# rat newb. . . advice?



## kimowen (Aug 20, 2010)

ok so i bought a rat from my small local pet store where they breed there own. i have a albino female named lea! i bought a small cage and it was small so i took it back and built my own cage out of leftover building material. it is working out well but its kinda heavy. its made from a partical subflooring type wood and covered in laminet flooring. the door is wooden trim with wire '' hardwear cloth''. its working out well! i made hammocks and a rope and i line her cage in fleace and she has a potty box with rat litter/bedding.i giver her babyfood, brocoli, a small peice of tuna today even she liked, and her staple food fiesta max full of seeds and stuff.

LEA: i take her out when i want to and she bites while in her cage. but after shes out all she wants to do is run around and explor shell come and crawl on you but just for a sec when shes out ( she doesnt bite out of her cage). . shes so busy exploring and looking for hides and such lol.today she actualy bit me pretty hard and i had already fed her babyfood and she still wldnt let me pick her up. her bite left a red scratch where it almost bled. but yesterday she was rly tired and i got her to let me pet on her while she was laying in her corner and she was enjoying me rubbing her ear and neck area she even closes her eyes '' it was soo cute". so how do i get her to want to be held and relax enough to let me rubb on her and cuddle her? i want to get her a cage mate but right now were helpin my mother out w bills so were living w her and she wont let me get a friend for her. . so itl be a few months till i can get her a friend. i got her sunday the 15th (aug 2010).
what can i do to help her relax and NOT bite? 
i see these youtube videos of people rats just relaxing and laying on them getting rubbed like a puppy and its soo cute. . how do i socialize with lea like that?


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## kimowen (Aug 20, 2010)




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## eddricksmommy101 (Jul 16, 2010)

Fiesta max is terrible food.

The main ingredient is dried corn. which in large amounts eaten for a long time, can cause cancer.

You should switch To lab blocks.

Mazuri is a good brand bought at pet stores.

Or Oxbow/

And her cage seems good, but you should think about getting her a buddy. Rats live better in pairs.

What is the cage made out of?

Pine or Cedar is BAD.


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## kimowen (Aug 20, 2010)

honestly im not sure what the board is were biling a house in the country right now and i use the flooring wood . . regardless shes not in contact w the wood because the hole inside is covered in laminet stick down flooring. the food advice is good, i only got what the pet store chick grabbed for me next time ill get somethinge diff. Q: shes been cratching lick crazy? do rats scratch that much or is something wrong w her?? i will get her a friend as soon as possible.


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## eddricksmommy101 (Jul 16, 2010)

Yep. Thats normal when she first gets to her new home.

Wait about two weeks, if the licking and scratching *and possible sneezing* doesnt stop, contact a good vet.

And Mazuri or Oxbow is the best store bought food to get.

If you get mazuri, the protein content is a bit high, so balance it out with Suebees grain mix *or i can give you a recipe for your own*

And smell the wood, if it smells like pine, its pine and thats bad.

But otherwise sounds like your doing good.

And if you get her a buddy. *highly recommended*

Dont forget to read the sticky on Quarrantining.


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## kimowen (Aug 20, 2010)

the buddy will come from the same place i got her from. there was only 1 rat w her though. and a bunch of hairless.. im not sure if i want a hairless one or not. i just ogt her out and kept her out for like 20 min and let her run and tried to just hold her for awhile. . . shes soooo squirmy lol. . she doesnt bite at all out of her cage!! how wierd is that though?she only bites when being taken out or messing w her inher cage liek grabbing at her. she will not stay still. i try to hold her and she climbs everywhere and all she wast to do is run around exploring. i put her big cage on the floor and she ry likes to climb in and out and on the wire door!


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## eddricksmommy101 (Jul 16, 2010)

Typical female attitude. She sounds like a honey!


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## kimowen (Aug 20, 2010)

aww. good. if u have any insight or random good advice im totaly open to it. ive hamsters growing up but never a rat. jsut seeing videos of them mad eme want one and my sister n law has one.


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## eddricksmommy101 (Jul 16, 2010)

Yep. Your always welcome to email me, i have four boys, but have had girls in the past. 

[email protected]

And shes a beauty


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

Your girl does not look like an albino... she looks like a marked red eyed siamese. Although it may just be the picture quality. Is her coat pure white with red eyes? Or does she have darker splodges on her body and a creamy color in places? 

Is she biting you, or is it a test nip? Rats rarely bite, only usually when frightened. If she is just putting her teeth around you and nibbling a bit... she is just seeing what/who you are. If she is pinching your skin with her teeth, but not biting down to draw blood - then is a warning bite. If she is biting to draw blood (they have very good accuracy) then yes its a bite. She has red eyes, which means shes practically blind. But rats don't rely on their sight too much. So before you grab for her, make sure to announce your presence and talk to her lots. Soon when she hears your voice she will run straight to you. Anytime she puts her teeth to your skin make a high pitched 'eeee' noise, this will tell her she hurt you and deter the behavior in a language she understands. 

I agree, the fiesta mix is terrible for them. Rats need grains, not lots of seeds and nuts. Oxbow is a fantastic brand of block, however hardly any rats like them or will eat them. A brand of block which I highly recommend, and is readily available is Hamsters Living World Extrusion (the only hamster food thats good for rats) Mazuri is a good brand, but my rats did not really thrive off it and it is a little too high in protien. The best block you can get is Harlan 2012 or 2014 or sometimes called Native Earth. Its only available to be ordered online but works out a lot cheaper. If you let us know your location, someone could give you a link to the best place to order from. 

Its perfectly normal for girls to just want to run everywhere and explore. As they learn you are great to interact with they tend to run around, run at you, run over you for a few minutes then run off again for another few minutes.. then run back. Typical female. Its just a gradual bond that you two will build. They do tend to mellow out a bit as they mature too... If you really want a cuddle bug... try a boy next time. 

As for the scratching... does she have any scabs under her chin or around her neck/shoulders? It could be parasites, lice you can see. Mites are invisible to the naked eye. But both are easily treated. It could also be due to a poor diet. Its normal for rats to scratch their shoulders and then nibble their feet a few times.... but if its excessive generally something is up.


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## kimowen (Aug 20, 2010)

MY GIRL HAS RED EYES AND SHE HAS A SMALL PATCH ON HER HEAD THAT IS SLIGHTLY TAN. THE REST OF HER IS ALL WHITE. I LOVER HER TAN SPOT IT MAKES HER UNIQUE . SO WHAT IS SHE? I WISH I HAD A MALE BUT HED HAVE TO BE NEUTERED.


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## Brian (Jul 25, 2010)

I would go and get some living world hamster extrusion. I'm using it and you just gotta give them an extra quarter of an egg every second day for each rat


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

Do you have any more pics? 

How much does the 'tan spot' take up on her head? Is the fur above her nose sightly darker? At this point I'd still say she is a marked siamese girl, with a lot of white!


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## kimowen (Aug 20, 2010)

its a rlly light mark on her hear and its right on the top. thats the only spot on her and its barely noticable


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

Well your rat genetically will be whatever color the tan spot is. All the white on her is made up because she comes from heavily marked lines and it covers her natural color. In THAT picture she looks like a masked siamese.... do you have any more pics? 

The red eyes leads me to believe its siamese as well. They are very common in the pet industry.


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## kimowen (Aug 20, 2010)

heres when i was plyn w her. this is the first time she actauly played w me . we were tugging on papper and she was hoppin around her cage lol! she now lets me rubb on her too! she closes her eyes and sits there.


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## kimowen (Aug 20, 2010)

i need a new litter pan for her. mine was just a prganizer bin with holes in it and everything comes out becuase i line it w papper and she now chews the papper! where is a good cheap place of a pan? and what wld fit best in my cage? i think my cage is. . . 18inches long. . . 20inches high and 12inches front to back.
and she is scratching like crazy what does lice look like? what wld b the best way to prevent or treat for pests on her just in case?


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## SilentRobert23 (Aug 16, 2010)

A cat's litter box would work.


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

Yep she does have a darker patch on her nose... its pretty light right now.. but should darken as she ages. So she is defiantly a marked siamese girl. The 'tan' color on her head is what color she would be entirely if she didn't have the white genes in her. So as she gets older, the smudge on her nose should darken also :]

For litter pans, I use those plastic organizer boxes, mine have higher sides on three sides which keep most of the litter in the pan... but mines very large and likely wouldn't fit in your cage. Honestly, it sounds like your cage is a little too small... You can get litter boxes from pet stores, or you could look for a cheaper plastic pan/box. Are you using paper in the litter box? I would go with an actual litter, so she can be potty trained quicker. 

Lice are visible to the naked eye. They are small red or brown parasites that you see quite easily on your girl since shes a light color. Mites you can not see. Does she have any scabs under her chin or on her shoulders? This is usually the first sign of mites. The best form of treatment (if your vet can give it you OTC and not charge an exam fee) is puppy + kitten revolution. One drop between the shoulder blades and your done! Costs me around $18 after tax. I am in BC, Canada. Only one vet in my area sells it over the counter. 

Excessive scratching can also be from too much protien in the diet.


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## kimowen (Aug 20, 2010)

i picked up this container that was tall and put a hole in it hoping to keep out the smell and keep in the litter!
the litter im using is . . fresh world bedding. . its a purple color and it says it has bakingsoda for smell in it. is there cat litters that are safe to use? whats best and cheapest for smell?


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## kimowen (Aug 20, 2010)

she started giving me kisses on the mouth today lol! she grooms my face if i put it next to the cage! were def starting to bond


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

Thats a great idea with the litter box! However it may be a touch too small, your girl still looks like she may grow a bit. It will do for now anyway. I would cut the hole in it a little bigger, then get a lighter (outside of the house) and use the heat of the lighter, not the actual flame to melt the sides of the plastic into smooth ridges. Otherwise bacterial can build up on it, and there could also be a sharp edge. 

The litter your using now looks okay, but likely a bit pricey for what it actually is. There are some cat litters that are okay. Yesterdays news - which a paper product cat litter... or a dust extracted naturally clumping unscented clay cat litter. I use the dust extracted stuff, and I love it.


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

Fresh World bedding is great  I prefer it over Yesterday's News, because it's a bit better for odors and I've never found any stray bits of wire/plastic in the bags like people have in YN. Anyways yeah, that litter house is going to get way too small for her very quickly. If she does use it as a litter box she'll likely want to sleep in it also, which could be bad, because of all the ammonia in her urine and stuff. I would just use a deep tupperware dish or an actual litter box made for small animals.


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## kimowen (Aug 20, 2010)

she had a night w the litter box and for some reason she wants to flick out the bedding so i took it out. and ya i knew she cldnt have it long term. i got another bin a thin small plastic container just in case that didnt work out. for some reason if i t a container with a top she takes out the bedding but if its open then she doesnt make a mess. wierd lol.


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## kimowen (Aug 20, 2010)

i think id rather have the cat litter. is it better on smell then the beddings? does ur rats uve had a long time still bite you now and them on purpose? lea is still biting when i go to rub on her in her cage she gets in a mood now and then and bites me. if i pick her up quickly and get her out she will not bite at all out of the cage.


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## toby (May 11, 2009)

kimowen said:


> she started giving me kisses on the mouth today lol! she grooms my face if i put it next to the cage! were def starting to bond


thats great news.


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## kimowen (Aug 20, 2010)

why does she act so crazy lol? sometimes shes nice but most of the time when i open her cage she just wants to bite me to be mean? once i get her out or give her a treat she acts better.


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## kimowen (Aug 20, 2010)

ok so the square litter pan has rounded corners and leah easily dumps it over. i clean her cage like at least every 3 days.


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