# Camping with rats checklist?



## Edie16 (Apr 24, 2016)

Can someone give me a checklist for camping with 1 month old rats?


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## catty-ratty (Feb 21, 2016)

I've never taken my rats camping with me, but....

I do take one of my rats out with me. My biggest concern would be keeping them cool. I don't know how it is where you live, but here in Texas, it's getting to be too warm to take her out. About 85 degrees is as hot as she can take it. At 85 degrees, Anga doesn't enjoy being outside. 

I'm assuming that with rats are that young, they haven't had much training and you'll want to keep them in a cage. Make sure you have something well ventalated. Even if it's cool enough for them to be out, it's going to be warmer inside a closed in space. Beyond that, I would assume you would want to bring everything they need at home as well. I would bring extra water bottles in case one fails.


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## Edie16 (Apr 24, 2016)

catty-ratty said:


> I've never taken my rats camping with me, but....
> 
> I do take one of my rats out with me. My biggest concern would be keeping them cool. I don't know how it is where you live, but here in Texas, it's getting to be too warm to take her out. About 85 degrees is as hot as she can take it. At 85 degrees, Anga doesn't enjoy being outside.
> 
> I'm assuming that with rats are that young, they haven't had much training and you'll want to keep them in a cage. Make sure you have something well ventalated. Even if it's cool enough for them to be out, it's going to be warmer inside a closed in space. Beyond that, I would assume you would want to bring everything they need at home as well. I would bring extra water bottles in case one fails.


I live in Illinois so it gets pretty cold. I will probably buy s heat pad


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## catty-ratty (Feb 21, 2016)

You might consider getting some of those air activated heating pads that hunters use. I like the sticky ones. I put one on the side of the cage next to the nest one night when it was especially cold. They are good for about 12 hours each and relatively inexpensive.


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## catty-ratty (Feb 21, 2016)




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## Edie16 (Apr 24, 2016)

catty-ratty said:


>


Where can I find them?


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## catty-ratty (Feb 21, 2016)

Walmart. In the hunting section. If they don't have any, I would imagine any sporting goods store would have them.

Or a feed store


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Those body warmer if eaten by your rats will probably kill them or make them sick. Bad idea when camping and there are no vets around. Leave your rats home.


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## Edie16 (Apr 24, 2016)

Gribouilli said:


> Those body warmer if eaten by your rats will probably kill them or make them sick. Bad idea when camping and there are no vets around. Leave your rats home.


I'm not leaving them home. And I wouldn't put it in there cage just around it.


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## catty-ratty (Feb 21, 2016)

There is nothing in those body warmers that isn't in the sterile potting soil people recommend using if your making a digging box for your rats.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Edie16 said:


> I'm not leaving them home. And I wouldn't put it in there cage just around it.


Anything less than 3-4 inches away would be easy for a rat to grab, so around the cage is a bad idea. Under the cage could work or not depending on how much oxygen can reach them under the cage- could damage your car seat too.


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## JAnimal (Jul 23, 2014)

First are you car camping or actual camping. If you are car camping keep your rats in the car. DO NOT hold them out of the car. Second temperature. If the temperature isn't anywhere between 65 to around 78 I would not bring them. (15-25C). They could overheat and die or get too cold. You want to make sure that the water is good. If it isn't you need bottled water. Finally have an emergency vet on speed dial. I know you are only a child so make sure your parents know that if something happens with the rats you need to leave to a vet or home ASAP.

Also rats that are one month old are too young. You should get them at a month and a half to 2 months old.


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## Edie16 (Apr 24, 2016)

I isn't know that. I will contact the breeder to tell her to stop giving them away to young.


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## Edie16 (Apr 24, 2016)

Edie16 said:


> I isn't know that. I will contact the breeder to tell her to stop giving them away to young.


I think i will leave them in the car at night so they stay nice and warm. When we go hiking I have a hiemmade carrier made out of a purse that I can take. And for food I will have maxuri pellets. Would it be a good idea to put the heater on in the car to super hot for like an hour and then turn it off and put the rats in?


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## JAnimal (Jul 23, 2014)

No then it will be too hot and then to cold. They will chew through that purse. Just leave them in your car. If you kill a rat while hiking then you will crush your heart.


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## SaberKatt (Mar 14, 2016)

Cars can get really hot really fast, though. Thirty minutes in 70 degree (F) weather can bring the car up to 104 degrees (F). Even if you crack the windows, the inside of a car can still get too hot for rats. I don't know what the weather will be like where you're going, but rats are sensitive enough to temperature that I wouldn't bring mine camping unless I had a sure way to keep the temperature even for the entirety of the trip. It's just not worth the risk. =/ They will be so much safer and more comfortable at home.


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## RatAtat2693 (Jan 13, 2016)

Edie16 said:


> Can someone give me a checklist for camping with 1 month old rats?


The short answer is "You don't." They're too young for them to have bonded with you, and from everything I've gathered, you're too inexperienced to know what you're doing. Babies, in case you haven't noticed, are fast and squirmy. You mess up once, just once, on the smallest detail and you're going home ratless. But if you insist, go back and reread your original Camping with Rats feed (in which you state in no uncertain terms that you've already done this.)

It's not nearly as much fun as you might think, camping with pets. Actually, it's not much fun at all unless you're backwoods camping, which you *absolutely cannot do with rats.

*As for keeping them warm, get two plastic shoeboxes, one bigger than the other and some cotton batting or Mylar. Make sure that the smallest box is large enough that everyone is able to safely fit in the box. In the first box, line everything with mylar, including the inside of the lid. Use Elmer's school glue to hold it in place if you are having issues with it staying, though you shouldn't. Place the second box in the Mylar lined box. Cut a two inch hole in the bottom corner of the boxes. Stuff with fleece.

If you are experiencing an especially cold night, drill holes in the side to accommodate a K&H Snuggle Up Heater to attach to the side of the box. Make sure that the heater/box is securely attached to the side of your cage so they can't chew anything. The cord itself is designed to be chew resistant, but rats are crafty.

Again, leave them at home. But I've always said that there are some things kids will do with or without permission, and it's better to tell them how to do it safely than send them off in stupidity.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

To some degree, more than most people, I understand what you are thinking about doing. I have trained a few rats that I could take into the woods. And actually I prefer to start training rats when they are very young. But I have more than a few years of experience training shoulder rats and the rats that I have taken into the woods all past their safe site training and graduated from the program. It can be a joy to work with well-trained rats as they experience new smells and sights. We just took a four-week-old rat pop to Dunkin' Donuts and it was great fun to watch him experience all of the wonderful smells and meet the nice people there and pose for a photo op. But there were two qualified rat traders there and Dunkin' Donuts is nothing like the woods. After years of training rats taking an untrained rat into a low danger environment is still something we do very cautiously and it depends a lot on the rats mood and temperament.


As I said, I do enjoy working with young rats. I try to give them around-the-clock attention and I do slowly expose them to more novel situations. Rat pups are actually much easier to control than adult rats when you are first starting to train them. But all serious training should be done at a safe site. To be clear, no place outside your home is 100% safe for your rats. But a good safe site is as close as you are going to get.


Most people probably shouldn't train shoulder rats, but if someone really wants to do it, their first priority is not to get their rats killed. And sometimes that means learning your craft step-by-step, being cautious and careful and keeping the odds in your favor.


When people see us outdoors with our true shoulder rats, we try to make it look slick and seamless. For the most part people see us having fun and they see well behaved animals doing all of the right things, but it takes a lot of work to get there and even then things often go wrong.


I am very likely the one person on this forum that most understands what you want to do, in fact, I have actually taken true shoulder rats into the forest and brought them home alive, but the forest is a very dangerous place for rats. And yes Fuzzy Rat actually found a 30 pound snapping turtle in the brush coming back from laying its eggs. She was smart enough not to get too close and to bring the turtle to our attention, but the last thing we were expecting was a giant snapping turtle only a few yards away from us. If she weren't a truly great shoulder rat with hundreds of hours of experience I could easily imagine how badly that they would've ended. There are a lot of things in the woods that eat rats or can kill rats. It's one of the most difficult environments for an expert rat trainer and a very experienced rat to survive. In fact I'll go about as far as saying it's the last place I would take an untrained rat. At any point in time, there are probably less than 100 rats and 100 trainers that would stand a good chance of surviving a long walk in the woods and right now you and your rats are not among them yet.


In life, lots of people that have never done something are going to tell you not to do it. Perhaps, you can take their advice with a grain of salt, but I've been there and have done that and I'm telling you from personal experience, you're not ready for that particular field trip yet.


Obviously, you're going to make your own decision and decide what risks are worth taking, so whatever you decide to do I wish you the very best of luck.


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## SaberKatt (Mar 14, 2016)

A long hike through the woods is not the same as an overnight camping trip, though. Controlling for temperature is still an issue. There have been some good suggestions for keeping them warm, but how about keeping them cool? Tents and cars can both get too hot for rats even when the weather outside is mild. Even aside from the fact that these are not trained rats, the issue of adequate shelter remains. That's really my main issue. Even if you look at the weather ahead of time, it's not always accurate. I went on a camping trip that promised sunny weather and we ended up in the middle of a loud and terrifying storm - we were in the valley, too, so the thunder echoed off the mountains around us, amplifying the sound. No way would I have put a rat through that, trained or not. The campsite flooded. It was a bad night for everyone. 

I would totally take a well trained rat hiking and exploring, but overnight is a different story. It requires more than just good training. Of course, we also don't know much about this camping trip. Is it in a tent or in a RV? What is the weather generally like there? 

I personally wouldn't take my rats camping unless we were "camping" in an RV or cabin. Somewhere temp controlled, where I could set up a decent cage for when we're not out exploring. Also, I would worry about them getting diseases, viruses, and parasites, so I would have to be careful about where I let them play and make sure that I took all preventative measures possible (such as treating with Revolution). Know the local wildlife too, so you can make the best decisions possible.


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## Edie16 (Apr 24, 2016)

I really appreciate everyone's advice but this thread is for a checklist. I made a separate thread for SHOULD I TAKE MY RATS CAMPING?


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

I have to assume that if someone is in the woods with a rat, there's going a temptation to explore and to let the rats adventure around a little bit... even if base home is a camper or cabin. 

And yes, cars can be dangerous, cars have lots of micro climates, we as humans don't feel... but that's likely worth a separate thread entirely. If you keep your rats in a cage in the car, the sun through the window can overheat your rats while you feel quite comfortable. And certain parts of the car can get colder than others when you turn on the AC.... If your car doesn't have AC and your rats overheat a pit-stop at a roadside creek can be a lifesaver. I've been there and done that one... but again I was working with a trained rat, that I could simply dip into a cool mountain creek to cool off. You should always have a spray bottle of water along with you when you travel with rats for emergencies. We switched cars that day and left our spray bottle in the other car. When you work with a well trained rat, you have a lot of options, you can go into a cool store for example or a warm building in a pinch. It all gets harder if you can't let your rats out of their cage to deal with emergencies on the road or at your destination.

If you are traveling with a cage in the car, watch for your rats digging in the bedding, over heating rats start digging when they get too hot... I suppose it's an instinctive behavior to dig when overheating... they also go flat and squishy and they drool... Once that happens you only have minutes to get them cooled off.


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## SaberKatt (Mar 14, 2016)

I mentioned earlier, but when it is just 70 degrees (f) outside, which is great weather for a rat, a car can hit 104 degrees in just thirty minutes. Cars are not adequate shelter for the entirety of the camping trip. I'm not talking about the actual driving part, I'm wondering where OP will keep his rats for the rest of the trip after they arrive at their destination. I'm sure he will want to have them out of the cage to let them explore and have fun, but that won't be 100% of the time. Tents and cars are dangerous places to leave animals unattended. Cars are not temp controlled. Tents are not temp controlled and they are susceptible to predators, other wildlife, and unexpected weather. You cannot keep an eye on your rats 100% of the time during a full camping trip, so they need a place where they can be safe even when unsupervised.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Edie16 said:


> I isn't know that. I will contact the breeder to tell her to stop giving them away to young.


Better yet, don't get any more rats from a "breeder" who sends them home this young. The males should be with the mom for at least another week, and the females should be with mom for at least 2 more weeks. They should not be adopted out until at least 6 weeks of age.


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## ratlover334 (May 10, 2016)

?heat pads
?traveling cage
?cage
?fleece
?harness 
?food
?water bottle
?hiking cage
Ect


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Small cardboard box to put your rat's body in if you wanted to bring him back home for burial.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Last comment NOT meant to be mean, but there is a good chance your rat won't make it and in that case somewhere to put his body if you didn't want to leave him there could be handy.


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## ratlover334 (May 10, 2016)

Gribouilli said:


> Last comment NOT meant to be mean, but there is a good chance your rat won't make it and in that case somewhere to put his body if you didn't want to leave him there could be handy.


I don't think it's a good chance her rat won't make it...


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## Nieve5552 (May 20, 2014)

I agree wholeheartedly with Gribouilli. 
Also, 1 month old rats are too young and small. Young and small animals have even more difficulty regulating their body temperature. If you wont budge about taking your 1 month old rats camping you need to be prepared for the worst, because the worst could easily happen.


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## Edie16 (Apr 24, 2016)

Nieve5552 said:


> I agree wholeheartedly with Gribouilli.
> Also, 1 month old rats are too young and small. Young and small animals have even more difficulty regulating their body temperature. If you wont budge about taking your 1 month old rats camping you need to be prepared for the worst, because the worst could easily happen.


They will be 2 months when we go


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## RatAtat2693 (Jan 13, 2016)

Can we at least get some more information on the supposed camping trip in question?


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## Edie16 (Apr 24, 2016)

RatAtat2693 said:


> Can we at least get some more information on the supposed camping trip in question?


What kind of info?


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## Nieve5552 (May 20, 2014)

Edie16 said:


> They will be 2 months when we go


That is still too young, thats the earliest ideal time they should be adopted out from the breeder. They're still babies, just because they have 4 weeks more doesnt mean that they're big enough. Also I dont think you'll be able to train them to come back to you 100% of the time in case an accident happens.


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## catty-ratty (Feb 21, 2016)

I agree with Ratat. It's apparent that Edie is going to take rats camping. I'd rather help her keep them alive than waste my breath trying to convince Edie not to do it.

I believe you said you are in Illinois. I looked up average temps in your area for summer time. If those averages are correct, it looks like the temperatures will be fine for your rats all summer long. When you will be camping in June, the average temp is reported as 71.8.

At night, you will probably want to make sure they stay warm. The air activated warmers I told you about will keep provide enough heat to get through the night. 

During the day, I'm sure it will get over 71.8. I don't know how much, so you should be prepared in case it does get to warm. I'm assuming you will have ice with you. If you make something to put a source of heat in at night, like the plastic boxes Ratat recommended, you could also put ice in it if it get too warm.

Add a thermometer to your list to keep track of temps. 

My list would include sources of warmth at night, and sources for cooling during the day. 
Bring a travel cage with you and all the things they would need at home as well.

The next thing on the list is to prepare yourself and your rats as much as you can before the trip.

In the mean time, you have about a month to bond with your rats. In that time, get them used to being in your purse. Find out how they will react to being in there. If you expect to keep them in a purse for extended periods of time, you need to find out how that is going to work out before you take them camping. Will your purse hold up to keeping them contained? 

In my experience, rats are even more curious in a new environment. You need to be as prepared as possible for this. Get to know your rats. Find out how they will react in a new environment. If you can, you will need to take them outside with you somewhere before the trip to learn more about them in an outdoor situation.
.


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## RatAtat2693 (Jan 13, 2016)

Edie16 said:


> RatAtat2693 said:
> 
> 
> > Can we at least get some more information on the supposed camping trip in question?
> ...


Where are you going? What are you using as a shelter while camping? What will you be doing while not at the campsite? What time of year? Who's going with you? What do you plan on taking with you? Is it a campsite or are you going in the backwoods? Have you ever been to the campsite before? Who's driving?

Before I tell you what to do, I want to make it shamelessly and excruciatingly clear that this is one of the stupidest, most ill-advised, and reckless ideas I've seen on this forum, and I am only helping you because I don't want to see the animal you are supposed to be caring for get killed because of your actions.

I don't condone this, and I am not sorry.

Part of being in charge of the welfare of living creatures is taking into consideration whether or not it's safe, regardless of how much you want something.

You know what I have dreamed of doing since I was a young teen? I have a dog, Samson, who I've literally had from birth. I've raised him. I raised his mother and his father. I have pictures from the day he was born of him sleeping in my hoodie. When I would go hiking with him as a wee puppy, I had a messenger bag he'd ride in. He's fifty pounds now and loves camping because it means we're together. I've always imagined we'd hike all three of the 2k mile trails in the US, known as the Triple Crown. But he's eight years old now and his hips are starting to act up. He's slowing down. I can't hike more than a few miles before he needs to lay down. He gets terrified and howls if I leave him alone for more than five minutes. He has delicate paws. With my very first thru hike scheduled for 2019, he'll be over 10 years old. He won't be able to hike 8-15 miles a day without extreme difficulty. I have to leave him with my friend for the hike.

And the moment I realized this, it absolutely sucked. Could I drag him along anyway? Yeah, technically I could. I could carry him over the hard parts and force him to wait outside restaurants without me while I and my hiking buddies ate.

But would it be safe for him? **** no. Would he be happy? Maybe, but only because I'm there. Could I really carry him now? No - I broke my ankle and him plus me, plus a back country hiking pack would be too much weight. I'd probably roll or break my ankle again, and then Sam and I would be up S*** Creek, without a paddle, in a region where no one is there to hear you scream.

So ask yourself, "Can I pay attention to everything in my surroundings while I'm camping, all the time? Can I control the surroundings around my animal so that they are safe at least 95% of the time? Can I anticipate what will happen 95% of the time?"

If you can't realistically with 100% certainty say "Yes," to every single question, then you *need* to be mature and leave them at home.


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## Edie16 (Apr 24, 2016)

RatAtat2693 said:


> Edie16 said:
> 
> 
> > RatAtat2693 said:
> ...


I am going to a state camping ground. It is not in the backwoods but it is near Lake Michigan. My mom, dad, and brother are coming. I think my mom and dad take turns driving. I'm going on Memorial Day. And they have a regular carrier for the car trip, a purse carrier for hikes and leaving the campground, and a critter nation for the night and the morning when it's too cold to bring them out.


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## Edie16 (Apr 24, 2016)

catty-ratty said:


> I agree with Ratat. It's apparent that Edie is going to take rats camping. I'd rather help her keep them alive than waste my breath trying to convince Edie not to do it.
> 
> I believe you said you are in Illinois. I looked up average temps in your area for summer time. If those averages are correct, it looks like the temperatures will be fine for your rats all summer long. When you will be camping in June, the average temp is reported as 71.8.
> 
> ...


Thank you for your advice but I wasn't going to take them camping no matter what. I just didn't hear a argument that convinced me not to.


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## ratlover334 (May 10, 2016)

Sounds like a great idea! You sound so prepared!


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## catty-ratty (Feb 21, 2016)

I noticed in your thread, 'Should I take my rats camping', on *May 5th* you said you'd already taken your baby rats camping with you.

*Edie16* 








Little Fuzzy Join DateApr 2016Posts66 








_ I took them and it was great! I bought them a critter nation and it worked good. When it was night or we had a campfire they stayed in the car with 2 heat pads on the top and bottom. I also made them a carrier in my purse for when we went hiking and they loved it! I would have let them roam more but they are babies so I can't trust them. :strawberry: _

http://www.ratforum.com/showthread.php?316322-Should-I-take-my-rats-camping​ 



Four days later on *May 9th,* you started this thread asking for help with a check list for camping with your baby rats. 

This doesn't make much sense to me. Why ask for a checklist *after* you've taken your rats camping?


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## Edie16 (Apr 24, 2016)

catty-ratty said:


> I noticed in your thread, 'Should I take my rats camping', on *May 5th* you said you'd already taken your baby rats camping with you.
> 
> *Edie16*
> 
> ...


No I haven't, that was my cousin writing that. She already took her rats camping, that's how I got the ide, and she didn't have an acc yet so she just wrote it as me.


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## ratlover334 (May 10, 2016)

Edie16 said:


> catty-ratty said:
> 
> 
> > I noticed in your thread, 'Should I take my rats camping', on *May 5th* you said you'd already taken your baby rats camping with you.
> ...


Sorry. :flushed:


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Using someone's account and not identifying them I am sure is against forum policy.

I think if you take these wee babies camping, be prepared for vet bills when you get back. Rats don't tolerate extreme temperature changes well even more than constant low or high temps. This can easily stress their immune systems and a respiratory infection is the result. Which will need a competent vet to cure and I don't think you even have a rat vet. I wouldn't take adults camping with me, much less tiny babies.

I agree, not a smart move on your part. How long will you be gone for? Can't your cousin watch your rats while you are gone? I am sure you're not dragging your older tumour girl along so someone will be taking care of her.


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## Edie16 (Apr 24, 2016)

lilspaz68 said:


> Using someone's account and not identifying them I am sure is against forum policy.
> 
> I think if you take these wee babies camping, be prepared for vet bills when you get back. Rats don't tolerate extreme temperature changes well even more than constant low or high temps. This can easily stress their immune systems and a respiratory infection is the result. Which will need a competent vet to cure and I don't think you even have a rat vet. I wouldn't take adults camping with me, much less tiny babies.
> 
> I agree, not a smart move on your part. How long will you be gone for? Can't your cousin watch your rats while you are gone? I am sure you're not dragging your older tumour girl along so someone will be taking care of her.


I will be going for 1 night, and we will take 1 hour hike. The tempature a will be 70-75 degrees.


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