# A few rat care questions



## LadyVictorian (Jan 4, 2011)

Hey alright so I have been reading through my rat books again and wondering about a few things. The first one is rats nails. They are on soft bedding and as said because of soft bedding rats don't have a lot of opertunity to wear down their nails. It suggested an emery board like cats use or a brick put by their water bottle. Is there anything better aside from taking my rats in to get their nails clipped or bricks? Anyone use anything they think works best?

Another one, I talked to someone who had a rat and he said he had to give it a bath monthly because it would smell bad. He only had one rat and I have two so because they can groom each other will they ever need to be given a bath? I would rather not give them baths unless it is necessary otherwise I feel it's sort of risky.

Bonding, my rats are pretty friendly and have bonded with me quickly. i usually lay down a towel in the bathtub and sit in their with them. Are their other methods so I can start giving them more room to run around? I think they know me well enough that I am their safe zone since whenever something scared them they run to me rather than run and hide from me. 

Name training, what is the best method? I want my rats to free range but I was told not to let them until they can respond to their name. Filistata responds to her name fairly well but sometimes she still ignores me. I have been calling her over and giving her a treat every time she comes when called. Belladonna on the other hand ignores me the entire time.

Teeth wearing, also I was thinking about their teeth, they are on a lab block diet, have wood toys to chew, and toilet paper tubes to chew. Anything else? Because their teeth are bigger than mice I didn't know if they need something harder to keep wearing them down outside of wood.

Toys, outside of the normal rat toys what sort of bird toys or cat toys are okay for rats? Inside the cage and only as outside the cage toys. I feel they don't have enough toys.

Are hammocks and fleece okay for rats like with mice?


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## LadyVictorian (Jan 4, 2011)

Oh also two more questions. Carefresh bedding seems to be very dust and makes my rats sneeze when they dig through it. I now have them on my mice's bedding which is Eco Bedding shredded paper and hypoallergenic. They haven't sneezed since I put them on that. Would it be better to stop using the carefresh bedding then? Does anyone else use it? Does anyone else have problems with rats sneezing on it? The same reason I switched to eco bedding with my mice was because one of my mice has a sever allergy to dust and eco bedding has almost no dust content. 

Also carefresh has a food out and I don't know if it is any good or if it would be a decent rat food. I got Mazuri rat food but the protein content seems ungodly high so I also got the carefresh food as well. Here are some ingredients and such.

Protein 18%

Ingredients:
Corn, barley, what, soybean meal, alfalfa, brewers dried yeast, molasses, and then goes off into listing every vitimin in the mix. It's a lab block. Has anyone else seen Carefresh Complete rat food?


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## A.ngelF.eathers (Jul 6, 2011)

Many people put bricks or emery boards in high traffic areas, not just beneath the bottle (that's generally suggested because it is a high traffic area) I personally sneak and file them quickly in short spurts while they're trying to get at treats through the bars and their nails are hanging out. 

Rats don't need baths, not really, unless they are truly dirty beyond what they can clean themselves. For rats who don't water (which is a large portion of them) it can be extremely stressful. If he had a male, what he was smelling was more likely buck grease which is a hormonal secretion and can be taken care of by using baby oil or something to that effect. It will lift it from their skin easily. 

You can possible set up a play-pen for them to give them more and more space as you become more comfortable with them roaming. 

What you're currently doing is the best way of training as far as training goes. The most advice I can offer is to address them individually as they come to you or your to them, as you feed them or treat them. My boys know not only their names but their nick name (Cassius will respond to not only his name but to Sassass, Sassy and Sassius)

Rats will actually grind their own teeth (that's not to say chewing objects are completely unnecessary) 

My boys like things that jingle. Such as the plastic cat balls with bells in them and cat toys with feathers on them. they love to chase them.

They're absolutely okay. Encouraged even. Fleece is the recommended liner for cages and to make hammocks with. 

Dustless hardwoods such as Aspen are recommended, as beddings such as cedar and pine can be toxic (I suppose you knew that already though) Dustless paper-based beddings are alright as well.


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## RatMama13 (Aug 20, 2011)

Rats are like dogs in that some of them have nails that seem to grow a mile a minute and some rarely need trimmed. I keep a wooden hut in their cage and that seems to help. The brick is also a good idea. Just see what works for you and trimming them is not hard if you need to do that. Human nail clippers work well and it's easy to see their quick so you don't hit it. 

I have to give my rats a bath every once in a while, but not often. The boys more often that the girls because of the buck grease...it's like the nails..every rat is different. If your rat gets oily or smelly a simple bath with kitten or puppy shampoo or a small animal shampoo (ferrett shampoo is pretty easy to find at petsmart, etc). 

Just keep working on the names. With the one that won't respond to the name try saying it as your giving a treat. Everything takes time. 

sounds like you are doing a fine job with the teeth. Just monitor them. if they are becoming over grown try something new

rope toys are acceptable until they are getting really shredded...then they need to be removed from the cage. Wooden bird toys with or without bells work well too. 

I use wood shaving and that seems to be working well for my rats, but I've heard lots of people have problems with the carefresh dust. Try yesterdays news with is made from recycled newspaper if you don't want to do wood shavings


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## BigBen (Nov 22, 2011)

I'm new enough to rats that I can't answer all your questions, but here are a few things I do know:

Nails--you can cut their nails with a nail clipper, if you have to. Just don't cut into the quick, and have styptic powder or cornstarch ready to stanch the bleeding if you do. Haven't tried it yet, myself. Oh, and I suppose an emery board might help.

Teeth--you can also give them carrots, rawhide dog treats, Nylabones, or real bones. It's okay to give them chicken bones, since their nibbles are so small the bone doesn't shatter into splinters the way it does with dogs.

As for toys, don't give the rats anything with catnip (the source I read didn't say why). But a lot of the smaller cat toys, such as the plastic mesh balls with a bell inside, look good for rats. Mine don't play with theirs all that much, but they get interested every so often and seem to have fun when they do.

Food--your goal is about 16% protein, about 4% fat, and all necessary other nutrients. Mazuri is high-rated for rats, so is Oxbow Regal Rat (but a lot of rats apparently don't like it, nor is it suitable for rats under about eight months old). Harlan Teklad blocks come in four formulas 8604 (baby), 2018 (young adult), 2016 (adult), 2014 (elderly and overweight). I use HT 2018 on the recommendation of the rescue my rats came from because the boys are still young, but they will be ready for HT 2016 by the time I'll need to reorder. HT can be ordered from most rat rescues, and is available in retail stores and online under the Native Earth brand. Remember that rats cannot digest alfalfa or timothy, and that corn is iffy because certain sources contain a fungus that is a known carcinogen in rats.

Bedding--I've read mixed reports of Carefresh. I have only used aspen chips so far in the litter box, and fleece or terry cloth as cage liners. An given rats' propensity to respiratory problems, staying away from anything dusty is a good idea.


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## LadyVictorian (Jan 4, 2011)

So could I just have fleece for the bedding in their cage and then the newspaper/ecobedding mix? I'm not a fan of wood shavings because of the mite risk and also my mouse Ophelia who has the dust allergies still had breakouts when on wood shavings so I know they still have dust in them. 

I am thinking then I am going to get a few small bricks for the girls cage as well so they have something that will wear on their nails a little. I already noticed Fili's nails are pretty sharp and long. She slid down my arm and left three long scratch marks down it.

The Mazuri food just bothers me because it's about 24% protein and when I first got my original mice they were on 24% protein food and she was losing all her hair until I switched her to the proper mouse food. I fear high protein may do the same to my rats. I will just watch them closely on the food and see about ordering it online though it seems whenever we have something delivered to our house it gets lost...including a book I ordered three weeks ago and is still missing in action.

Now that it is mentioned yeah he had a male rat. Mine are girls so I am happy to know I may never have to give them a bath. I have had enough of giving animals baths since my cat got covered in paint. Animals who hate water and giving them baths is no easy task and I have found you often leave with scars.


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## A.ngelF.eathers (Jul 6, 2011)

I do. With enough diligence, most rats can be taught to use a litter box, which is usually filled with aspen or some other bedding. Until I got my new cage, my boys lived on aspen/shaved newspaper so when I lined all the shelves (including the floor) in fleece and placed a makeshift litter box in the corner, they automatically began pottying in that litter box rather than on the fleece. -They still manage to pee places they should and leave a few little pellets around but nothing a good shake a short wash won't cure. It's saved me loads on bedding. 

I was thinking you could also use stones, if you wanted something smaller and a bit more decorative. Such as stones from a river/lake shore. They're usually gritty and can be found in all sorts of colors and shapes.


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## BigBen (Nov 22, 2011)

LadyVictorian said:


> . . .Now that it is mentioned yeah he had a male rat. Mine are girls so I am happy to know I may never have to give them a bath. I have had enough of giving animals baths since my cat got covered in paint. Animals who hate water and giving them baths is no easy task and I have found you often leave with scars.


You were probably not following instructions carefully enough when you bathed your cat. You might be interested in the following link, which gives detailed instructions and many useful hints: http://www.tlcpoodles.com/catbath.html -- "Cat Bathing as a Martial Art"

I assume that the essential principles can be successfully applied to bathing ratties, as well.


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## LadyVictorian (Jan 4, 2011)

xD what a fool I was but clearly I was misinformed on proper cat bathing.


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## GhostMouse (Sep 6, 2011)

I'll admit I only skimmed, but I didn't see this mentioned yet. I use a Lava Ledge and it helps a little in keeping my boys' nails worn down. They are still a bit sharp, but not as sharp as before. They're too squirmy for me to try clipping their nails.

To make sure they use the ledge, I mounted it and a food bowl so that to reach the food they have to step on the ledge. This picture's not so great, but you can see what I'm talking about. I keep it that way at both food dishes. Jumping up there gives them some exercise, too.

Also, I saw this mentioned but not linked, this is where I buy my HT.


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## Axelmyrat (Dec 5, 2010)

I use carefresh bedding and I've never known Axel to sneeze but I'm sure each rat is different regarding allergies. I have used the eco beedding that you are talking about and I liked it. I bought 2 boxes when I was out of town and visited a petco, I saw it on sale and tried it. But they done sell it here where I live as we dont have a petco and the bedding area is slim picking in our petsmart. So i stick to caare fresh. I also went and bought some cute fleece material and cut it into squares to bed inside his house. I put square at a time and once its too dirty, I throw it away and stick a new one in there. He likes that and curls up in it. 
As far and teeth go, I used wooden blocks toilet paper and paper towel tubes,carrots, and he also gnaws on his wooden house and ladders. I bought his 2 wooden ladders that are made for birds and he loves running up and down those for toys.
I dont currently have a hammock but i want one, and yes fleece ones are good.
mazuri is good food as is oxbow. I'm unsure about the carefresh food, so i cant say anything about that but I dont but it.


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