# Rat photos



## Danniixx (Feb 1, 2009)

Hiya my names Dannii and I was wondering if I could use photos of everyones rats to help me write a book on rat care? I mainly need them for random photos for page decor and also to show rat colourings, please let me know who is okay with me using images and who isnt and I shall not use the images from people who object, thanks in advance +


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## Ky_Zack (Feb 14, 2009)

I would be happy to specifically take some photo's for you. I am a semi professional and would expect accreditation and if it is a profitable project some manner of reimbursement. If it is a nonprofit publication I will do it for photog credit alone. If you're doing this as a professional endeavor that's just how it works. In fact I think you would be required to credit photographers if it goes to print, anyone can though voluntarily relinquish their own copyright if they so choose. But to cover your own hind quarters I'd get that in hard copy writing before going to press.


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## Danniixx (Feb 1, 2009)

well im not actually making a proper book sorry my bad i shouldve said out right what im doing lol its what college tiredness does i suppose. Well im writing a free booklet for a local petstore which they can give away with their rats, I would be perfectly happy to give all credit where it is due


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## Ky_Zack (Feb 14, 2009)

If it is a non profit kinda deal, you can use mine. If it's just like a little one page pamphlet there probably wouldn't be room for credit, nor would I be that worried about it. But if you can fit in with some 3pt text or something...


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## Danniixx (Feb 1, 2009)

okay thank you  itll be a few pages like a booklet, what kind of pics do u do? or have you got them around on the forum?


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Tell us your topics and we can help you with pics...I have a ton of random stuff like pics of lab blocks, medical stuff, etc, etc.


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## JordanT (Mar 6, 2009)

I got a couple pics of butters you can use, especially his trademark "hang in there" pic


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## FeffOx (Feb 8, 2009)

I could maybe take some pics for some specific topics


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## Danniixx (Feb 1, 2009)

wow thankyou everybody ;D i need photos of all the rat colours and hair types rats playing together, pics of single rats for decor such as them standing on their hind legs. 6 week old rats and adult male and female rats to show the size differene so maybe taken from above? pics of different cages and food types, bedding and rat cage interior. Erm under a rats coat and medical stuffs like fleas and mites and images depicting illnesses, and closeups a rats face/ eyes/ feet thanks in advance everyone ill upload a copy of my booklet once im finished so you can all comment if you would like to


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## JordanT (Mar 6, 2009)

Yeah, I got a few pics of butters, she is a champagne, and maybe a couple of Remy, and for cages, you can use a picture of my Hybrid cage (mesh wire and aquarium)


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## FeffOx (Feb 8, 2009)

My boys aren't really fussy on the camera : but I'll try my best 
Is there a deadline for the pics?


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## Danniixx (Feb 1, 2009)

well i promised the pet store Id have the booklet made by the end of Easter holidays so until 23rd April if thats okay? I can lengthen it though if people need extra time


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## FeffOx (Feb 8, 2009)

I _think_ that should be OK for the ratty owners with the ratty posers 
I tried last night to get some photos of them playing but of course, they had to see what the flashy box was :
I'll keep trying though


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## Gats1788 (Mar 14, 2009)

FeffOx said:


> I _think_ that should be OK for the ratty owners with the ratty posers
> I tried last night to get some photos of them playing but of course, they had to see what the flashy box was :
> I'll keep trying though


That's funny, and true, i can never get good shot of my rats, they are always trying to explore the camera.

But feel free to use any of mine you find, they are not very professional though


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## FeffOx (Feb 8, 2009)

Gats1788 said:


> But feel free to use any of mine you find, they are not very professional though


Your siggy pic would be a good one for markings


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

I would like credit so people can find me if they need more pics/info 

I am trying to think of the things newbies always ask about... Hmmm.

sexing pics of 5 weekers

girl








boy









Lab blocks - Mazuri, mention they must be high-quality...not Sunseed or Kaytee, etc









Excessive porphyrin, sick rat (Farraday had pneumonia )









Lice you can see with the naked eye and they like the back and rump to start populating.
Mites are invisible but you will typically see scabs and fur thinning on shoulders, neck, chin and face.
















Mention how to treat with Ivermectin and Revolution. And freezing paper/wood-based beddings for 48 hrs to prevent this.

Mention rats don't talk, and any lung or breathing sounds could be illness. And to have a good rat vet on standby. 
Mention that they shouldn't have strong smells nearby since their resp. system is so sensitive. (no air fresheners, candles in the same room, detergents, etc)

Typical play behaviour (with shrieks) of babies (no, they are NOT fighting )










Colours
russian blue









Mink









American/Sky/Powder, etc blue









Black self









Black berkshire









Black variberk (variegated berkshire)









Pearl









Pearl merle









Platinum beside PEW









Agouti









PEW










Beige and Fawn









agouti Rex









Bad rex









Standard coat, standard ear









dumbo ear









5 week old babies









Okay enough for now


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## Danniixx (Feb 1, 2009)

hiya everyone big thankyou lilspaz for all the lovely pics ;D just wondering if anyone could take pics of rats stealing food from your plate and cup? thanks in advance everyone


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## FeffOx (Feb 8, 2009)

My dad has a pic of them trying to drink his beer :
I'll try and upload it soon


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## Stace87 (Jun 24, 2008)

Danniixx said:


> wow thankyou everybody ;D i need photos of all the rat colours and hair types rats playing together, pics of single rats for decor such as them standing on their hind legs. 6 week old rats and adult male and female rats to show the size differene so maybe taken from above? pics of different cages and food types, bedding and rat cage interior. Erm under a rats coat and medical stuffs like fleas and mites and images depicting illnesses, and closeups a rats face/ eyes/ feet thanks in advance everyone ill upload a copy of my booklet once im finished so you can all comment if you would like to


*Pics of rats on hind legs:*

Spike









Gizmo









*Tumours:*

Max









Spike (possibly still an abscess - reached this size in 2 weeks)









*Introducing rats (Gizmo to two older males - Spike & Max):* - Gizmo approx 7 weeks old next to fully grown males

















*Malocclusion:*

Spike:

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*Applying beaphar Spot On treatment for mites*

Gizmo:


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## Stace87 (Jun 24, 2008)

*Face close-ups:*

Max

























Max & Gizmo

























*Playing in carrier box:*

Max and Spike









*Colours:*

Husky or Roan dumbo rat at approx 5/6 weeks old. Known as roan in the UK. 









The colour Gizmo has faded to at approx 7 months old. Huskies/roans go lighter with each moult.









*Licky boys:*










*Spike sleeping:*










This thread has a lot of photos from the discovery of Spike's testicular tumour, to post-op, post-neuter abscesses progression/bursting/healing - http://www.ratforum.com/index.php/topic,13916.0.html


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## Danniixx (Feb 1, 2009)

Thankyou all for the lovely photos everyone ;D sorry I havent been around much Ive had exams recently *sigh* does any one have any close up photos of a rat with excess porphyrin and a rat with normal amounts? Could information on it also be provided please and what to do when your rat has excess and reasons why this would happen? Credit will be given where it is due  Thanks


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## 3pidemic (Feb 22, 2009)

Do you need any pictures of double rex/hairless rats? I have two and I could probably get some pictures of them for you? I also have pictures of when I got one of my hairless babies when she was pregnant with a surprise litter (we got her from a feeder breeder friend of ours, she had a very small litter that died due to her not producing milk, she has since been spayed). 

Edit: Found some pictures I had on my computer.









Dramamine 









Close up of Dramamine's face, you can see his little bit of fur.









Dramamine and my hooded boy Thorazine.


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A pregnant Sativa a few days before she gave birth. She looked like she swallowed a tangerine. She had two babies, one was stillborn and the other died at about a week old when she stopped producing milk. Hairless rats can have problems lactating. It was horrible losing the babies, but she has since been spayed and lives very happily with Dramamine and our other babies. 

[Just so people don't think I was the one that bred her, here's Sativa's story.]
We had gotten her and Dramamine from a retired feeder breeder friend (he bred only to feed his own snakes and treated his breeders like pets, they were very well cared for for feeder breeders, he even hand bulit them an awesome giant cage and kept them on good beding/food) who wanted to scale down his mischief. We don't know where they came from orginally, but they were probably offspring from one of his previous litters and from what I can guess are around a year old. So far we've been really lucky and niether of them have had any real health problems (a few sneezes here and there, but nothing life threateningly serious), but there's no telling what we could be in for in the future.


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## Danniixx (Feb 1, 2009)

awwww your rats are gorgous  just thought id post the information that i have put in my booket (ten pages ;D) not sure how many words i can put in one post but here goes: 

Feeding 
The easiest thing to feed rats is rat food from your local pet shop such as reggie rat or loose food mix. Both foods are a good source of vitamins and minerals for rats though seed mix is not the best option as you will find your rats eat only the sunflower seeds and the things they like, rather then what is good for them. Brands such as SupaRat excel are also good for rats as they are pure food pellets- though these types of foods leave little in the way of interest for rats. Rats need variety in their diets just like we do, so feeding them just a pellet based meal once a day is simply not enough. To be frank, it is extemely dull. To add variety to a rats diet you can buy many things .Rats can, in general, eat anything we can in small amounts, my own rats for example love cream, my males love ginger biscuits and they all love pancakes. By trying different foods in small amounts you can discover what your rat likes and what he does not. Though you should only feed supplementry foods in small amounts every now and again, rather then on a regular basis (unless the product is made for animal consumption) as they may not eat it all and also, things such as fruit can give rats a bad tummy and leave you with a nasty mess to clean. Unlike dogs, rats can eat small amounts of chocolate and dark chocolate can be given as a broncodialater in times of extreme respiritory need. You must be extremely careful with your rats if you have other pets as they are omnivores and will eat small pets including birds, insects and other small rodents such as mice. Never leave these animals to play together. 
You should be wary with your rats when you have food about, rats love nothing more then to steal from your bowl and cup and eat whatever you are having, and if you dont let them have it they steal it from your hands. 

You should feed your rats once- twice a day depending on how many you have and how much you feed them. It would be reccommended that you give half a handful (average/ small sized hands) per rat. Though the best thing to do would be give your rat food and see whether he leaves some or seems hungry. Of course never under feed your rat as it could leave to starvation and cannibalism within the cage. Over feeding rats can also have a negative affect as you would end up with ovese rats which are more susceptable to illness and heart conditions. Rats who are underfed or overfed also have the shortest lifespans. 

Housing
Rats require large cages; around 2 square feet per rat. To begin with, whilst your rats are small (if bought at around 5-7 weeks of age) you can use a rat starter pack cage which is easy to clean as it has a removable base and attachements. Once rats are too large for this cage (around two months after buying) you should invest in either a chinchilla cage with plastic panels rather then wire (wire flooring damages the feet much like it would with a humans feet) or a large plastic guinea pig/ indoor rabbit cage. Although people do keep rats in large aquariums, it is not recommended as there is little ventilation and the inside of the cage can get very hot very quickly. People have also converted bird and ferret cages to use as rat homes (converted ferret cage shown on the right). These are usually wire cages with the ferret cages having wire ledges which should be covered up with something such as lino floor tiles to protect the feet of the animal. 
Using a guniea pig cage has many advantages; it is large and they are easily cleaned. They are also easily to decorate with lots of toys and hammocks. Using a wire cage with plastic shelves and flooring also has its advantages as the wire allows the rats to indulge their love of climbing and hanging upside down on the top or hanging one handedly from the top of the cage. A normal sized guinea pig cage can house two rats comfortably and the range of sizes for bird and ferret cages allows room to experiment with decoration aswell as adding more rats. 

You do not need to pay a lot of money to keep your rats happy, they can sleep and play in shoe boxes, with the paper that comes with shoes, cardboard tubes, tissue paper, cat teasers etc. Rats are extremely cost efficiant pets as, although some rats chew, they do not demolish toys as a gerbil or mouse would, though you should never leave rats unattended with wires and within reach of cutains, as this are something, I found the hard way, that they will chew things if you let them. They also enjoy stealing and storing objects- whatever your rat decides it likes, it will have and store in its secret hiding place be it in a shoebox in its cage or in a hole in your cabinet. Rats will also get upset and squeak if you try to take the object off them, so the easiest and kindest thing to do would be, if the item isnt of high value, let the rat hide it in a safe place that you can see (such as behind a couch cusion or in the cage itself would be preferable) and then take the item back once the rat has been put away.

Rats should be cleaned out (depending on how many rats you keep) around twice a week. Though I have found that, generally, when they start to smell, they need cleaning and, depending on your rats, that could be everyday or every month or so. Though you should never leave it longer then a month as bacteria could develop on the excrement and the smell of amonia from rodent pee can and will cause illness to develop in your rat. 

When it comes to what bedding to use, never use wood shavings which contain pine or cedar as these have been found to be toxic to rats and could induce respiritory illness, instead, use paper based beddings or aspen. Things such as carefresh are highly recommended. You can also use hay as a safe bedding but you must be wary about using it as it can contain mites. 

I shall leave it at that for now so everyone can comment appropriatly and I know where Im changing stuffs lol. Please tell me if I have missed something out which is important or if I have any inaccuracies Thanks in advance


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## ChloeLouise (Apr 5, 2009)

Stress the importance of having a pair of ratties instead of a lonely one!


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## Three Deep (Jan 8, 2009)

I have five rats. An adult mink berkshire standard ear/coat female. A black eyed white adult hairless standard ear female. A dumbo eared black hooded double rex female (looks like hairless, different genes). A dumbo eared variegated masked mink male, (white with tan freckles) adult male. And finally a 5 week old male american blue or powder blue (pretty much the same thing) rex, standard ear. Email if you'd like pictures, I have tons. [email protected]
Thanks, Leah


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## homebody (Jan 26, 2009)

This is a good one of friendly play:










(Incidentally, if this is not friendly play, someone let me know because Bette does this constantly to poor Tina! : )

This would be good for appropriate housing accessories (hammock):










Pet stores don't tell you how to snuggle your ratties. (That's a Kat's Rat Mats hammock, btw.)


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## Danniixx (Feb 1, 2009)

some more from my booklet sorry for my lack of replies Ive been having exams *sigh* not fun lol. 

The images above show a male (right) and female (left) rat. In general rats are easy to sex because of the obviousness of the testes in the male which can be seen clearly from the side. Female rats are smaller then males and generally more active whereas male rats are considered similar to lap dogs- that is they do not mind being stroked and held. But it should be remembered that no matter what the general consensus is for male and female rats, rats are rats and if theres exploring to do then they have to do it. Once a female rat hits puberty- the point when they start coming into season every four days, then you should be aware that they will start mounting one another (females and females, never keep males and females together unless at least one sex is castrated). This mounting behaviour is completely normal and how they assert dominanance over one another. Once males hit this stage in life (they do not come into season) they begin to fight to assert dominance though it can sometimes become a blood bath, at which point you should seperate your males rats for good. As male rats reach adulthood their testicles become increasing larger- you can never really get the sex of your rat wrong because of this fact. 


General Care 

Rats should always be kept in same sex pairs or groups as you cannot be with them 24 hours a day and give them the same species companionship they require. If they are kept alone, well try to imagine yourself being a lone for your lifetime in a room of rats with no human company. It would get awful lonely. 

Toys 

wheels 

wheels are excellent for rats as they allow them to run and become fit and healthy. Running is also instinctive for rats as they would run everywhere in the wild. Wheels to have specifications though as rats have a very thin tail which can easily become trapped in the bars of wire wheels and therefore they must have solid wheels to run on. The wheel must also be large enough for a rat to run on it. 

Saucers 

Saucers are quite a recent addition to pet toys and share many of the benefits of wheels without the need to specify for one with a solid base. The only downside to having a saucer is that when animals travel at high speeds or if there is more then one on the saucer, they can fly off and possibly hurt themselves. 



Life Span 

On average rats tend to live for around one and half -two years though they can live up to five years and, in some instances, have been found to live for longer. How long your rat lives really does depend on how well you care for it. 


Porphyrin 

Porphyrin is a substance which is naturally produced in the rats body and appears as red 'tears' in the corner of the eyes and around the nose. Excess porphyrin can be caused by illness and stress. 

Mites 


Mites are invisable paracites which create scabs and bald patches in the rats fur, as well as fur thinning. Mites can be transferred via other rats, hay and other products which have been in contact with infected animals. All animals can get mites therefore you should always be careful not to spread mites from other animals to your rats. Lice are similar to Mites with the exception that they are visible to the naked eye. These particularly like the rump and back to start populating. 

Both Lice and Mites should be treated by freezing the bedding (hammocks, toys etc) and removing flooring for 48 hours to kill of paracites and prevent possible outbreaks. Rats themselves can be treated with treatments similar to the ones used by dog owners though you should always contact a vet as some treaments can burn rat skin severly. 

As rats do not talk, any abnormal breating behaviour could symbolise illness. Raspy breath, shallow breathing etc all require that you go to the vets. You should also register your rat with a vet before hand. 

** I havent included names for the treatment of mites as Im not sure what the British alternative would be for the ones that were suggested 



All rats have the risk of getting tumors. Female rats can get mammary tumors whether they are bred to or not and in both sexes, these tumors and absesses can be removed/ drained- though in some cases the tumor may be left as it does not cause the rat pain or because there is nothing the vet can do; due to old age or health related reasons. 

Malcussion 

Rats can develop malcussion if their teeth are not worn down through regular use. Rodent teeth are constantly growing to make sure they can get optimal use in foraging and knawing. To keep your rats teeth at normal length make sure they have boxes, knawing blocks and food which they need to chew and nibble at. If a rat does end up with long front teeth, then a trip to the vets is required so that they can trim the teeth down. 

I think thats enough for now lol I have another page of rodent behaviour which features licking and dominance and screaching and what not which ill post another time


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## Gabrielle B (Jan 16, 2009)

Hi  I have a boy with sarcoptic mange atm, would you like some pics of what that looks like? I also have a Silver fawn, mismarked hooded boy, if you'd like some pics of him  do you want some pics of some cages to? I will attach a few (crappy) pics and if you like any of them, I can take some better pics for you 

Their cage, housing 4 boys









Banjo 









Bosley (you can just see the beginnings of it on the left ear, but I can get better, closer pics if you would like)


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## Danniixx (Feb 1, 2009)

oo I love the black and white pic its gorgeous, any chance you could do one like that but maybe a couple of rats together, gosh its hard to describe but like from the front in the play pose they do with one punching the other in the face? It could be a really cute cover pic  Id also love pice of your cage, and everyone elses too to show different styles of cage i.e. guniea pig, ferret, ferret nation etc thanks in advance any criticisms are greatly appreciated


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## Gabrielle B (Jan 16, 2009)

Ohhh so you want one of them boxing....hmmmm they were doing that a fair bit last week but seem to have settled down now....but I think if I get them excited enough they might do it......I'll see what I can do  I'll also try to get a better pic of my cage because that one is a bit shadowy  I will take some pics today and get back to you tonight


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## minnehaha25 (Mar 14, 2012)

I have a few goodones!


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## AlfredosMommie (May 1, 2012)

You can use my Big boy Alfred


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## Ratsarebeautiful (Jan 7, 2022)

Here’s a few fur pattern rat pics I have a black self rat a very light Russian blue and a mink birkshire


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## Ratsarebeautiful (Jan 7, 2022)

Alfie the mink birkshire has very dark ruby eyes


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