[Bloodied_Kitten]

I'm new here and just recently aquired a second rat.

This one is REALLY little. Like, baby little.

I was told that it was a hairless, but I'm starting to have some doubts, especially after being told it was a three month old kitten.

Okay, first off, aren't rats nearly .. big when three months old?

Second, this dealer was selling these large tortoises, apparently the ones you "see at zoos".
Aren't they at zoos for a reason?

There were also flying squirrels, which I'm sure you need some sort of lisensce to have to own one.

And can someone tell me about Deguls? Or Beguls? Something along those lines.

I included a picture of the little one, his name is Jon :]

I was wondering if he really was a hairless, because the dealer told me his hair was going to fall out, but it's been quite the contrary, his fur seems to be getting fuller and fuller.

I noticed his whiskers are curly though, which makes me wonder if he's just a rex?

Please and thank you :]

 

[Forensic]

Gosh, he does look like a baby...

If he is it could still be possible that his hair will eventually fall out when he gets in adult hair...

 

[Stephanie]

looks like he is no more than seven weeks old and he looks like a double rex or patchwork hairless. Meaning the double rex's grow hair and then it falls out. the patch work hairless has spots that fall out and then regrow in

 

[OnlyOno]

yeah, i'd say rex, but you should wait a little longer for his hair to fall out/possibly come back in. he looks so skinny to me, as well as being so young... baby mozart is only supposed to be 4 weeks old, but she looks bigger, or maybe just more fuller than jon...

 

[Poppyseed]

Aww, that is a tiny baby. I would say he's 5 weeks old. I don't think Mozart is only four weeks, she looks older Ono. Not sure though sometimes it's hard to tell.

I LOVE his huge head. Yeah 4-5 weeks I would say.

 

[Bloodied_Kitten]

Ugh. I KNEW those people had no idea what they were talking about.

They kept females and males in the same cage.

It really disgusted me and I really wanted to take them all home. The lady there didn't even seem to care. She grabbed Jon by his tail and everything.

thanks guys :].

I was wondering, if it's normal for the little guy to start tackling the big guy? I know I know, I should've quarentined, but my father stuck them in the same cage before I could do anything about it.

It somehow ends up that Jon sneaks up on my other rat and tackles him, biting his tail and such. I'm wondering if it's just playfulness.

Also, everytime I take him out of his cage, he just crawls in my shirt and falls asleep. Is that normal for such a young guy to do? I thought they were energetic when young and become lazy when older..

Sorry for all the questions, this is my first hairless! My last girl was a patchwork, and she slept too.

Oh and, the dealer had been feeding him hamster mix.. which I know isn't that great for rats, but he refuses to eat the pellets I give him. Any ideas?

Thanks again guys :] I really appreciate it. I'm sure Jon does too!

 

[tattered_teddy_bear]

look for some kind of MIXED rat food with lots of different things in it rather then just blocks, i've not seen pelets unless i'm thinking of something compleatly different.

 

[Bloodied_Kitten]

I heard that if you get a mix, the rat won';t get as much benefits from it due to the ratty picking and choosing the best bits.

 

[tattered_teddy_bear]

i awlays heard that the blocks don't give them a broad variety. dog biscuts are good to give them too, because of the protien. There's so man veiws on food and such. =)

 

[Forensic]

Lab blocks give them the bulk of their nutrition, but they should be supplemented with treats like fresh veggies/fruits, etc.

My younger rats tackle the older ones all the time, but that's because Guinness (second youngest) now rules the cage and Pernod, my largest, is far too lazy to care. :lol:

 

[Stephanie]

I would get him some 2018 teklad global rat block it is for rats under 8 months then i would definitely suppliment with baby food, ensure and baby cereal. so that he starts putting on the weight I am personally iffy about giving a rat dog food or dog biscuits though i hear it is fine i just don't trust it. Give him lots of fruits and veggies no oranges though. you can get the food online at www.ratshop.com There is also a really good book on there by Debbie D. (the rat lady) just give it a check LoL

 

[reachthestars]

Looks like you got yourself a nice double rex boy. His hair will grow in and then fall out for his entire life, so you have a new rat every day!

 

[OnlyOno]

it's true that ratties will pick out their favorites from any mix, but if you just leave the food in there until they've sufficiently started eating the stuff that initially they ignored, it will get them the nutrients they need. it all depends on if you have a soft heart or not, and wish to refill their bowl as soon as they glance sideways at it, lol.

and i agree that mozart looks way older than 4 weeks. she's over half the size of picasso who i was told looks about 4 months. there was a sticker on the cage mozart was bought from saying "born 4/3". i sure hope she's not much older, or she could be preggers by way of her brothers.

 

[2manyrats]

Aww, what a little guy!

I just introduced a baby boy (no older than 4-5 weeks) to a full-grown male. I know that sometimes older males have been known to attack and kill babies, but these were introduced carefully and there were no problems.

Anyways, the little boy does the same thing that you describe - trying to tackle the older guy, and biting the tail. I've seen that happen with all the introductions between babies and adults - the babies are just so playful, and haven't entirely figured out social protocols, so they're playing in ways that aren't cool with older rats (like the tail biting). They seem to grow out of the tail biting behavior by ~2 months. Sometimes I've also seen them pull on ears and grab the older rats by the scruff of their necks, but only while they're pretty young.

As far as going to sleep in your shirt, that's totally normal. He's still a little bitty dude, and the younguns need a lot of sleep, plus they're masters at crashing anywhere comfy. As he gets older, he won't need so much sleep or need to sleep so regularly, so he'll be much more active when he comes out of the cage. You could try taking him out at night, also, when they're more active.

 

[lostbutnotforgot]

Sleeping on you is fine. My Betty looked about Jon's size when I bought her and she slept in my coat pocket for the first couple of weeks. Then she became more active. I think she just became friendlier and the weather was warming up. She had hair, but I don't think she ever had as much as your little guy does. Now she only has some fuzz on her face and fuzzy little legs (of which I tell her jokingly she needs to shave).

 

[Strike2]

You do have to have license in most states for flying squirrels, but not for "degus" ...they are like gerbils really...a little bigger.

 

[Sara_C]

And more intelligent and sociable Degus are ace.

 

[mnic001]

Wow that's cute. I can't wait to get my own.