# Ratsitter!



## mis.kay (May 29, 2015)

Story time! If you don't want to read, just jump ahead to the third paragraph. Last month I went out to my brother's for the long memorial day weekend. I left my sister in charge of my rats because she's done it before and I've had no serious problems. None of them were on meds, all she had to do was feed them and let them run around the room for a bit before bed. Well, I come home to literally, a dying rat. My Hartley had lost weight, his breathing was startlingly labored, and he wasn't eating or drinking. (I made an urgent thread about this so for all who helped me, thank you so much. He is doing much better) Anyway, long story short, I don't trust her with them anymore.

I work at a vet clinic and unfortunately, none of the people there specialize in rats. Well, we just hired a new associate who has been working there for about a month now. Come to find out, her second job is going to peoples houses and taking care of their animals. She has done many rats before too! I found my ratsitter! She just met them and seemed really excited to see them.

My concerns are, I have two somewhat 'special needs' rats now. In short, the old farts. Hartley has his albuterol breathing treatments, and his antibiotic medication, and Duke can't clean himself like he used to so he gets baby wipe baths. I also have the two crazy young ones. Renegade, who doesn't want to go back in his cage when it's time, and Boo, who has taken a long time to get used to me let alone someone brand new. (She literally crawled under the fleece when the ratsitter came up to meet them and she heard her voice.) My main question is, *how much should I be paying her?* She would stop by once in the morning to give Hartley his meds, and make sure Duke can reach the food. And once in the evening to take them out for an hour-two, give meds, feed and water. This would be for a total of four days.


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

I am a petsitter  

Generally you are looking at $15-20 a day for that. Some people charge more or less but that seems about the average for coming over feeding/playing with a pet. 

But since she does it as a job already you should prob have her quote you a price.


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## mis.kay (May 29, 2015)

That's the thing. She won't quote me. She works for a company that gives her a portion and she says they charge too much...I was thinking $50. She's actually coming a total of 7 times.


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## Kokorobosoi (Jan 14, 2016)

I charge 15-20 for a feeding/cage check/ meds/playtime, for up to two cages worth of animals. 
If we are going outside its 25-30 (dogs, outdoor cats)
If you have let something escape, its 50 an hour for "recovery services"


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## Kelsbels (Aug 12, 2015)

Here I had quotes for 3 euros a day equivalent to $5 day to watch a group and that's with the rats staying over at someone's place. 

For four days, hmm I would suggest $25 plus a gift? $50 seems like it would be enough too. Will she need to drive to your place? If so, I'd factor in gas.

Pay what you feel comfortable with.


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## smoteymote (May 28, 2016)

mis.kay said:


> Story time! If you don't want to read, just jump ahead to the third paragraph. Last month I went out to my brother's for the long memorial day weekend. I left my sister in charge of my rats because she's done it before and I've had no serious problems. None of them were on meds, all she had to do was feed them and let them run around the room for a bit before bed. Well, I come home to literally, a dying rat. My Hartley had lost weight, his breathing was startlingly labored, and he wasn't eating or drinking. (I made an urgent thread about this so for all who helped me, thank you so much. He is doing much better) Anyway, long story short, I don't trust her with them anymore.
> 
> I work at a vet clinic and unfortunately, none of the people there specialize in rats. Well, we just hired a new associate who has been working there for about a month now. Come to find out, her second job is going to peoples houses and taking care of their animals. She has done many rats before too! I found my ratsitter! She just met them and seemed really excited to see them.
> 
> My concerns are, I have two somewhat 'special needs' rats now. In short, the old farts. Hartley has his albuterol breathing treatments, and his antibiotic medication, and Duke can't clean himself like he used to so he gets baby wipe baths. I also have the two crazy young ones. Renegade, who doesn't want to go back in his cage when it's time, and Boo, who has taken a long time to get used to me let alone someone brand new. (She literally crawled under the fleece when the ratsitter came up to meet them and she heard her voice.) My main question is, *how much should I be paying her?* She would stop by once in the morning to give Hartley his meds, and make sure Duke can reach the food. And once in the evening to take them out for an hour-two, give meds, feed and water. This would be for a total of four days.



I have done pet-sitting as well. For strangers it's usually $15-20. For friends it's usually $5-10 depending on needs.

If your sister had taken care of your rats before with no problems I would be more inclined to suspect that something just happened. Rats often get sick suddenly through no fault of the owner (or sitter). If you're concerned about her not having taken him to a vet immediately then put a protocol in place for that. But it seems pretty silly to not just let your sister watch them in the future if she's willing to do so. 

(Story time so feel free to skip this paragraph) For context, when I was cat-sitting my neighbor's cat, I was feeding both her and their male cat (both old) a pill and a liquid medication twice a day. They were gone for two weeks. First week went incredibly well but at the start of the second, the female kitty started throwing up everywhere. But I had the number of their vet AND, the vet had their card on file in case of emergency situations like this. Turns out she had a piece of string from one of the toys stuck in her throat pretty far down. It was making her gag and once they got it out she was fine. But I knew what they wanted me to do and they trusted my decision as a fellow pet owner to handle veterinary stuff. They were called of course but with different time zones that can be tricky.


If your rats are used to your sister, I would keep her as your ratsitter. If they're indifferent to her and react the same as they do to the new person you wanted to hire, you could go with either. In that case, I would consider making a free-range "pen" so that the rats can't escape. Especially if it's only for a short while, having an enclosure for a sitter means that they don't have to worry about rats getting lost in weird places and having to leave or something while the pet is still out. 

For four rats, I'd pay her $20 a day since she has to do meds too.


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

mis.kay said:


> That's the thing. She won't quote me. She works for a company that gives her a portion and she says they charge too much...I was thinking $50. She's actually coming a total of 7 times.


Well if she is just being like pay whatever then yeah I think that is fair 

Maybe also get her alittle gift like bake her cookies or fancy chocolates or whatever so it isn't just money but also a friendly type thing.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

One of my pet peeves are people who try and save money in caring for their most precious belongings, their kids and their pets. And I've seen a lot of kids abused or neglected by low wage care givers over the years.

From what I gather, you are looking to hire someone for 3 hours a day plus travel expenses. Pretty much figure how much you make or should make for 3 hours and how much travel will cost you and that should be a pretty fair offer. A tip or a bonus would most likely be appreciated too. You are asking someone to be responsible for your most important friends, pay them for what they are worth... Then save on some bargain clothes or something else that doesn't matter as much.

Has anyone ever said..."Doctor I want the cheapest pacemaker you can find."?


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

Rat Daddy said:


> One of my pet peeves are people who try and save money in caring for their most precious belongings, their kids and their pets. And I've seen a lot of kids abused or neglected by low wage care givers over the years.
> 
> From what I gather, you are looking to hire someone for 3 hours a day plus travel expenses. Pretty much figure how much you make or should make for 3 hours and how much travel will cost you and that should be a pretty fair offer. A tip or a bonus would most likely be appreciated too. You are asking someone to be responsible for your most important friends, pay them for what they are worth... Then save on some bargain clothes or something else that doesn't matter as much.
> 
> Has anyone ever said..."Doctor I want the cheapest pacemaker you can find."?


I don't think the OP was saying that. IDK your posts comes off alittle bit rude.

Though I do agree with you that often people try to cheap out with pet care. Being a pet sitter people are crazy cheap. They often seem to forget that it is still a job & I should be paid for my time and work. Getting to play with pets is awesome, but it is work too lol. I just had someone want to hire me to watch her dog for the entire month of July. I quoted her a price which was more then $200 off my daily price because it was for such a long time I give a discount. She was shocked and wanted to pay me less then half of what I quoted.... she didn't want to pay "kennel type prices". Eh my prices are far below any kennels lol


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

I didn't imply that the OP was trying to be cheap... perhaps it was more the tone of certain replies that made me uncomfortable... like offering cookies instead of a living wage... 

Actually I think cookies are nice, but over and above a reasonable pay rate.

I've bought $1.00 used cars and thrift store clothes and I'm big on saving money on certain things. But child care and pet care are just terrible places to try and save a buck.

I know rat care isn't the same as digging trenches or some other terribly hard labor, but it's still work and requires a lot of responsibility and things can go wrong and perhaps the care giver might have to rush your rat to the vet or stay on site for some emergency situation. I would want someone I can trust and be happy to pay whatever that would cost. I mean I don't like to work for free either.

So I don't want to be rude, just to remind people of where their priorities should be and where their money might be best spent.

$3000.00 for a trip to Disney world and $35.00 for a rat sitter seems just a little bit disproportional. But I definately know people who would complain about the cost of the rat sitter and gladly pay the cost of the Disney trip.


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## raindear (Mar 3, 2015)

moonkissed said:


> I don't think the OP was saying that. IDK your posts comes off alittle bit rude.
> 
> Though I do agree with you that often people try to cheap out with pet care. Being a pet sitter people are crazy cheap. They often seem to forget that it is still a job & I should be paid for my time and work. Getting to play with pets is awesome, but it is work too lol. I just had someone want to hire me to watch her dog for the entire month of July. I quoted her a price which was more then $200 off my daily price because it was for such a long time I give a discount. She was shocked and wanted to pay me less then half of what I quoted.... she didn't want to pay "kennel type prices". Eh my prices are far below any kennels lol


Personally, I think paying "kennel Prices" to have someone watch my pets in their own home, feed and play with them rather than having them kept in kennels with their food shoved under a door, would be a bargain.


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## Kokorobosoi (Jan 14, 2016)

+1 raindear


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

> like offering cookies instead of a living wage...


I said cookies along with paying her money.... SINCE she seemed to just want to be helpful and wasn't quoting her a price. It seemed more like a friendly gesture and not just a business transaction. 




raindear said:


> Personally, I think paying "kennel Prices" to have someone watch my pets in their own home, feed and play with them rather than having them kept in kennels with their food shoved under a door, would be a bargain.


lol right? They get a home feel even if it isn't their home. And I am here all the time to watch/play/snuggle them plus they get much more focused attention as there isn't a bunch of them. pfft people lol


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

In that case I wholeheartedly agree... money is good, cookies and money even better.


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## Kokorobosoi (Jan 14, 2016)

The dark side always has cookies.


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## Kelsbels (Aug 12, 2015)

A close friend of mine offered to look after my girls while my boyfriend and I are away in October. I'm going to pay her some money that'll cover her expenses plus anything extra, and a gift from the USA. My rats will be staying with her along with me providing all the bedding / food / necessities. The cost for her is time and space, and anything unforeseen I'll cover.

In OP's situation its complicated because it's coworker to coworker and this person does pet sitting for a living. If this person does not want to give a quote I think money and a gift is fine. Plus it seems like she doesn't want to get paid her normal rate?


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## iloveme88999 (Aug 5, 2015)

I'm only 13 and I'm having a friend who also owns rats watch mine for the next week. Since we are close friends and I'm on the younger side, am I still expected to pay her a large sum for watching my rats? Or will just like $20-$30 do?


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## raindear (Mar 3, 2015)

iloveme88999 said:


> I'm only 13 and I'm having a friend who also owns rats watch mine for the next week. Since we are close friends and I'm on the younger side, am I still expected to pay her a large sum for watching my rats? Or will just like $20-$30 do?


Discuss this with your friend. Maybe you could trade petsitting. She can watch your rats while you are on vacation and you can watch hers when she is on vacation. I am sure you and your friend can come to an agreement that works for you. This would not be an ordinary business petsitting arrangement.


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## RatAtat2693 (Jan 13, 2016)

For me, I charge $25 a day for domestic (cats, dogs, fish) in-home pet sitting - $30-35 for exotics (sugar gliders, snakes, etc.), and $15-25 a visit (1-1.5hrs) for out of home pet sitting. (It varies on whether or not we're going for a walk, bike run, need waste removed from yard. The more work I have to do, the more you pay for it.) The first 15 miles of travel are free, and every mile after that just covers the cost of gas. You cover food, bowls, etc.

I keep beds and the like on hand, so if someone forgets something, they're more than welcome to use my stuff.

I am certified in animal first aid and CPR, and have extensive knowledge in animal behaviour and exotic care. The certification costs money and I have very few slots, so my prices are on the higher side.

And I love macadamia nut cookies.


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## mis.kay (May 29, 2015)

In regards to my sister. I specifically asked her to just check on them. Make sure they are all doing fine. She admitted to me that all the days I was gone she tossed food in and left. Didn't let them out, didn't even change their water because she was having a bad weekend...this is why I don't want her to ratsit on the off chance she'll have another 'bad weekend'. I would have come home had I known what was going on.

The new ratsitter lives 5 minutes away. She will be here a total of about 5-6 hours the whole weekend. And that's IF it takes her a half hour in the morning to give meds and check on them. I told her that my sister didn't like taking them out and she jumped in and said she loves playing with rats!

The money...I apparently need to add...is not an issue. But people seem to like opening that can of worms. I was simply inquiring on opinions for how much I should pay her. I considered the $15 a day for 4 days because that was mentioned a few times, which would put it at $60, even though she's only doing a half day one day. And yes, I was going to make her some cookies because my peanut butter cookies are the bomb diggity. Is this sufficient?


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## RatAtat2693 (Jan 13, 2016)

mis.kay said:


> In regards to my sister. I specifically asked her to just check on them. Make sure they are all doing fine. She admitted to me that all the days I was gone she tossed food in and left. Didn't let them out, didn't even change their water because she was having a bad weekend...this is why I don't want her to ratsit on the off chance she'll have another 'bad weekend'. I would have come home had I known what was going on.
> 
> The new ratsitter lives 5 minutes away. She will be here a total of about 5-6 hours the whole weekend. And that's IF it takes her a half hour in the morning to give meds and check on them. I told her that my sister didn't like taking them out and she jumped in and said she loves playing with rats!
> 
> The money...I apparently need to add...is not an issue. But people seem to like opening that can of worms. I was simply inquiring on opinions for how much I should pay her. I considered the $15 a day for 4 days because that was mentioned a few times, which would put it at $60, even though she's only doing a half day one day. And yes, I was going to make her some cookies because my peanut butter cookies are the bomb diggity. Is this sufficient?


$10/hr? Sounds good.


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## Kelsbels (Aug 12, 2015)

That sounds good mis.kay!


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