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 #2118933


Beardychick565
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 Hope u dont mind..jus lookin 4 help

ok i no this is the beardy forums but im kinda despreate i have decided to get some rats and i cant find anywhere to get a lot of information about them like food, house, things they need just general stuff and i have noticed that some of you have rats and i was hoping u all could help..thanks guys

-Gypsy
01/31/10  03:46am

 #2118944


Newfgal
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   Message To: Beardychick565   In reference to Message Id: 2118933


 Hope u dont mind..jus lookin 4 help

Well, I don’t have rats, but I do have mice. I am fairly new to them myself, as I decided to get some for breeding for my corn snakes. I keep them in a little 20 gallon tank with aspen shavings for now. Be sure to have a tight fitting lid also..Whatever you do, don’t use that care fresh bedding for substrate. I bought 2 females and one male and that bedding killed one fairy quickly due to the dust. I feed them the lab chow made for them, but they will eat just about anything, carrot, greens, or whatever. I also bought them seeds made for rodents, and they love it :) Although I haven’t seen any babies yet, but once I do I will move the dad to his own cage, I hear they may kill the young...Now I am not sure if mice and rats have the same care, I am sure it must be pretty similar though. Maybe you could post on the community forum, thats where I got help with care for mine :)

Good luck,

Nancy
01/31/10  05:03am

 #2118950


Beardychick565
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   Message To: Newfgal   In reference to Message Id: 2118944


 Hope u dont mind..jus lookin 4 help

yea i heard mice kill their young as well and im sure u will see babies soon since the reproduce like crazy, but my rats arent for breeding i just love them and i plan on using towels and rags for the bedding seems the safest and easiest THANKS!
01/31/10  05:18am

 #2119016


Mk_ms_reptile
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   Message To: Beardychick565   In reference to Message Id: 2118933


 Hope u dont mind..jus lookin 4 help

I’ve had rats most my life and always use Carefresh. I never had a problem with it. Pine and cedar you NEVER want to use because of the oils in the wood. It causes all sorts of health problems. Aspen is really dusty so that’s why I personally avoid it. Also you never want to keep rats or mice in an aquarium because there is not enough ventilation and the ammonia from the urine can cause respiratory problems from poor ventilation even with a screen lid especially with the males.

I personally never feed any seed mixes to my rats unless it’s as a treat. Seed mixes have a lot of fillers and things rats can’t digest in them so you’re pretty much paying for crap. Plus things like sunflower seeds have a lot of fat in them and rats get obese really easy. I use forti-diet lab block and supplement their diet with fresh fruits and veggies. You can feed them apples, carrots, greens, and things like that. Every now and then I’ll throw some parsley in the mix.

As for housing, I use a wire care with a SOLID bottom. You never want to use anything with a mesh bottom because it can cause painful calluses on their feet. I also use a large solid surface running wheel. Wire wheels are too dangerous in my opinion because I’ve had rats break feet on them before. Plus the fact that it’s way too easy for them to get tails and things like that stuck and broken with them.

I’ve always trained my rats to come when called so that when I let them out it’s easy to round them up. I have a rat proof room I let them run in and they love it. You can clicker train them very easily just like a dog. =) My rats also love those ferret hammocks and will all pile up on them to sleep. I foster rats so I have close to ten of them at any given time. It’s funny to see that many rats shoved together in such a small space. lol
01/31/10  12:26pm

 #2119340


Beardychick565
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   Message To: Mk_ms_reptile   In reference to Message Id: 2119016


 Hope u dont mind..jus lookin 4 help

i got my ratties!! 2 girls named cherry and pepper they are awesome! i got a wire cage with a solid bottom and a solid wheel , i have been feeding them noodles, greens, and squash apples and carrots they seem happy already! :) thanks for the help u guys! oh and their beddding is old towles and rags i wouldnt about to risk their health with all the shavings.
02/01/10  12:52pm


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