[SamsterAndRocky]

ok so our neighbors couldnt keep up with the rent of their apartmen so they are gonna stay with me and my b/f for a couple weeks till they find a new place...they bring with them some newts and crayfish, a mommy rat and her 4 babies (like 3 or 4 days old), and their other male rat (younger than rocky)....i know ur gonna say about putting them in seperate rooms if not seperate air...but all three of these rats came from the same shop and have not shown any signs of illness....infact the two that were thought to be hairless (the mother and the ypunger rat) are growing fur back.....um, thoughts on this maybe?

 

[Forensic]

Re: guests for a couple weeks

Considering your rat came from them they've probably all by exposed to the same things, except what the mother and babes brought with them. As long as they're all healthy, I guess you cross your fingers. :?

 

[Forensic]

Re: guests for a couple weeks

As for the two 'hairless' they're probably double rex, which has a few variations: almost completely and permanently hairless, grows in hair and loses hair, or grows hair in patches. :lol:

 

[SamsterAndRocky]

Re: guests for a couple weeks

the mother came from the same shop, in fact the same tank....she didnt have the babies till she was at the neighbors......basicly all of the rats have been together... they all shared the same tank at the pet shop....then rocky and the younger one were in a tank together, then they gave me rocky and put the mother in the tank with the younger one w/o cleaning it out first...then she had babies and they moved the younger one to his own tank.....*whew* thats a mouth full....im not gonna take pics with flash of the mum yet, cuz of the babies and stuff....but i took a pc of the younger one (they call him rufus....not that they really pay attention to him.....only to change his food/ water) and i got the bald spot form a couple angles.....i made sure not to be in his face with the flash.....i was far away....*poor ratties* being "owned" by people who dont want to bother to research info.

 

[Forensic]

Re: guests for a couple weeks

I don't think there's any reason you can't use a flash with the babes. INterested in the photo though.

 

[SamsterAndRocky]

Re: guests for a couple weeks

heres the young one (rufus....although its funny, i wanted his name to be rex when they first got him and he was still hairless...lol)

heres the mum and you can see two of the 4 babies

 

[OnlyOno]

Re: guests for a couple weeks

rufus looks more like a regular rex with barbering... no? how young were they when you got them? maybe his baby coat was very fine? the possibility of a double-rex is still there though. baby pics! they don't have open eyes, lol, what flash could hurt them anyway?

 

[SamsterAndRocky]

Re: guests for a couple weeks

i think rufus is a double rex.....he was totally bald except for curly whiskers when they got him (dont know the ages...petstore rats).... the mama is getting fuzz on her, she too was bald completely when they got her.... they only got him (rufus) like 9 days ago....and her (the mama) like 7 or 8 days ago.... she had her babies like 3ish/4ish...maybe almost 5 days ago, not sure excactly....rufus is a little smaller than the rat in my siggy (rocky).....as for the whole flash issue, im not so worried about the babes as much as mama.

 

[Poppyseed]

Re: guests for a couple weeks

Is that pine shavings in a tank O_O Poor things. I mean pregnate nursing moms are suppose to be in a large tank, but not any other rats.

Please tell me that is aspen.

 

[SamsterAndRocky]

Re: guests for a couple weeks

i dont know what shavings are in the tanks....they are not my rats.... if they were my rats they'd be on aspen (like my rat and hamster are) and would have real cages.....and id have cages waiting for the babies for when they reach 5 weeks.... instead of just one of those plastic things that u can keep hermit crabs and such in (like for taking small animals to show-and-tell or something)....but they arent my rats.....i have now included them in my daily rounds...and the one thats probly a double rex gets to play on me when im doing face to face time individually....i'll start including the mama and babies in that once the babes get fur and open their eyes..... like i said, i feel for them.....their owners (the neighbors who are now our guests/room mates) did not do proper research before getting them, and are making no effort what so ever to learn about their new animals.

 

[SamsterAndRocky]

updated....baby pics

heres the mama and her babies....u can see all 4 of them in this pic

just the babies...mama went to get a drink and eat

and mama...u can see where the fur has grown back on her face and ears....she has fuzz all over her now...it just isnt thick enough to show up on the camera yet... her and the other rat (who is in a tank next to her's) are both double rexs who lose their hair and grow it back mostly, from what i suspect....

 

[SamsterAndRocky]

lastnight i put a whole bunch of shredded toilet paper from a new roll into the mama's cage cuz i figured that those shavings can't be comfy....so she took them all over to where her babes are and made a nest....they seem happier..... i put some in the little boy's cage too.... he seems to like it.... i found a little 3 shelf bookcase and layed it on the floor and put both the boys in the middle slot because rocky has never been in it and niether has rufus....so they were doin their thing sniffin and exploring... i decided to take a video of them playin....well they were playin and rocky jumped up on one of the edges and escaped....i got it on video, and i caught him and put him back... then i put the floor grate that i took out of the bird's cage when i bought it (so its never been used at all, except as a screen for the top of rufus's tank) and i put it over top so they couldnt get out.....i put a slipper on each end so it would be harder to move..... well, rocy starts trying to get out...he jumps up and grabs the bars and uses them like monkey bars to try to find a way out.... he realizes theres no way out except for a little gap on one side because the 'screen' isnt wide enough....so he tries there...he gets his head out, and i tap his hands lightly so he lets go of the edge.....so the both of them go back to bein rats, sniffin around and what not.....all the sudden rufus (the smaller one) jumps up and grabs the edge......i tap his hands and he lets go....i say "rocky, quit teaching him to be sneaky"...lol....so then i watch them for a bit more and put some cheerieos in there for them.....rocky keeps stealin off of rufus, cuz he can do that cuz he's bigger..... i guess rufus tried to steal off rocky and they started bein mean....so i sprayed them with a spray bottle and tell them to be nice..... later it happens again and so i do it again......then they are being nice so i tape the screen down and put a strip of tape along the gap.....then i go on the computer (they are right next to the computer so i can see whats going on)...... i hear a squeek a little while later and i see rufus on his back with rocky standing over him, i sprayed them and said be nice to eachother boys.... later it happens again and i spray them and say "if i hear one more squeek you're both going in your seperate cages"....i dont hear anything for a bit, then "squeek squeek squeeeeek" i spray them and tell them "thats it, i told u guys to play nice" and i tried to pick rocky up first.....he didnt want to go......i told him that he wasnt being nice so he was going to his room (cage).....then i did the same thing with rufus..... there was no peeing going on....nobody got injured....and there were only 4 rasins to pick up... i think it went pretty well.....i plan on doing it later too

 

[lilspaz68]

Oh wow, that is one young, skinny mama. Is her diet being supplemented? Is she getting extra protein, lots of healthy foods etc? I really don't like how thin she is.

I know she's not yours but can you try to feed her?

 

[SamsterAndRocky]

the neighbors are basicly living at the hospital cuz the guy kept getting nasy toenails (black pusy and painfull) and weird pusy sores all over his legs and butt....so yes, the chick likes the way im taking care of the animals...so tell me what kinds of stuff i can feed the skinny mama...i thought she was skinny too, but then i thought maybe that was cuz im not used to rats...tell me what to feed them to supplement the kaytee food that hey have, if i had money id buy something differant....but yeah, tell me what i can feed them....please it would be wonderful if you guys could help me out here, like i've said i wanna do this right.



EDIT: oh yeah, i made the little boy a hammock.... and cleaned a plastic hut/house thing from my hamster (hasnt been used, just in with the extra tubes, which i let the ratties run around in daily too) and put it in his tank too, the only cage i have is really small, so ive opted to keep him in the tank for now and just add things to keep him busy

 

[lilspaz68]

Well Kaytee sucks. You could possibly make up a version of Suebee's mix with a low protein, low fat dog kibble.

google Suebee's Mix.

For supplements for mom. Baby cereal is a good one, baby food in the jars (chicken anything is usually loved)...will help with the protein. You can give her tuna, chicken, eggs, etc for protein, and veggies, like carrots, leaf lettuce, spinach (vit K etc), thawed frozen peas and corn, etc. She is young and feeding babies so she needs the help. The flesh can melt off of them if they don't get it.

 

[SamsterAndRocky]

ok, so i had tuna, frozen corn, cheerieos, frozen green beans? (yes or no), and a couple cooked noodles....its kinda the end of the month and we are really low on food...i did what i could. i emptied her food dish and cleaned it out with anti-bacterial dish soap...apperently it was used for some sort of small dog or cat before and they didnt properly clean all of it....i think they only cleaned the actual inside of the bowl (how well, i dont know) there was hair and fuzz and grime stuck under the dish (its a small plastic dog/cat food dish)...ick.....but i cleaned it all up...she was actually up getting a drink when i went to get her dish, so i put some tuna on a spoon and offered it to her....to my suprize she ate it right of the spoon with only a tiny bit of caution....i left the spoon in the tank while i went to clean and fill her dish...i had tuna left over so i gave some to my other furry friends....they went crazy over it....i gave the little one a bit more than rocky got, but just cuz he's a bit younger and i figured he could use it.... my hamster loved it too....he just sat there licking it lazily off my finger (he licks off my finger, he doesnt bite, sometimes he uses his teeth to scrape off food but never actually bites my finger)....even my human pet loves tuna...lol



as for foods for mama and the others (they r a bit skinny too....fur covers it well though) how about oatmeal (the stuff that cooks fast...unflavored), white rice, cornbread, and mashed potatoes (instant).... im gonna make an egg for dinner, how shoulld i make it (scrambled or boiled...and how long should i boil the egg)

 

[lilspaz68]

Everything sounds good, doesn't matter about the egg.

Only thing to watch is the rice. Rice is wonderful for "stopping up" a rat who has diarrhea, so you have to be careful how much you give to a rat who has a healthy digestive system.

:mrgreen:

 

[SamsterAndRocky]

ok thanks....i really apriciate all the help....i really do want everyone to be happy and healthy... the two boys are gonna be moving in together eventually.....when they get used to eachother, and when i get a huge cage.... when mama went to get a drink she kinda dragged a babe with her...so i put him lovingly back in the toilet paper nest she built for them....she seemed glad.

 

[SamsterAndRocky]

...and how old would u estimate each of the rats to be.... rocky is the one on my shirt, rufus is the little boy, and JellyBean is the mama..... there are more pics of rocky in meet my rat.

 

[lilspaz68]

...and how old would u estimate each of the rats to be.... rocky is the one on my shirt, rufus is the little boy, and JellyBean is the mama..... there are more pics of rocky in meet my rat.

Rocky looks 6-8 weeks in the pic, Jellybean looks 3-4 months and I haven't seen any pics of Rufus.

These are just guesses mind you.