[taralyncouture]

well i know everyone as do i disagrees with pet store ratties but all the ones at the shelters were male and fiona does not need children lol. well i got the cutest little one ever. I named her Lola =] and i got her home and put her in a seperate cage and everything. because fiona is at my moms (i'm going there tonight) and alot of the rat stuf. so i'm temporarily (and i mean about 2 hours) using a plastic thing a pumice stone came in and a water cap for food and water dishes, ghetto right? haha. (i have proper dishes and water bottle at my moms) and well on the way home i was playing with her, and she has diareah should i pick up some wet tail medicine? and also she doesnt seem interested in the food at all she's more interested in the bedding(i use carefresh) and she's like eating it. is this okay? or should i take it out asap? one last thing when should i introduce the two? Fiona is about 6 months and Lola is SMALL i mean smaller than a hamster. I know to quarentine her for atleast 3 weeks. but when do i just let the two get to know eachother? I don't want Fiona to hurt her or anything.

 

[Forensic]

Wet tail medicine is for hamsters, and I don't think it'd be good for a rat... She's probably been eating something that was new to her or she's afraid and therefore fear-pooping (often, a lot). If she's actually eating the carefresh it could clog up her digestive system. If she's just figuring out what it is, it should be all right. After the three week quarantine you can move them closer and let them smell each other and then introduce them on neutral ground. If they've both been alone they'll likely be happy to see each other. And the little one will be much bigger by then.

 

[Darksong17]

well i know everyone as do i disagrees with pet store ratties but all the ones at the shelters were male and fiona does not need children lol. well i got the cutest little one ever. I named her Lola =] and i got her home and put her in a seperate cage and everything. because fiona is at my moms (i'm going there tonight) and alot of the rat stuf. so i'm temporarily (and i mean about 2 hours) using a plastic thing a pumice stone came in and a water cap for food and water dishes, ghetto right? haha. (i have proper dishes and water bottle at my moms) and well on the way home i was playing with her, and she has diareah should i pick up some wet tail medicine? and also she doesnt seem interested in the food at all she's more interested in the bedding(i use carefresh) and she's like eating it. is this okay? or should i take it out asap? one last thing when should i introduce the two? Fiona is about 6 months and Lola is SMALL i mean smaller than a hamster. I know to quarentine her for atleast 3 weeks. but when do i just let the two get to know eachother? I don't want Fiona to hurt her or anything.

Do not pick up pet store wet tail medicine. It is only for hamsters and even then it isn't even strong enough to really work. Most pet store remedies are junk in general and only a vet can prescribe things properly. The moist poos (providing they are just moist and not flat out liquid) might be "fear poo". This is not unusual to see when first bringing rats home. It is the result of the rat being nervous or stressed. These poos are usually moist and very smelly. If these poos are more than just squishy moist poos or continue for too long I would take her to the vet.

Is she only nibbling at the bedding a little or really eating it? And what food are you feeding her?

 

[taralyncouture]

I feed the girls the grain mix everyone on here raves about. with a mix of nutro senior dog formula. and thanks you guys. she's doing a lot better now. I let them hang out the other day. And they were in love with eachother. haha its so cute Lola rides on fionas back =]

 

[Darksong17]

I feed the girls the grain mix everyone on here raves about. with a mix of nutro senior dog formula. and thanks you guys. she's doing a lot better now. I let them hang out the other day. And they were in love with eachother. haha its so cute Lola rides on fionas back =]

I'm glad she's doing better but I'm a little confused. Did you complete quarantine before letting them interact? If you didn't then you broke quarantine by doing that.

 

[taralyncouture]

ugh i fail as in owner. so what can i do if i did that?

 

[Darksong17]

ugh i fail as in owner. so what can i do if i did that?

Honestly? You can't really do anything. The whole point of quarantine is to keep them in separate air spaces (different buildings preferably) with no interaction so that no germs are spread. Germs can be spread in the air, on clothes (hence why you change clothes and wash hands between handling them), or through direct interaction of the two animals (saliva etc.)

It's very likely too late since from what I understand they interacted for a good while for play time. At this point I'd just begin the introductions. Make sure you go about things nice and slow and there shouldn't be any problems. And of course keep an eye out for any signs of illness.

Here's some good links on introducing rats to each other:

http://ratguide.com/care/behavior/introducing_rats.php
http://www.ratfanclub.org/newrat.html


Good luck!

 

[taralyncouture]

Well I decided to put them in the same cage since they hit it off so well, and they would look for eachother if the other wasnt there. the only thing is, Fiona carries lola(the baby) by her neck like a mother would if lola is downstaires of the cage. Fiona even made a bed for her on top of her box. but they're sleeping together in a little fleece bed But sometimes she'll grab her by the ear or foot to bring her up, theres no blood but she make a horrid squeek. she i put her in a seperate cage anyways? or is this normal?

 

[Forensic]

It sounds okay... mainly mothering/showing the little one who's bigger.