Ratty Advice

[venus]

I bought my new Rat last Sunday and it has been a nightmare ever since!!
Unfortunately by Tuesday ratty was unwell and appeared to have some form of chest infection. I took him to the vets and he confirmed this and said it was probably associated with the stress of moving homes. Anyway ratty is now on antibiotics and appears to be getting better. Except that I now have another problem....For the past couple of days he has been making a squeaking noise, on and off, which is only remedied by a ride on my shoulder of some form of play. He kept SAS and me up most of last night with this noise so as you can imagine not only is it getting on my nerves but I am also getting concerned.

Has anyone here ever had rats? Can anyone give me some advice?

 

[TdC]

do you keep it in a cage? are there playthings in there to distract it? sounds like it likes you and is demanding a share of the quality time
instruct SAS to build it a rat-palace and all things should be fine I guess (never had one myself, but a lady friend had two and they were quiet and reasonably well behaved)

 

[venus]

do you keep it in a cage? are there playthings in there to distract it? sounds like it likes you and is demanding a share of the quality time
instruct SAS to build it a rat-palace and all things should be fine I guess (never had one myself, but a lady friend had two and they were quiet and reasonably well behaved)

He is in a cage and has all the toys you could ever dream of. He seems to be spending a lot of time in his bed when he is not out with me (which concerns me). But as i have never had a rat before i am not sure what there 'normal' behavior is?... I have done some reading and it appears that they are fairly active animals but 'Rodney' doesnt seem to be that active?

Maybe it is because he is still unwell? I am also aware that ideally they should be kept in pairs but i just havent got the room to keep two. I have been told that if they are given plenty of attention then they are fine living alone

 

[TdC]

aye, in a pair they get to play together. I found that a hooded sweater was fun, as hte rat would crawl into the hood and fall asleep the beasties didn't really care what you did with them play-wise, and when ignored they'd please themselves.

it may well be that your rat is still a bit ill and just wants pampering, I have no idea. a gaming forum may not be the ideal place to ask (iirc it's just cats and dogs here). I'd personally advise trying to find a generalised pet forum (or a specialized rat one) and see if you can find summat about rat behaviour. all my personal rat info is based on something years past hehe

 

[Will]

Rats are very intelligent animals. If you keep them on their own, they will need a lot of attention. As far as I know.

 

[venus]

i know this isnt the best place to ask this stuff but i am just clutching at straws as i am so concerned i have also posted on www.fancyrats.co.uk but they are not coming up with many ideas

 

[TdC]

chill, your rat isn't going to explode if you don't play with it I seem to remember our rats being fairly nocturnal (like me at the time tbh) animals, and also, as Will says, they're quite smart as far as pets go. Once your rat learns you will react to certain events in a manner that gets ratty some joy, then it will use it every time. Perhaps you should consider moving the cage to a place where you can't hear it whilst in bed?

 

[venus]

chill, your rat isn't going to explode if you don't play with it I seem to remember our rats being fairly nocturnal (like me at the time tbh) animals, and also, as Will says, they're quite smart as far as pets go. Once your rat learns you will react to certain events in a manner that gets ratty some joy, then it will use it every time. Perhaps you should consider moving the cage to a place where you can't hear it whilst in bed?

Sorry I am a bit of a worrier especially when it comes to a subject i know very little about .... The only thing i can do is put him in the bathroom at night ...We live in a studio flat, so with the bathroom being the only seperate room, i have no choice but to leave him where he is.

Im sure he will be ok...He may still be unwell and I will just keep giving him as much attention as possible and see what happens

Thanks for the advice though

 

[TdC]

I'm sure your rat will be fine: they're hardy little buggers the only general advice I can think of prolly goes for all pets and that's "don't spoil them too much!!" it's hard though hehe also, in the case of small animals, don't carry them everywhere... make them walk! this keeps them in shape and wears their nails down too. one of those spinning wheels should sort your rat if it's not allowed to run about freely, it will work out what to do in no time no worries.

 

[Cyfr]

All this rat talk makes me want to get one

 

[TdC]

they're lovely in sateh sauce tbh

 

[venus]

All this rat talk makes me want to get one

well if you do cyfr please please get two. My rat really isne a happy boy on his own

 

[Gray]

Why not put a... Mirror in the cage?

Sure it used to work with birds and other animals in cages

 

[venus]

Why not put a... Mirror in the cage?

Sure it used to work with birds and other animals in cages

good thinking that man

Cheers

 

[Gray]

*bows*

 

[Gef]

A rat, in a cage, on antibiotics .. i'm sure thats in a song somewhere

 

[JBP|]

i had a rat along while ago,

pet rats need lots of attention and handeling

mine used to get out of its cage at night in get into my bed, i'd wake up with it curled up next to my head

 

[venus]

i am giving him loads of attention.. my only concern is when i am at work. I work 13 hr days and i dont want him to get lonely when im gone

 

[Cyfr]

i had a rat along while ago,

pet rats need lots of attention and handeling

mine used to get out of its cage at night in get into my bed, i'd wake up with it curled up next to my head

I'd roll over and squish it

 

[TdC]

it would gouge out your eyes first Cyfr

Venus, don't worry about it. however moody it was, your ratty will love you again when you feed it

 

[Moriath]

I got a pet rat, just the one too, he is about 9 months old and is a lazy git he lies in the tubes at the top of his cage and only comes out for food heehee ... well have to tempt him down with food to get him out of the cage to run around .. but boy rats are supposed to be lazier than girl ones.

I seem to remember my rat making squeaky sounds when i first moved him into his new cage when i got him home .. think its just a settling in thing and once he has got used to his new home he should be ok.

 

[venus]

just a little update ...my ickle ratty has now finished his antibiotics and seems to be alot happier. The squeeking still occours but not as often. He is now playing around in his cage a lot more and enjoys his daily ride on my shoulder and play fighting with SAS and a cotton bud he he.

Still debating whether to get him a play mate ....thanks for all the advice