Trouble in the air.

[WiccanWolf]

Couple pics of my current rat, Trouble.



And her in one of her favorite sleeping poses.



^.".^

[Alyssa_Rat]

aww look at her/his little chubby arms!! i want her/him!! lol.. is that your only rat??

[Night]

Where are the toys? Hidey houses? Hammocks? A tank really isn't an acceptable living space for a rat at all. Also, you should never keep rats alone - you need to get her a friend.

[Nazarath]

aaww she is truely a beautiful rat , Is that a single story?? or do you have a topper of some sort?

[JennieLove]

I do agree with Night. Other than that she is VERY beautiful.

[WiccanWolf]

Night seems out to get me. I have always kept my rats in a tank and they've never had an issue with it. I see a lot of people keep them in wire cages and I must say that the only rat I ever kept in a wire cage chewed on fingers and anything else that got near the cage slats so I prefer to keep them in tanks. And no, he wasn't that way before I kept them in one. Besides they don't get bedding everywhere this way.

We had some chewy sticks in there which she used a little bit but otherwise she just moved them along with rearranging her bedding. Right now she is an only rat and I've been bugging my husband to let me get her a friend but he won't as he didn't want another rat in the first place. She loves being petted in her cage but would prefer not be out of it. She's one of those that makes a fuss getting out of her cage but usually goes back in with no problem. A great example is our top has the two holes in it for habitrails and stuff and our old one was that way as well but it was chewed badly from our last batch o' rats so the lid for the hole didn't lock properly. We use this hole to feed her treats and she eventually learned to take the old lid off when she wanted a treat. She would take the lid off and stick her nose out of the hole and then sit back down and look at you and repeat the process. We eventually had to get a new lid because we'd wake up or come back from somewhere and find the lid in her cage and her sitting at the hole waiting for a treat. Never once did she even attempt to escape but we got a new lid anyway just in case.

She used to get out and run around on our desks and hide in our hair but we recently got a cat so we are introducing them slowly. The cat gets on the cage top and rolls around one and chirps at Trouble. The rat is curious and usually stretches up to sniff at Joy.

^.".^

[Star]

Ohhh :cry: , a rat is not truely happy living alone(and she doesn't have any toys :x ).. And I can't believe she lives in a aquarium, barely ever comming out . Why would you do that to her? it sounds like she never gets out now that you have a cat... which btw, cats Are pretaors, and will hunt a rat.
Everything about your post really made me feel bad for her . I'd agree with your husband that maybe you shouldn't have gotten a rat. I'm sorry but the conditions she's kept in sound alarms with any pet owner. And it really doesn't sound like you socalised her or any of the other rats properly.
Please concider geting a tall wire cage, maybe with a deep base so bedding doesn't get everywhere. IF you get a wire cage, she should get a friend aswell. And please read up on socialising properly, and find aswell that rats do enjoy toys, and should not be deprived of what You say "she doesn't seem to like". There are so many toy options to keep her stimulated. She really sounds bored and lonely :? .

[reachthestars]

Night is not 'out to get you', she's pointing out that your rat's living conditions are subpar. Aquariums get amonia buildup very quickly and can lead to myco flairups. is that a 10 gallon? That's way to small for an adult rat .

Do you ever put hammocks in for her? Does she have a hiding spot? I can't imagine she's very happy living the way she is .

[Nazarath]

I know it seems like a lot of people are out to get you but they don't mean to sound like this. I've had this problem before and just try to think of it as you can't hear what people are saying since we can only type out conversations we have no clue what their voice sounds like. I will admit i get bent out of shape every now and then. Knowone likes to have someone rip their head off and say they shouldn't have the joy of owning a rat or any other pet. I think we all just need to try and use more things like "try this" "maybe you can" "you should try this" etc. so we all don't sound like big evil people.
If you can't get a wire cage maybe you can push to get a topper for the cage?? I have 2 my girls in a topper i clean every 2 days to help with amonia. Also a lot of my girls don't seem to like coming out, if you would like to have her out more you can try Forced Soci. I hear a lot of good things about it. Then if you don't want to force her i can tell you of a method i use that also works very well .
Once again i'm sorry it seems like we're all attacking you, I hope i didn't come off this way and if i did i'm truely sorry.

[Wench]

She is very pretty.

You should consider what is being said by some of the people here though, especially those comments towards you rat's living conditions.

I am in no position to jump down anyone's throat because my rat has a fairly small cage and one toy - but she spends up to 16 hours a day outside of her cage playing in my bedroom and making toys out of my things. What you need to consider is that your rat has absolutely no means of exercising her mind.

Rats are extremely intelligent and they absolutely must have mental stimulation. You cannot keep a rat like that. I don't see a nest box, toys, anything. You can make her a nest box out of anything - a half of a shoebox lined with toilet paper, a bit of cardboard, even a tissue box. You can go to the pet store and buy her one very cheaply if you don't want to make her one.

Toys for rats are fairly easy to make and cheap to buy as well. String some treats on a bit of thread from the top of her cage and let her have fun trying to grab them. roll up some tissue paper and wrap some treats in it and let her dig them out. The point is that she is given something productive to do.

There are probably multiple reasons your rat does not want to come out of her enclosure.

Reason #1 - She is scared. She lives in a glass tank. She cannot smell what's going on around her, she cannot poke her nose out and make sure everything's all clear. She has nowhere to hide when she's nervous.

Reason #2 - She is badly socialised. If you keep any rat on it's own, especially if you leave her in the cage as often as you say you do, it will become nervous, it will be less likely to gain the confidence to bond properly with you, and it will be just plain unhappy. Rats are social. They are not supposed to be alone. Bottom line.

If rats you kept in cages chewed fingers they probably had good reason. How often did you let them out? Did you often use your fingers to feed them treats through the bars?

I keep Angelina Doris (my girl ratty) in a wire cage and she never chews fingers, and I have never had that problem.

The reason people are telling you an aquarium is not suitable for a rat is mostly because of health reasons. Your little friend may very quickly end up with respiratory problems. There is a lot of ammonia in their waste, and it builds up in a glass aquarium. Imagine being in a humid tank with nowhere to hide, nothing to do but sit and breathe in the smell of your own waste. Not a very good life.