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The split capped boy has found a home (yay!)… but we are still looking for a new home for Curly, the creamy colored one. I forgot to mention that Curly also has beige patches on him. thanks. ~Jenn & the ratties de shika
We have found a home for the one split capped mouse. But we still need a home for Curly, the creamy colored one. I also forgot to mention that Curly has beige patches on him. Thanks! ~Jenn & the ratties de shika
Hi all~ I now have 5 of the remaining females. Thanks to Arrianne who ‘rescued’ them from this landlord -One of the females had babies, which are still in the care of Arrianne and won’t be ready for adoption until sometime in january. If you are interested in adopting these babies (they are only a wk old at the moment) please call Arrianne : (513) 720-0206 (she’s in Cincinnati). She did a wonderful job rehabilitating these girls -they are just beautiful -8 mos old champagnes with black eyes -they are still a bit shy, but are making real progress in that department. If you are interested in these adult females, email me at: shikasrattierescue@gmail.com –all potential new owners will have to complete our adoption process through the rescue. –I have no pics of them as of yet -and they will not be ready until at least the middle of January(socialization purposes only). (I am located just west of Cleveland). thanks. ~Jennifer
These guys are no longer at the shelter 🙂
Yes! please take your rat to the vet! ASAP! Time is usually short on these things. I am sorry about your situation, though. Maybe you can work the vet visit off, or something like that. Your dad should realize that even though he doesnt like the rat, he raised his kid(you) to be a responsible pet owner and he should be rewarding that.
or satin.. that may have been what i was thinking of. although i have heard of both terms. 🙂
they might be silky coat rats. (silk coated fur is very smooth and shiny) i am not sure though.. you might want to look it up. especially if they are silk coated, then to see if the thinner hair is usual.
your dog will probably be jealous regardless what you do, but to what degree, you wont know until you come faced with the situation. my dog gets jealous when i am on the phone! lol(i think its cause i am talking to ‘the phone’ instead of him :P) but there are ways to prevent or lessen the jealousy issue. i am not going to pretend i know everything about you and your dog(each dog is different, there are some better training methods than others, but each depends on the dog and family environment). nor do i know your dogs alpha/sub tendencies..but heres a few tips : 1) if you can, obtain a blanket/toy from the place where you are going to get your kitty from. if need be, give them a towel or rag for the cat to lay on and pick it up the next day. introduce the object to your dog. this way the kitty wont be a brand new smell, once you bring it home. (this may be impossible for you, if it is dont worry -i was just taking this from what you should do when bringing home a new human baby:P) 2) whatever you do, try not to deter from your normal schedule with your dog. this means DO NOT give him more love and attention than usual( just because there is a new one in the home and you are trying to compensate from any feelings of guilt) ~because there will come a time when the thrill of the new one is over and the ‘siblings’ are used to each other, where you’ll stop the over attention. this in itself can cause jealousy issues even if there were none to begin with. (ex: first hes the lovey dovey one, now nothing) So that is why its important to not do anything different. … a change in routine could signal to the dog that things really are different now , and that could cause issues too. ..if you feel your dog is getting left out, then pick an activity only you two can do(if you dont already) ~even a quick training session(or recap if hes already trained)… if training is made fun, dogs love it. it becomes like a bonding session between dog and owner. 3)also (for a possible prevention of aggression towards kitty), your dog will automatically see itself as a higher rank in the pack(your family), then the kitty. this could(may not make a difference at all, too) cause problems if your dog sees his rank being threatened by the cat. (ie: more attention to kitty, kitty comes first, etc etc~~but more than likely, the kitty will grow up and have the dog under its thumb:b)—So, things you could do: when coming home, greet the dog first, feed the dog first, acknowledge the dog first, then the cat. .. i have found my cat is jealous of anything and anyone i even look at (i dont know how i got stuck with these obssessive/possessive pets .lol).. if i happen to greet the dog first, the cat glares at dog and swats it in the face as she runs off. she wont have anything to do with me if i dont speak to her first…. its too funny. but then again that is a cat. i hope i didnt lose you in the answer and i hope this helps and serves as a general guideline or basic tip to start out with. you probably are worrying about nothing, but it is always good to be prepared. good luck with the new addition! 🙂
if its not a marking of territory that is the cause, then what karen said is the way to correct the problem. i dont see how giving your dog food at certain times of the day is a ‘style’, but that is what is needed to be done to get him on a schedule to be housetrained. ,,you say he is housetrained, but if there is nothing medically wrong, than what do you call it? …..id suggest going to your vet on this one. or you could tell us what type of answer you are looking for…what would you be willing to do? there are always ways of training that can make a person more comfortable with the process. as far as recent changes.. did anyone purchase new furniture? or rearange the furniture? anything that might upset your dogs daily routine and how they see things?
there is still debate on rat blocks containing all nutrients. there have been studies ive read on this in the past. whether you feed rat blocks or lite dog food, you should be supplementing with other foods. i do agree on getting rid of the seeds at least (seeds are high in fat for rats due to the oils in them) i do feed mine seeds as a treat, but not the main food source.~ive learned from experience with fat rats :b so what i do now, is feed lite dog and blocks (alternating) and i supplement at night with fruits and veggies. this way they get their variety and they dont get bored with eating.. ( i also give other fun treats to them, but in moderation so they dont gain excess pounds.) i think you ‘ll find a difference if you even just take out the seeds from your mixture.
babies are 2 weeks old.. i have pics posted on my website (different one from last post).. Dont forget!! they will be ready to be placed mid Sept (only one month from now!) thanks. http://www.freewebs.com/shikasrattierescue
id ask your vet first before using anything on your rat that is not intended for them. ..just because kitten or puppy flea shampoo doesnt hurt on some rodents, doesnt mean it wont hurt yours… ex: not all kittens/cats that have dog flea items put on them die or get sick, but many do. also, crazy psycho rat is right, it may be something other than fleas/mites. .. it could be nutrition based…. they could also have a mite that is microscopic, something that only a vet could identify for you, and that flea shampoo wouldnt help anyway. which if that were the case, putting something on them like kitten or puppy shampoo, would not help them and most likely make the situation worse. good luck with that.
i have to disagree with you psycho rat. sorry. my petstore used aspen because it had less dusting (breakoff from bedding that could be inhaled by the animals -also there were no oils in it).. i am not 100% sure about the pine, so i cant say -i just know that pine has more breakoff dust (i know im not saying this right [its late] but hopefully you know what i am talking about) other people say it has oils in it like cedar, but not as bad. that im not sure of. in a chain of command, so to speak, from best to worst- -carefresh(or other newspaper type litter was first, aspen 2nd, pine 3rd, chlorophyll litter 4th and cedar 5th…. corncob also makes a great litter -only problem with corncob is that it tends to mold almost immediately after getting wet.
that was the site i was going to recommend as well..great ideas for everything rat related! 😀
i use carefresh. i buy the 50 ltr bag because its more economical than just buying the smaller bag. . i worked in a petstore that used and recommended aspen litter. …pine ive heard is bad and cedar is a NO-NO –the fact that they still sell Cedar for small animal bedding amazes me.