# my rats :)



## maddy (Jul 27, 2009)

i've got 2 female black and white girls
zoe is the slightly bigger one who loves coming out for a wander/cuddle..who's 6 months now .
she loves being picked up and taken about for a walk on the sholder
pepper on the other hand is a bit more timid.she's 5 months. 

she'd much rather go off and explore when she's running about
sometimes she'lle come up on me for hugs but its very rair...its usually zoe that does that
when i open the cage door how ever they both r usually there waiting to be taken out at the same time.
they're very understanding of my blindness they usually make a noise on the top of a cardboard chube to let me know where about in the cage they are so i can find them and lift them out.
they love just about anything treet wise...they don't have a favourite food iether which makes it handy when i cant get there usual food and have to go to another pet shop to get more but that rairly happens though
i'lle try and get my other half to help me take picks and upload them soon 
hope the discriptions gave u a bit of an idea of what they're like though
still isn't the same as seeing there lovely wee faces though...


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## chiklet1503 (Jun 12, 2009)

cant wait to see pics!  They sound great!


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## maddy (Jul 27, 2009)

they dephinately keep me on my toes :d
my guide/seeing eye dog's reaction to them is funny
if they are awake and moving about she'lle go over to the cage and and look at them then one will come over and start sniffing her through the bars then she'lle start whineing at them as if to say "what r u then"
it was really funny one day she was sniffing away quite happily and pepper thought it would be a great idea to lick her nose and she jumped about 2 feet in the air hee hee


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## vervem0nkey (Jul 11, 2009)

Awww, Zoe sounds like a sweetheart. 

My dog Ben is very interested in my rats as well. One day I was sitting on the floor with him by their cage and was looking at something in the other direction when all of a sudden I see and feel him JUMP back, very startled. I thought he might have been bitten but it was my sweet and fearless girl Lyra so I really don't think so. There was no blood and his tail began wagging really fast! I have no idea what could have happened.
The other day though, he was licking one of them through the cage! It was so cute, but I still don't think I want to let them meet without bars.


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## maddy (Jul 27, 2009)

yeh she's really loving 
usually its her that likes being cuddles/stroked
but this morning it was pepper that wanted all the stroking/cudddling which isn't like her at all.
pepper's called pepper because she has a breathing problem where she wheezes sometimes but mainly she sneezes so she lives up to her name


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## this_wallflower (Apr 19, 2009)

maddy said:


> yeh she's really loving
> usually its her that likes being cuddles/stroked
> but this morning it was pepper that wanted all the stroking/cudddling which isn't like her at all.
> pepper's called pepper because she has a breathing problem where she wheezes sometimes but mainly she sneezes so she lives up to her name


Upper respiratory infection?


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## maddy (Jul 27, 2009)

yeh...micro-plasma
i've taken her to the vet but nothing can be done about it.. its an infection that is passsed on from mother to baby so she cant pass it on to zoe.
its kind of handy cause i can usually find her when she's free running even if she's sitting still because of her breathing


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## Stace87 (Jun 24, 2008)

maddy said:


> yeh...micro-plasma
> i've taken her to the vet but nothing can be done about it.. its an infection that is passsed on from mother to baby so she cant pass it on to zoe.
> its kind of handy cause i can usually find her when she's free running even if she's sitting still because of her breathing


That isn't correct... myco flare ups can be treated. I'd suggest you look for a vet experienced with rats and go there. Where are you located? Someone may know of a good vets. A rat being unwell isn't "handy" 

Information on myco - http://ratguide.com/health/bacteria/mycoplasma_mycoplasmosis.php


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## AMJ087 (Aug 27, 2008)

All rats have the bacteria and if you get there flares up treated right away you can control it. Its true some wont get better with treatment as my poor Pistachio (RIP) but my female has also shown signs and she gets better with antibiotics.


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## maddy (Jul 27, 2009)

i live in the uk and am travling about from scotland to england quite regular...apart from the sneezing and wheezing (very ocationally) she's not in any distress.
she eats normaly, doesn't have any difficulty sleeping and she plays ok, maybe i will take her to an english vet to see what they have to say
does that mean i'll have to seporate her for the time she's on anti byotics to stop zoe taking them aswell
there's only 2 of them and they'd each be on there own if that was the case.
i had another rat who had the same condition and she had anti byotics but they didn't make any difference to her


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## Stace87 (Jun 24, 2008)

The occasionally sneeze isn't as much of a concern, but she shouldn't be wheezing. You mentioned she sits still because her breathing is bad. I would look into a different vet if they say nothing can be done.

Have you had to separate your rats previously when on medication? There's no need to. Medication can be given mixed into food such as babyfood. I have also used a tiny bit of honey, jam or cranberry sauce in the past too. I usually either feed this off a spoon or put it into a small bowl and make sure it's all gone.

Was it the same vet that said nothing can be done that treated your other rat with the same condition? What medication was given, what dosages and for how long?

There is a forum, www.fancy-rats.co.uk/community, that is UK based and you should be able to find a good vet through recommendations of other members. You could join and make a post "Good rat vets in Edinburgh" or something along those lines. Here are some recommendations I have found, but if you made a post it would be more up to date feedback you'd get as some of these posts were a couple of years ago.

West End Veterinary Partnership
12, Bread St, Tollcross, Edinburgh, Midlothian EH3 9AF 
Tel: 0131 229 7619 
They know there stuff, quite resonablely priced, friendly and easy to get a appiontment.


Braid Vets 
171 Mayfield Road 
Edinburgh 
EH9 3AZ 
0131 667 2478 
They have a small animal specialist who is amazing with my girls and really really knows his stuff. He was also really open to suggestions and unlike other edinburgh vets i've encountered was honest with me rather than trying to cover his back. They also have a 24 e-vet service which can get a vet out to you asap and vet advice so perfect for those with rescue litters and breeders. Also a trained vetinary nurse is available at the clinic 24 hours a day just ring first They were wonderful, professional and friendly.


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## maddy (Jul 27, 2009)

aww, thanks for going to all the effort of looking up thoes numbers for me
*hugs*
i'll give them a ring this morning (as its my morning as i'm posting this)
i'm hours ahead of this forum time so its after 4 in the morning here
i'll let u know how we get on
peper doesn't sit still that often its just if she's out and about and she's stopped to clean her self as she often does, i can still hear her.. which is quite usefull from the finding point of things
but maybe not for her..


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## maddy (Jul 27, 2009)

i forgot to go in to a bit more detail when explaining what they looked like
zoe has black on her head with little black dots going down her back and white sides
pepper looks more like a skunk 
she has a black head as well, black sholders 

a black stripe down her backand the bottom of her back and her sides are both white
still planning on posting picks of them
i just hope i've got there descriptions right


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