hello. i know a few of you out there have rat friends out there! i was wondering in what kind of cages are they held, and if it smells a whole whole lot? i'm in a dormroom right now, and i dont want to put anything like a funky room on my roommate. he needs to put up with me already ay? =P thanks so much everyone! love ~ethan
whats up ethan?? i gotta couple tanks of gerbil galaxies floating around my house, 16 i think to be exact. donno how they compare with rats, except they are both rodents, but they are verrry loveable little things... very affectionate in their little gerbil way, cuz you=freedom to them, and they get these squinty little excited eyes, and theyll run up your arm if you put it into the tank, sordove rewarding to care for them in that way, plus they are stink free, they eat their own exrements a lot of the time to get the full nutrients of their meal, and very rarely piss because they are desert animals. they are surprisingly personable and if you dont visit them a lot they will even begin to cry, looking out of their tank with their little sorrowfull eyes, even wipe wipe their noises with their little paws, though sometimes i think they fake it, along with faking being scared of me to get more attention. i really aught to move one of the tanks into the desk next to here by the computer. but i can really see you giving them a really loving home that many other people ive been considering giving them away too probably wouldnt, and wouldnt have any real problem giving a handfull of them to you when i seperate the males and females(gerbil population is like the human population my pet store experiences taught me, too fuckin many of them, with not enough good homes or knowledge of how to really care for them) dont really know about mailing them,. if your interested go check out this board http://www.petermaas.nl/gerbils/english.htm and ask them if they have any experiences mailing, and the pros and cons and what not.its possible probably. i would ask but was banned there a while back, you dont have to sign up to post though, just enter a name and you can, so shouldnt take too long. heres some pictures... http://www.hipforums.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=3927&stc=1 http://www.hipforums.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=3915&stc=1 http://www.hipforums.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=3913&stc= (<click these) and the one in this thread is the mother nursing her babies next to her other kids)
Rat cages are gonna give off an odor one way or another. Same way with any other animal that's confined to close quarters. A dorm room might now be the best place for 'em. The best thing you can do is keep their place as clean as possible. Clean their cage on a daily basis if possible. I think you can keep cedar chips in with rats but double check that. You'll probably want to check out the pets & animals forums. There's someone on the forums by the name pink_floyd who knows a lot about rats also. Maybe get ahold of her.
I raised rats for several years and I found keeping their cage clean is the best way. I used pine shavings because they are cheap and come in large bulk, absorb peepee nicely and provide the rats with a soft nest to sleep in and play in. Glass homes are nice but watch out! Rats are super clever and the usual thin easy to chew through mesh isn't going to keep them in. Metal possibly one with a removal floor is better. It allows air to circulate completely around the animal reducing pee-pee fumes for the rat. They are rather subspectable to respitory infections so no draft places or windows. Keep your pet active and happy by playing with it every day or giving it something to keep busy. Rats are hyper and like to do a lot of stuff. They get bored playing the same games which can lead to destructive habits (like chewing EVERYTHING including you!) Oh and if you do take them out, keep 'em off the bed or anyplace else you don't want rat piss or poop on. They poop and pee w/o warning so wear ya rags if you have them on your shoulder. Teach 'em tricks, taking 'em shopping, take them on a drive. I think rats because they are so curious and active make better first pets for kids even if they have a shorter lifespan.
i use newspaper because shaving are bad for their lungs. clean them every other day and smell shouldn't be a problem. the scheming mooch
We have quite a few rats (an accidental litter happened, though we keep males and females segregated, things do happen ). I don't think they smell at all (mice DO, but not rats too much). We use the pine shavings, I know the cedar shavings are bad news though. We tried the newspaper route but was kind of messy. I like the pine shavings because the kind we get don't seem to have as many fragrant oils, but still absorb smell. Our cages are quite large metal ones with lots of platforms and plenty of room. The rats like to have wooden boxes to nest in too, and cloth nesting material, and toys. Slings are available that the rats seem to find very attractive for sleeping in. I guess the pine shavings work ok in the larger environment because the rats aren't really in the shavings all that much, but they make little bathroom corners and food stash corners in the bottom of their cages. I love the rats, they are very smart and personable, they all have different personalities too. They love attention and are wonderful pets because they interact so much. I always liked gerbils too, but they aren't as affectionate, but they are clean and cute.
I've had a few rats as pets and I've never heard of shavings being bad for them. I LOVE pet rats, they're wonderful little creatures and terribly smart. I had one pet rat that would sneak out of her cage everynight...until one day we couldn't find her. lol. Just keep the cages clean and get a book on rats. Go to the library or something...books are an excellant resource.
