluetooth software reinstalled.
Here you go
Bailey, one of the two younger rats.
Mojo, the other young rat.
Monty, one of the elder two rats, and a big lazy fat bastard!.
Lastly, a video (taken with my phone) of all the above and Badger as well - this file should play fine with Quicktime installed (download Quicktime Alternative if you don't have it already).
They love Shreddies
Bailey, one of the two younger rats.
Mojo, the other young rat.
Monty, one of the elder two rats, and a big lazy fat bastard!.
Lastly, a video (taken with my phone) of all the above and Badger as well - this file should play fine with Quicktime installed (download Quicktime Alternative if you don't have it already).
They love Shreddies
Great Rats! My wife still will not pet or hold them. She is so freaked out about their tails. I don't get it. The tail feels just like human skin, or a finger.
BTW, do you know how to keep them from getting all scabby from scratching? Neither of them will let us cut their nails.
BTW, do you know how to keep them from getting all scabby from scratching? Neither of them will let us cut their nails.
I have many friends that get freaked out about the tails, but they're really just big, intelligent mice
BTW, do you know how to keep them from getting all scaby from scratching? Neither of them will let us cut their nails.
If it's scabby around their eyes, then it's something called "porforia" (definitely check the spelling of this as I have no idea), and most rats get it to some extent.
However, if they're scabby and scratching elsewhere, you must get them to a vet ASAP. They either need a mite-removal treatment, some antibiotics, or both. Both our elder rats has this recently, and the vet placed a tiny drop of mite repellant between their shoulderblades, and we have to use some antibiotic cream on their "wounds", plus using antibiotics on some Shreddies to get them to eat it. Two weeks later, everything's cleared up and gone, and they're back to normal. If you leave it, however, it will get infected and that's what one of our first rats died of.
You may also want to consider changing the bedding to non-sawdust, or "safe bedding". We use two different types mixed together; what appears to be shredded cleaning cloths (soft), and the other is shredded soft paper. This seems to have stopped the problem entirely, and the vet also said that this was a good idea.
As for food, we use gerbil mix at the moment, we try to change the food brand/type every two months or so to give them some variety and to discourage selective feeding. We keep carbonated drinks well away from them, as rats cannot burp and the bubbles will wreak havoc on their stomachs.
Biting training: try a drop of fruit juice on the end of your finger; the first time you'll probably get a small nip, but persevere and they'll quickly learn not to bite, but to lick the juice from your finger. Once they're accustomed to this, then they'll move as if to lick instead of bite when you put your finger through the cage bars
Our rats are entirely happy on our shoulders, although the elder rats are more comfortable with this as they calm down a lot as they age.
You can cut their nails, although it is difficult. Giving them food to keep them still is a very bad idea, as they'll freak out and think that you're trying to take the food away from them. I got nipped once before for that, right between my fingers
Usually I hold them down while my girlfriend cuts their nails. After a few times, they get used to this.
One more thing before I forget - you may want to try giving them a bath to help with their skin. You can get small rodent shampoo from pet stores, and do it in the bath with about 1.5" of water so they don't drown. The first time you do this, they'll hate it, so make it lukewarm, get them a bit wet and them rub a little shampoo into their coats. Rinse it off, and be prepared for them to try and run up your arm to get away from the water! Rubber gloves are a good idea.
Note that this acts as more of an incentive for them to groom themselves, as they don't enjoy being wet. The shampoo will remove any crud from their fur and skin, and then they'll groom themselves dry; you'll notice the difference immediately. Their fur will be smooth, light and fluffy, and any white patches will go from a light yellow colour, back to near-white. Worth trying
Great pets
:heart:Dudley, one of the first rats that we had. He's the one that died because of his skin infection
Finch, the other "first" rat. He was a Rex, as you can see by his very short, curly fur, and wrinkly skin. He was a great rat
Finch, the other "first" rat. He was a Rex, as you can see by his very short, curly fur, and wrinkly skin. He was a great rat
Originally posted by: Phil
Here you go
Bailey, one of the two younger rats.
Mojo, the other young rat.
Monty, one of the elder two rats, and a big lazy fat bastard!.
Lastly, a video (taken with my phone) of all the above and Badger as well - this file should play fine with Quicktime installed (download Quicktime Alternative if you don't have it already).
They love Shreddies
Your rats are cute.
Are they all males?I don't know if mine bite more because they are female-- I know that they go into heat every five days or so, and I think that sometimes Yoyo just plays with them on bad nights. I've only been bitten hard enough to have my skin broken once and that was because I did a very dumb thing and stuck my hand into their dark little house instead of just picking up the house. So I don't know if he just has bad luck with them... or what.
One of my friends took her rat to the vet for scratching, and I've noticed that mine do it a lot, too. The vet recommended that if she didn't want to spend money on injections (she didn't say anything about drops...) that she could go buy some kitten mite/lice/tick shampoo and bathe her rat once a week. She said that really helped, so I've given mine one bath with the shampoo so far, and I think it's time for another one (it's been just over a week). I've already noticed a difference in the amount of scratching.
Originally posted by: LadyBuggy
Originally posted by: Phil
Here you go
Bailey, one of the two younger rats.
Mojo, the other young rat.
Monty, one of the elder two rats, and a big lazy fat bastard!.
Lastly, a video (taken with my phone) of all the above and Badger as well - this file should play fine with Quicktime installed (download Quicktime Alternative if you don't have it already).
They love Shreddies
Your rats are cute.
I don't know if mine bite more because they are female-- I know that they go into heat every five days or so, and I think that sometimes Yoyo just plays with them on bad nights. I've only been bitten hard enough to have my skin broken once and that was because I did a very dumb thing and stuck my hand into their dark little house instead of just picking up the house. So I don't know if he just has bad luck with them... or what.
Yeah, we only keep males, as they tend to be more friendly than females. As you've found out, females get nasty when they're in heat!
Our vet said that normally that's okay, but the infection that our rats had was too serious for that, so they had to go with three medications at once. Poor little things don't like being injected at all
I believe she was climbing on his shoulder. I don't know how the new bite happened, though. I was sleeping...
Our rats all like ears too, for some reason
Oh, and feet with socks on - bare feet they'll ignore, the same as shoes, but if you have socks on, they like to nibble them. Weird.
Originally posted by: Phil
Our rats all like ears too, for some reason
Oh, and feet with socks on - bare feet they'll ignore, the same as shoes, but if you have socks on, they like to nibble them. Weird.
Mine climb up on my shoulder to sniff my ears, and it really tickles with their whiskers. I used to think it was cute, but it kind of scares me now, after what happened to Yoyo.
I still love 'em, though. They're just so darn cute.
Originally posted by: LadyBuggy
Originally posted by: Phil
Our rats all like ears too, for some reason
Oh, and feet with socks on - bare feet they'll ignore, the same as shoes, but if you have socks on, they like to nibble them. Weird.
Mine climb up on my shoulder to sniff my ears, and it really tickles with their whiskers. I used to think it was cute, but it kind of scares me now, after what happened to Yoyo.
I still love 'em, though. They're just so darn cute.
I just got back from giving all four a bath; the first ever bath for the younger rats. The two older ones are used to it now, and sat patiently while I rinsed and shampooed them, and whilst drying. The other two started jumping around, and managed to get to the level of the top of the bath :Q
The result is four fluffy rats, and one scratched-up left wrist
DainBramaged
Lifer
- Jun 19, 2003
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- Aug 6, 2001
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Originally posted by: goku
can I bring my cat when I come over?
You'd have to ask my gf.
No, this was the other rat.
Originally posted by: Codegen
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
update:
Right thorugh the nail :Q
I don't think she went throught the nail actually... just put a dent in it and but through the skin up higher on the finger to cause the bleeding.
I didn't do anything to piss her off afaik. We were on the futon listening to music (the two rats and me) and I had my hand flat on the futon. It came up, sniffed my finger, and bit into it. I had just washed my hands too so if they smelled like anything it was soap.
Originally posted by: Phil
Cute rat, although if it's biting people then it's either very scared, or needs training.
[Edit] Or blind
Pics and video of our four rats coming as soon as I get the Bluetooth software reinstalled.
Need training I think.
I'm trying to play with them more so they get used to us...
Nice rats.
Congratulations on surviving your bite wound. The fact that you're still posting two weeks later means that you weren't infected with the T virus, and are not about to turn into a flesh eating zombie.
As for rabies, you should start developing symptoms about six months after exposure. Good luck, hope you've been vaccinated. Of course if the rats are still alive then they didn't have it when they bit you.
As for rabies, you should start developing symptoms about six months after exposure. Good luck, hope you've been vaccinated. Of course if the rats are still alive then they didn't have it when they bit you.
- Aug 6, 2001
- 31,205
- 45
- 91
- Aug 6, 2001
- 31,205
- 45
- 91
My babies don't have rabies. They've just developed a taste for human flesh. Yoyo's must be the tastiest.
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