[KennaBoo]

Hello all! I've been talking with a few people on this forum and they've all suggested I should adopt another female rat for my sweet girl Luna (since her sister passed away about a week ago now).

However I'm having enormous trouble trying to find rats up for adoption in my area. Of course, I don't want to adopt any more animals from PetSmart and chain pet stores since I just lost my Lily because I was sold already sick rats.. So I've been looking around for other ratties available. I found quite a few breeders where I live (Colorado) but out of the ones I've researched, only two of the breeders are still active. The others have stopped breeding rats at this point. The two breeders I looked in to though say they only have a few litters a year (which is understandable) but apparently plenty of people are already on waiting lists, and I don't really want Luna to be a lone rat for that long.

I've also checked many websites and humane societies trying to find them. The humane society in my town only has males at the moment. The others I've found are states away and since I don't have a car for the time being I wouldn't be able to travel very long distances like that.

I found some girls in Golden, CO. It's a few hours away from me but I have friends who would be willing to drive that distance with me. The only issue is all the ratties at the Golden humane society are adults or seniors and Luna is only about 5 months old. I was kind of hoping for a relatively same age group so they pass around the same general time so one of them doesn't get extremely depressed when the other passes away.

So basically, does anybody know of anyone (breeders, accidental litters, etc.) that are adopting out females? If so thank you very much! Luna & I appreciate it! And if not I'll just adopt the girls from Golden. Thanks though!

 

[moonkissed]

It is kindof nice to mix up the age groups so you do not end up with a bunch of sick rats at the same time. Vet bills for rats are usually very very expensive. It is also nice in a way for us so we don't lose our entire mischief in one swoop.

If you enjoy rats and think you want to keep them for a long time, I'd say go with the girls in Golden and also sign up for a breeders waiting list- if you can afford multiple rats/cage is large enough. So then you will have a nice group of ages and unless something tragic happens you should still have a friend when the older girls pass.

My best advice for finding local rat rescues/breeders/rats up for adoption is to look on facebook. I have had the very best luck there with finding active people in the community. If you search facebook for like: rat colorado or rat your city/largest city near you. or if u r on a border rat /the state. You will very likely find some groups. Join! Then just make a post saying what city you are in and that you are looking for younger girls. I am very sure you would find someone! Though always there is the risk that no one close enough to you. But you never know unless you try. Sometimes people also are willing to drive to u or meet u half way for extra $$.

Either way I find that girls are fairly easy to introduce. There may be some squabbles but if there is no blood then just let them sort it out. I'd make sure to clean the cage really well scrub it all down before combining them. Even better it is a good idea to quarantine your new girls away from your current rats for atleast 2 weeks. http://ratguide.com/health/basics/quarantine.php

 

[KennaBoo]

Alright, thank you! I'll re-activate my Facebook account and check it out, I had no idea they had rat groups on there, then again I haven't been on Facebook in 3 or 4 years. That's pretty cool though, lol.
If I don't find any girls in my general area then I'll probably just head over to Golden and pick them up

Another question I have is when I get the new ratties and introduce them (if they take it well) will they eventually act like a big happy family or will they never be as close because they're not from the same litter?

 

[moonkissed]

Another question I have is when I get the new ratties and introduce them (if they take it well) will they eventually act like a big happy family or will they never be as close because they're not from the same litter?

They should act as one big happy family. There are always the rare rat that is just a cranky one. But in my experience girls just meld really well most of the time. They will probably welcome the new girl as a fellow sister.

For example my current mischief of girls not counting itty bitty babies I have 9 females. 5 are sisters & 1 is the mom of those 5. The others I all got as lone rats. All of my girls sleep together, snuggle each other, play together, etc... They all act as if they are all sisters <3 but the girls who are sisters do not act any closer to each other at all.

I have a million pics of them all snuggled together but this was my most recent one that I am loving.

 

[KennaBoo]

Well I'm definitely relieved to hear that! I hope all goes well with Luna and her cage mates (when I adopt them of course) I'll post updates to if anything goes wrong or I have any issues. Fingers crossed!

 

[KennaBoo]

I just got on this forum using my computer for the first time, and the picture you posted on here finally came up.. Lol. That is sooo incredibly adorable though!! They're all so precious! <3

 

[Mojojuju]

Wow, there is so much adorable packed into that one hammock!

Is the runt a baby, or is she a dwarf?

 

[moonkissed]

Wow, there is so much adorable packed into that one hammock!

Is the runt a baby, or is she a dwarf?

She is my little runt Yuna. I wanna say she was 3-4 weeks in that photo.

She is a miracle baby. She got pushed aside on day 2 & we had to pray and really work to keep her alive and healthy. Everyday I was so afraid to check on them as I thought she would be gone but she fought. She never let it stop her and was a little fighter. She is doing amazing now. She went through a growth spurt at about 3 weeks old but hasn't grown much since. She will likely always be tiny. I was hoping her mom would nurse her for longer but her mom weaned them all a bit early and was done with that! She gets extra nums though now.

She has been escaping her cage because she is so tiny she can fit through the tiniest holes! I've had to put her back in the nursery cage for now.

I still worry about her, with her start she may still have health issues in the future or a short life. She is a sweetheart though.

Ill post new pics of her on her thread tomorrow.
http://www.ratforum.com/showthread.php?285945-Yuna-the-littlest-runt

 

[KennaBoo]

She's really cute! I'm glad to hear she survived and is doing well though! Hopefully it stays that way!

 

[rats-alive-at-55]

Denver Dumb Friends League has 11 female rats up for adoption ranging from 3 m.o. to 10 m.o. Check it out:
http://www.ddfl.org/adoption

C in C

<:3( )~~~

 

[KennaBoo]

I actually called them up about a week or so ago now because I had also seen that they had plenty of girls up for adoption. I called them and asked how many rats they had available, and the man told me they only had 2 left. I mentioned to him about the website and how it had quite a few female rats up for adoption on there and he said they just haven't updated the website yet. I was pretty bummed out about it, but oh well. I'll most likely look into adopting them if the person I'm talking to now about adopting two girls falls through and doesn't work out, that is if they're still there, of course. Lol.

 

[Ratloved]

Hi moon kissed, I would love to see current pictures of yuna also. She has a Such a fighting spirit, which reminds me of someone I helped to fight to stay alive, ( but that's a whole other story)I also love her coloring too, such a pretty little girl. I can't help but think how bonded you probably have become while helping her in her fight to persevere. Are you going to keep her?

 

[rats-alive-at-55]

Bummer KennaBoo! CL didn't have much either. Try this one: http://denver.craigslist.org/pet/5276648572.html
This one is closer to you but doesn't mention the age of the girls http://fortcollins.craigslist.org/pet/5274112508.html
One more in Boulder but they don't say the age of the rats. Looks like they got them from a breeder (?) http://boulder.craigslist.org/for/5265518737.html

Hope this is helpful.
C in C

<:3(###)~~~

 

[KennaBoo]

Thank you so much for all your help! Actually one of the previous Craiglist postings you showed me is the one that finally seems to have promise (all the others either never responded to me, or most of them had already adopted out the ratties), I'm adopting two girls from in Fort Collins, I met them today to!

 

[Ratloved]

Woot!!

 

[Ratloved]

Woot!!

 

[Ratloved]

Lol sorry didn't mean to post twice.

 

[KennaBoo]

Lol it's okay. I just got your message to Hahah

 

[rats-alive-at-55]

Yes! So glad I could help.

C in C