I got three hairless boys (less than a year old, full grown, but not fixed) on Wednesday. With them I got their cage and a 50lb bag of Mazuri. So here come my questions:
Is the Mazuri a good food for them (pretty sure it's the 6F breeder version with lower protein) and is it better than Oxbow? I feed my girls the young rat version but they need to be switched to adult rat food after this bag. Would switching them to the Oxbow adult rat food or Mazuri be better?
The cage the boys came with is not really all the nice. I don't think the wires are powder coated. Also I'm unsure about the size. It's 31'' high by 30.5'' long and 14'' wide (or deep). Some rat cage calculators have said that's ok and some say it's not wide enough for any rats. What do y'all think? Cages are expensive so I don't want to invest in a new one immediately if it's not urgent, but I really want to take good care of them especially since their previous owner did not.
Also, if I were to get the boys neutered would they ever be able to live with my three girls (about six months old and not fixed)? Obviously introductions would be slow and probably one at a time, but it'd be nice to have them all together especially to have the hairless with the furred rats for cuddling. But the boys are brothers who have always lived together and the girls are sisters who have always lived together. Would they be opposed to new rats in their mischief? Would it be likely for them to fight?
I'm going to take them to the vet soon hopefully and see about getting them neutered. If that's an option and there's a chance of them all living together peacefully I'd like to wait and buy them a critter nation add on so they can all live together rather than buying another single cage for the boys.
Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!!!
Is the Mazuri a good food for them (pretty sure it's the 6F breeder version with lower protein) and is it better than Oxbow? I feed my girls the young rat version but they need to be switched to adult rat food after this bag. Would switching them to the Oxbow adult rat food or Mazuri be better?
The cage the boys came with is not really all the nice. I don't think the wires are powder coated. Also I'm unsure about the size. It's 31'' high by 30.5'' long and 14'' wide (or deep). Some rat cage calculators have said that's ok and some say it's not wide enough for any rats. What do y'all think? Cages are expensive so I don't want to invest in a new one immediately if it's not urgent, but I really want to take good care of them especially since their previous owner did not.
Also, if I were to get the boys neutered would they ever be able to live with my three girls (about six months old and not fixed)? Obviously introductions would be slow and probably one at a time, but it'd be nice to have them all together especially to have the hairless with the furred rats for cuddling. But the boys are brothers who have always lived together and the girls are sisters who have always lived together. Would they be opposed to new rats in their mischief? Would it be likely for them to fight?
I'm going to take them to the vet soon hopefully and see about getting them neutered. If that's an option and there's a chance of them all living together peacefully I'd like to wait and buy them a critter nation add on so they can all live together rather than buying another single cage for the boys.
Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!!!