# Voda walks in 'pancake mode'?



## Ruka (Dec 20, 2012)

Okay, so yesterday I brought home a little baby blue dumbo that I named Voda.

I have noticed he walks with his belly against the ground and his back legs kind of a little ways apart.

Is this normal?

Literally when he walks he is flat as a pancake.

I'm hoping he will grow out of it but I'm not sure if it is normal.

He's young, about 5-6 old.

This question makes me feel very, VERY stupid as a run a rat rescue and have had rats for years, but I've never noticed this with any of my other rats...


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## Rumy91989 (Dec 31, 2012)

I don't think that's an age thing--it sounds more like he has overly splayed legs, etc. He probably won't grow out of it... but I'm not 100% sure as I've never actually seen it.


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## Ruka (Dec 20, 2012)

Rumy91989 said:


> I don't think that's an age thing--it sounds more like he has overly splayed legs, etc. He probably won't grow out of it... but I'm not 100% sure as I've never actually seen it.


Over the past hour or so he seems to be growing more sure of himself and it seems to be happening less.

I think at this point I am going to call it 'the new home jitters'

I've noticed as he becomes more comfortable he walks more sure of himself and I tried to take a video of him strutting around and he wasn't doing it anymore... Which is odd, but I thi k he was just nervous for a while.


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## Rumy91989 (Dec 31, 2012)

Awww, so it was like a nervous tick? That's kind of cute! If it happens again do try to get a video, partly so we can help problem solve but mostly so we can see it. A baby rat wandering around on his tummy sounds ridiculously precious.


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## Ruka (Dec 20, 2012)

Rumy91989 said:


> Awww, so it was like a nervous tick? That's kind of cute! If it happens again do try to get a video, partly so we can help problem solve but mostly so we can see it. A baby rat wandering around on his tummy sounds ridiculously precious.


It IS precious! He does it when I pick him up too, I think mostly because he's not used to being handled. He scurried around on his belly for the first day and a half, now he seems sto have stopped for the most part. I will try my best to get a video. 


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## Ruka (Dec 20, 2012)

How do I post a video from the iPad app? I caught him half doing it, mostly when I go to give him a little scratch he 'pancakes' it's cute.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

The pancake walks is more usual of rat pups around three weeks old rather than 5 to 6. And they do grow out of it. How sure are you of his age? If he's younger you might have to supplement his diet.


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## Ruka (Dec 20, 2012)

Rat Daddy said:


> The pancake walks is more usual of rat pups around three weeks old rather than 5 to 6. And they do grow out of it. How sure are you of his age? If he's younger you might have to supplement his diet.


Well, hmm, if he's three weeks old then he's huge for his age. Could I supplement just in case?

I got him as an owner surrender, he was alone. I've had young pups in my care, he looks older than three weeks (in my opinion) Here's a photo.










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## PurpleGirl (Oct 12, 2012)

My girl November is almost one and a half years old and she randomly still 'pancakes', mainly when she's feeling nervous i.e. if she hears a sudden loud noise. Occasionally she does it if I reach down from above to pet her, she's even done it a few times when she wants me to put her back in the cage. It's pretty cute!


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

It's hard to tell his age without a frame of reference, but his tail still looks a little short for 6 weeks old. Sure it's fine to supplement, even at 6 weeks. He looks like a commercially farmed rat or the offspring thereof, wide shoulders and square snout. If that's what he is, he will grow really fast even for a rat.

I just supplement my babies with shredded wheat cereal soaked in milk. I also feed my young ones the mazuri rat and mouse blocks... It supports their fast growth and if you can get it out of a bin it's cheap.


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## Ruka (Dec 20, 2012)

Rat Daddy said:


> It's hard to tell his age without a frame of reference, but his tail still looks a little short for 6 weeks old. Sure it's fine to supplement, even at 6 weeks. He looks like a commercially farmed rat or the offspring thereof, wide shoulders and square snout. If that's what he is, he will grow really fast even for a rat.
> 
> I just supplement my babies with shredded wheat cereal soaked in milk. I also feed my young ones the mazuri rat and mouse blocks... It supports their fast growth and if you can get it out of a bin it's cheap.


Commercially farmed? Is that the same as back yard bred?


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## Rumy91989 (Dec 31, 2012)

No, commercial farming is the kind of rat you'd find at a chain pet store, etc. It means someone somewhere is pumping rat pups out as a business to supply a large number of pet stores. Back yard breeding is the same as hobby breeding, aka someone is breeding rats for sale but not on a large enough scale to be supplying a large number of pet stores.


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## Ruka (Dec 20, 2012)

Rumy91989 said:


> No, commercial farming is the kind of rat you'd find at a chain pet store, etc. It means someone somewhere is pumping rat pups out as a business to supply a large number of pet stores. Back yard breeding is the same as hobby breeding, aka someone is breeding rats for sale but not on a large enough scale to be supplying a large number of pet stores.


Oh, so a miller? I see backyard breeding as a person pumping out animals without regards to their health or temperament for money, so that's why I asked if it was the same as byb. 

Voda was turned into my rescue. A child bought him, brought him home, and was told by mom to get rid of him or she'd, wells lets just say he's still alive..

I fell in love with him and am keeping him, lol.

On another note, I got my boy Spooky from a breeder that breeds for longer lifespan, he's also a dumbo (he's the white boy in my avatar) will the two grow up to look slightly different besides colour?

Spooky has a very large head compared to my standard eared. 


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## ratclaws (Nov 11, 2012)

Yes they will look slightly different, generally dumbos have a wider head and stockier frame.


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## Ruka (Dec 20, 2012)

ratclaws said:


> Yes they will look slightly different, generally dumbos have a wider head and stockier frame.


I love their bog ol' heads!


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

It is a real tragedy about large commercial rat farms, they are about the only ones that really have the genetic diversity, resources and experience to really improve the species, but rather they are going for growing faster and getting fatter. And judging from Fuzzy Rat being the combined weight of my other two rats, I'd say they were succeeding. Really you should have seen her grow, every morning she was visibly bigger than the night before.

To be honest, most breed for the feeder rat industry not for pet shops selling pet rats. 

I suppose if someone tried to convince Frank Purdue that he was headed in the wrong direction he wouldn't have listened either. Bigger plumper chickens that grow faster is what made him successful.

Voda was most likely purchased right out of a feeder bin for about $3.00, which the kid had left over from his allowance or shoveling snow. Actually this bodes well for him as a shoulder rat because unlike byb rats, rat farm rats are bred to have a nicer and calmer disposition. It also means he's likely to get big and fat. 

So far, no one has really proven that they have reliably come up with a long lived healthy rat. I've seen Feeder rats live for 4 years and reputable breeder rats die in six months. We all take our chances when we decide to own rats.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

The scared flattened rat is pretty common along with the nervous shivers when held...he's a cutie, and should be just fine once he relaxes a bit


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Mill rats aren't bred to be nicer by any means. A mean momma may be killed outright and not able to pass on aggressive genes but its sure not deliberate breeding. Mill rats are bred for quantity and saleability only, not temperament, health, longevity, etc.


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## Ruka (Dec 20, 2012)

Rat Daddy said:


> It is a real tragedy about large commercial rat farms, they are about the only ones that really have the genetic diversity, resources and experience to really improve the species, but rather they are going for growing faster and getting fatter. And judging from Fuzzy Rat being the combined weight of my other two rats, I'd say they were succeeding. Really you should have seen her grow, every morning she was visibly bigger than the night before.
> 
> To be honest, most breed for the feeder rat industry not for pet shops selling pet rats.
> 
> ...


Live feeding is illegal where I live though, that's the thing. Until this forum, I had no idea what a 'feeder bin' was. 

The oldest rat I have ever seen was SIX YEARS OLD. I was amazed, this rat was not special bred, he was an accidental litter rat.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

I'm actually oddly drawn to the term "live" feeding. Does this imply that it's perfectly legal to feed dead or frozen rats to other animals? And if so, where would those dead or frozen rats be coming from?


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## Ruka (Dec 20, 2012)

Rat Daddy said:


> I'm actually oddly drawn to the term "live" feeding. Does this imply that it's perfectly legal to feed dead or frozen rats to other animals? And if so, where would those dead or frozen rats be coming from?


Yes, it is perfectly legal to feed already dead rats to other animals, but not living ones here. Well, by talking to my local pet stores I have learned that they will kill any nippy or overly scared rat to become a feeder, although the method of killing can be questioned.


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## ratclaws (Nov 11, 2012)

They're usually called "pinkies" here in the UK Rat Daddy - though this usually applied to mice given to snakes. It's illegal to have feeder bins and feed them alive to snakes etc here but not to feed pre-killed and frozen. They're usually shipped in already processed.


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## Ruka (Dec 20, 2012)

ratclaws said:


> They're usually called "pinkies" here in the UK Rat Daddy - though this usually applied to mice given to snakes. It's illegal to have feeder bins and feed them alive to snakes etc here but not to feed pre-killed and frozen. They're usually shipped in already processed.


Called Pinkies here too, as well as 'fuzzies' when they have a little fur. I don't know where the big chain stores get their feeder rats, I don't support the big chain stores, but the smaller stores sometimes kill them there, or ship them in. It's sad for me to talk about....


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