What age ?

[Shelby]

I usually have both of my boys out at the same time. They just LOVE to pee on everyone. Especially mom. She does not appreciate it. She loves my ratties though. lol

I'll consider that bird food.. looks just like trix too! I'm sure they love that. Do you feed that by itself, or as part of a mixture?

Gosh.. brazil nuts would be GREAT for those teeth. Those darn nuts are so hard to crack. lol

Pa-purr is pretty inexpensive. It's like $8.99 for a large bag. It's not dusty at all.. it's actually made from recycled newspaper, and it's made into little pellets. I get mine from petsmart. And bedding flung 15 feet out is not an exaggeration! I swear my rats throw their sunflower hulls out of that cage. Little brats like to see me on my hands and knees with that dirt devil vacuum every other day cleaning up their messes!

I really should make my own hammocks.. at $8 a pop, and they chew through the hangers in about a week flat, gets a bit pricey. I think I'd make chain hangers. Let's see them chew through that!

I've actually never had my rats poop on me, only pee. I think they know better somehow.. it's true you can litter train rats (at least you can get them to leave their raisins in one spot, if only they'd pee in one spot!)

Sorry to hear you can't get rats, Brandon. But it's better to not get any if you can only get one.

[Shelby]

Oops, you know what, I made a mistake. That litter isn't called pa-purr, it's called yesterday's news.

Pa-purr is another brand.. it's a little dusty, and it looks just like normal cat litter, so it would be flung from your cage.

[Marla]

FWIW, the rats I've had have tended only to pee/poop on us until they got used to being handled and then would quit. Your experience may vary, but both the pets and breeders that we've had (1 pet, 2.3 breeders currently, several pets prior) would calm down about handling after a few weeks of regular handling and being hand-fed treats like plain Cheerios and unsalted peanuts and would "hold it" until returned to their cages unless kept out for more than an hour or so at a time instead of "going" almost immediately.