Feeder Turned Pet...

This is the second time I've been stuck with a rat pup after a failed feeding attempt. The first one got eaten the next day and I cried like a softie. I've decided to go ahead and keep this one, probably will get him a friend tomorrow. I've been doing some reading on rats. I plan on turning my 20 GAL tall tank into a house with multiple levels. I'm going to pick up the Tractor's Supply swine feed tomorrow. Does he look big enough to eat solid food? He's about 30 grams, eyes opened, can walk around. He hasn't shown much interest in the food when I've been home. What color is he? A blue? He seems pretty friendly. Makes the chattering noise when I hold him, and kisses my hand.

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Awe how precious... The one problem I'd have with feeding live rats like those is the poor things being killed, although a part of me enjoys it when a snake eats. Do you have a thread about your rat breeding setup? I'm interested in possibly doing some light breeding, or at least want some good info on it

He's awfully small. You might need to do a milk supplement. I'm sure one of the rat experts will pop on to give better advice than I have.

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Originally Posted by pastelballs

Awe how precious... The one problem I'd have with feeding live rats like those is the poor things being killed, although a part of me enjoys it when a snake eats. Do you have a thread about your rat breeding setup? I'm interested in possibly doing some light breeding, or at least want some good info on it

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I haven't started breeding my own yet. I only have 10 ball presently, so no point yet. When I start breeding my balls I'll start breeding rats. This is actually my first pet rat, so I'm looking for info here myself.

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Originally Posted by wolfy-hound

He's awfully small. You might need to do a milk supplement. I'm sure one of the rat experts will pop on to give better advice than I have.

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I believe I still have some kitten milk supplement....I would have to look. He licked some cheese, but I haven't seen him eat.

He looks either three weeks or just about, you could probably buy some Oxbow or some other kind of lab block and soak it in warm kitten formula.

ETA:
If you're gonna keep him or her as an actual pet, it would be best to get them a companion of the same sex, as they do much better with a pal. Are you sure of the gender?

Pretty little blue! That's what it looks like to me, at least - I'm no expert. I do love blue on just about anything, though.

He looks about the size of mine when I wean them. Soak the lab block in either kitten or human formula and eventually make it drier. He or she should be ok.

The breeder wanted to keep females, so she was checking their genders before giving them to me. Hopefully my other rat breeder will have some pretty males a little older than him. He's cuddled up against my neck right now :oops:. I still haven't decided on a name yet, not sure what theme I want to go with.

This is how it starts. I ended up with a feeder turned pet... And now I'm drawing pictures on their butts with sharpie to tell them apart.

At that age I usually five 50/50 kitten milk replacement and soy baby formula. I go half and half because kitten milk replacement has a lot of Taurine and soy makes it easier on the rat stomachs. Lab blocks or the non-medicated hog feed soaked in the mixture would be suitable for feeding.

Rats do best in trios. Duos are okay if they get along but can turn horrible quickly if the two do not like one another. The third adds a mediator and generally makes for a happier colony setting.

I can't really tell on the color, but it appears to be a blue, possibly a variant of blue diluted with a different color. What are the colors of the parents? Looks like some weird blue and AM mink combination but it may just be the lens color of your photos.

Congratulations on your new pet!

Ok, not trying to hijack this thread, but can you guys give me some pointers on how to keep rats while managing the smells they produce?

I think rats are awesome, but the times that I bred them the smell was overwhelming. Even in our laboratory breeding colonies that have cages cleaned non stop the smell is still powerful. Any ideas?

I use scented candles, soy candles specifically. Soy candles have less harmful chemicals. Also, I clean my rodent cages with a vinegar mix which helps with the smell. Open windows, good ventilation, etc. I try to move the breeding cages into the basement when temps permit.

Rats smell more when they are stressed so anything that helps them settle down helps keep the smell down.

source : I have twelve rats two ferrets four chinchillas in the upper two bedrooms of our home. Lots of rodents. Rodents everywhere.

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Originally Posted by JoshSloane

Ok, not trying to hijack this thread, but can you guys give me some pointers on how to keep rats while managing the smells they produce?

I think rats are awesome, but the times that I bred them the smell was overwhelming. Even in our laboratory breeding colonies that have cages cleaned non stop the smell is still powerful. Any ideas?

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Put real (not artificial) vanilla extract in the water to neutralize the smell of their pee. Use rocks in the cages because rats will be more inclined to pee on the rock than their litter. Periodically clean/sanitize or replace rocks. I find that you can easily litter box train rats if you use a sandy substrate in a shallow Tupperware dish in one corner and have some patience to put the stray rat raisins in the box whenever they go elsewhere. They'll get the idea in not very long. Having my males using a litter box and a pee rock has really cut down on the musk.

I totally forgot to mention the pee rocks. Pee rocks are a god send.

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Originally Posted by Lore

At that age I usually five 50/50 kitten milk replacement and soy baby formula. I go half and half because kitten milk replacement has a lot of Taurine and soy makes it easier on the rat stomachs. Lab blocks or the non-medicated hog feed soaked in the mixture would be suitable for feeding.

Rats do best in trios. Duos are okay if they get along but can turn horrible quickly if the two do not like one another. The third adds a mediator and generally makes for a happier colony setting.

I can't really tell on the color, but it appears to be a blue, possibly a variant of blue diluted with a different color. What are the colors of the parents? Looks like some weird blue and AM mink combination but it may just be the lens color of your photos.

Congratulations on your new pet!

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I put some KMR on this sow feed. He has been nibbling away at it.

Good to know! I will get him two friends then. I planned on having Tony and Steve, guess there'll be a Bruce, Bucky, or Rhodie also.

I'll have to get some pics without flash. I would refer to him as a rose grey. The one of him with all his siblings shows his true color the best. I couldn't say for sure what his parents are. I'm trying to remember the adults that were there. I believe a black hooded with roaning was their mother. Those are all his siblings if that helps. There was a male with fawn coloring like the majority of the pups that could have been their father. He has white socks and a line of white down his belly, so I guess that makes him a Berkshire?

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Originally Posted by JoshSloane

Ok, not trying to hijack this thread, but can you guys give me some pointers on how to keep rats while managing the smells they produce?

I think rats are awesome, but the times that I bred them the smell was overwhelming. Even in our laboratory breeding colonies that have cages cleaned non stop the smell is still powerful. Any ideas?

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I don't mind at all! Good question to ask.

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Originally Posted by Kokorobosoi

I use scented candles, soy candles specifically. Soy candles have less harmful chemicals. Also, I clean my rodent cages with a vinegar mix which helps with the smell. Open windows, good ventilation, etc. I try to move the breeding cages into the basement when temps permit.

Rats smell more when they are stressed so anything that helps them settle down helps keep the smell down.

source : I have twelve rats two ferrets four chinchillas in the upper two bedrooms of our home. Lots of rodents. Rodents everywhere.

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I use vinegar for cleaning also. I've noticed that mice smell A LOT worse than rats.

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Originally Posted by Lore

Put real (not artificial) vanilla extract in the water to neutralize the smell of their pee. Use rocks in the cages because rats will be more inclined to pee on the rock than their litter. Periodically clean/sanitize or replace rocks. I find that you can easily litter box train rats if you use a sandy substrate in a shallow Tupperware dish in one corner and have some patience to put the stray rat raisins in the box whenever they go elsewhere. They'll get the idea in not very long. Having my males using a litter box and a pee rock has really cut down on the musk.

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Like aquarium gravel? I have plenty of drainage rock laying around. Could I use a dust free cat litter for their litterbox? I have five cats, so plenty of litter lol. Have you guys ever tried the bags of volcanic rocks? They're supposed to absorb odors through ionization. You can get them from Lowe's over where they have the glade plug in stuff in the cleaning supplies section. I have one behind my litterboxes. I use the new Arm&Hammer Dust Free Clump and Seal, best litter ever!!!

Bucky bucky bucky i vote buck!

Edit: the forum won't let me caps lock, imagine that about 5000% more excited.

Okay, here's some more pictures with no flash, and a pic of his present mansion lol. I'm surprised by how much personality he has already! I like watching him hop around kicking up bedding. Last night he flipped a piece of his favorite food up into the air, and then ran with it inside the igloo before eating it and going to sleep lol. My usual rat breeder won't have any friends ready for another week.

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Nice!

I'd picked up four rats to breed for feeders... and ended up having to put two of them down for bad RI. They were filthy when I got them, from the only pet store I could find that sold rats. Then I got four more, when I found another place that had rats... and one of them was so sick I put him down the day after I got home. So now I'm at four girls and one boy - but one of the girls in the second batch was already pregnant. I isolated her, because the other rats were picking on her, and figured she had a week or two before she birthed. Shows how much I know. Two days later I had at least eleven pinkies in her cage.

Now I'm impatiently waiting to see what colors they will be! I'm hoping for a blue boy or two to raise up as companions for the one male I've got left, but I doubt I'll get any blues. Helga is a big, husky solid black girl, with a kind of dopey attitude. She sleeps lumped up like a meatloaf in her food dish, with her head dangling off the side, and chitters when I tickle her sides. Some of her pinks are already starting to show dark pigmentation.