# New to ratties :)



## laurkenn (Oct 20, 2010)

I just bought my first ratty. Kind of a funny story. I really wanted a female, but Petsmart only had boys. So I went to another petstore in my city. I had assumed as it was a more diverse store, that they would have females, well turns out they only had boys too. I was quite sad, and told them I really wanted a girl. So the guy helping me said he'd look into something for me. He eventually comes back saying they had a younger female, but she was a feeder rat, so though she was cheaper, she didn't come with any health guarentee. I figured, well she's cheap anyways, and when he said she was going to be fed to a snake within the hour, I felt totally convinced I wanted to save her. Don't get me wrong, I don't hold anything against live feedings, I understand it is the nature of things, but when I picked her up, I just loved her. She pooped on me. We bonded!  Plus even the employee said she was quite calm for a feeder rat that hasn't been handled much. So he took her away to grab a box to bring her home in. He comes back a few minutes later saying "I have some bad news, or some potential good news depending how you look at it... Manager says there's a 70-90% chance she's pregnant". I was in shock, but I guess she had already been in with male rats. Feeder rats don't get much consideration apparently. Sooo here I am now, with my lovely little probably pregnant feeder rat. Fortunetly, I already have 3 people that want ratty babies, and I'll keep one of the girls if she has them. I guess I'm mostly waiting to see what she has if she's even pregnant at all before I go advertising baby rats lol. She's only about 2 months old so she's small herself, but she's got a nice belly on her, so I'd expect them within a week or so. She's really a lovely little girl. Anyways, here's Alice: 



















http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-
snc4/hs884.snc4/71725_1209773862070_1760450747_417777_2566740_n.jpg


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## jjfleeger (Nov 10, 2009)

She is a pretty little rattie......My first rat was a feeder and he was the best by far......my wife saved him from a snake.......Loved that rat!! Best of luck with your first and you'll want to get her a buddy pretty soon.


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## Instinct (Aug 16, 2010)

I love her color and markings. She is such a pretty girl. 
Love the story too, I'm sure you two will bond more and more over time.


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## rileymai (Aug 17, 2010)

she's very pretty! good luck with the babies, and hopefully after they all found new homes she can have a companion


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## laurkenn (Oct 20, 2010)

Thank you all for the compliments.  I'm highly anticipating the arrival of the little ones. I hope that they all survive. I bought her a ball today, and it's funny watching her trying to figure it out. It makes me a bit sad to think about how feeder rats are generally deprived of treats and toys and stuff. At least she'll be spoiled from now on. I'm really hoping to for a nice healthy daughter to keep her company, and I'm also excited to see the colours on them. I'll keep everyone updated on the baby situation. If her belly is already large, I'm guessing she's about two weeks in. No sign of obvious nipples or anything yet!


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## Spoonrat (Sep 23, 2010)

She's beautiful  Good luck to you both for the birth, hopefully it will go well! Don't forget to keep us updated ;D


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## riotfox (Apr 16, 2010)

aw she is so cute! 

i agree that it is absolutely wrong that the feeders dont get the same amount of consideration as the "pets" (which in most pet shops isnt that much anyways) . i always would reccomend killing the prey before feeding... not only more humane but also a lot safer for the snake because rats sure have a bite on them!

anyways, sorry about that little rant . best of luck if she is pregnant. bet she will be happy to be with you, her house looks great from what i can see


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## wagz77 (Feb 27, 2010)

It's a very pretty rat.  i think one of my girls could be pregnant too. :/ but if so, not far along.. she's not showing, just she was housed with a male accidentally.. i think im going to get my camera out and take a few pictures of my ratties for the site.


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## blenderpie (Sep 10, 2009)

Best of luck with the possible litter!

And about the ball...if you're talking about the ball that she can sit in and is made of exercise? I wouldn't count on her figuring it out  Rats have very poor eyesight and because of that, they can't see through the ball and think of it as an enclosure, not a means of transportation. You might have a rare exception, but chances are she'll just sit in there until you let her out. I bought a ball for my rat before I knew about it and always wondered why he wasn't getting it 

She is a beautiful rat and I'm glad that she seems to be friendly. I did notice corn kernels in her cage, were these treats or did they come from a food mix? Mixes aren't very good for rats at all. You said that you originally looked at petsmart? They carry Mazuri rat and mouse food, which is a vegetable based food block. These are MUCH better for your little girl. 

Congrats and the best of luck.


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## laurkenn (Oct 20, 2010)

I figured as much with the ball, though I'll probably give her a few chances to try and figure it out. I just wanted something that she could exercise in without me having to watch her every move. I can't really let her free roam, because I live in an apartment, and there's just waaay too many little spaces she could get into. Especially because she is so small still. Perhaps she'll get the hang of it eventually. 

I bought her a mix from Petsmart yes, though it has fruits and veggies in it also. The petstore I bought her from talked me into buying the food she was already on, because they said its bad to just abruptly change their food. So I've been mixing it, but the stuff they had her on is just really gross looking hamster and gerbil food. I thought that was kinda sad. Either way I've been giving her little treats from the kitchen, (don't worry, I've been researching what's good and what's not.  ) 

Anyways, her belly seems to be getting bigger by the day (that could also be due to actually getting good food haha) so I would expect babies this week coming up. I'm sooo excited to have this opportunity. Thanks for all the input so far, I'll keep everyone updated!!


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