Favorite Video of the Week

I found this video on youtube that shows all the different ways rats are like tiny dogs with hands.

Weekly Rat Facts: Bathing

Most rats do not need to be bathed. I've been asked this question several times and I give the same answer every time. If they smell bad it's probably time to clean the cage instead of giving them a bath, a dirty cage will make them stinky. But sometimes a rat may need to be cleaned and some rats like water and some do not. It's not a good idea to force your rat into water if it's scaring them. But sometimes it is necessary to clean them and I'll give you tips on how to do this while not stressing your rat out. 

Rats only need to be cleaned or bathed if they get into something sticky, smelly or they are getting so old they stop cleaning themselves, which does happen to older rats. In which case you will need to help clean your rat. 

You will need:

A small bowl with warm water

2 medium size towel

A wash cloth

Unscented Baby wipes

Q Tips

Small Animal Shampoo

The small animal shampoo I've used is called Squeaky Clean and you can find it at most pet stores but you can also use Baby Shampoo or Dawn Dish soap. 

To begin you should give your rat a treat like a yogi drop and sit somewhere they are comfortable. I do this on the couch because they are very comfortable there. 

Put one of the towels on the couch next to you and put your rat on it. This is so your couch doesn't get wet. 

For small areas to clean like a spot in the fur, a dirty tail or just cleaning the genital area for older rats. You can use just the baby wipes and wipe your rat down and clean them off. 

For tougher more serious smells, a really dirty rat, just dip the wash cloth in the bowl of water, wring it out and wipe your rat with a wet wash cloth. use a tiny bit of soap and keep dipping the wet wash cloth into the water until your rat is clean. Giving them a treat while you do this will keep them distracted long enough for you to finish. 

If your rat has hind leg degeneration, you may also have to clean their ears out for them. To do this just hold your rats head under his jaw in one hand and pet him, once he is relaxed gently pull the ear slightly back and gently wipe the inside of the ear canal with the Q tip. Do not insert the Q tip into the ear canal without a veterinarian's assistance as you can hurt your rat if you go to far. 

After you're done, wrap your rat in the other towel and pat them dry as much as possible. Some rats will curl up in the towel and let you hold them until they dry. But most will start cleaning themselves right away and will keep cleaning until they are dry.

My Rat Ate My Homework!

This is Lucky. He looks like he doesn't have a care in the world right now, doesn't he? That's because when I took this picture he'd had a long night of shredding paper! My rat ate hubby's homework Dr. Referrals!

There's a little shelf that sits right next to Lucky's cage, you can see here how close the cage is to the papers. So that night after we went to bed, Lucky decided he wanted to have some fun and shred the paperwork. It must have been just close enough to where he could pull them in. As you can see...he did a good job tearing these up. I pulled all of these out of his cage.

These were the little pieces scattered around his cage.

There are holes in some, almost nothing left of others and just little bites taken out of one or two. 

I don't know how he got holes in the middle of this paper, but he did. So poor Ken had to call his Doctor and explain to the secretary that his rat ate his Dr. Referral and he needed another one. 

She doubted him until he said he would bring pictures of the rats ..then she just laughed. When he arrived down at the doctors office the next day one of the other ladies behind the desk looked at him and said, "Rats? Really?" He laughed and explained that we had rats and one of them got a hold of the referrals and tore them up. 

I thought it was kinda funny. 

Ken, not so much. 

LOL

"I had fun mommy. Can I have some more paper?" 

A To Z Blogging Challenge: R is For Rats!

If you know me at all, you had to know I would not pass up an opportunity to show off my rats and try to convince all you non rat lovers out there that rats are great pets! This is Lucky, my little three legged rat. I got him when he was still a tiny baby. A friend of my daughter who works in a pet shop called my daughter and told her that this little guy was going to be snake food or euthanized because it was against their policy to sell rats that are disabled. So she wanted to know if I would take him, which I did and he's such a great little guy. Just look at that face!

He kisses everyone as soon as they put their hands near him. He's so affectionate and loves to come out and play. 

This was Ares. I just lost him last month and he was 3 1/2 years old. That's old for a rat. He was a sweet old guy. I adopted him and his three brothers and they were such a bunch of characters. 

Here are two of Ares brothers, Jasper and Hades. I lost Hades just a couple of months ago..he was 3 years old when he passed away. They might not live a long time but they sure to give us a lot of love in the small amount of time they are with us. Hades and Jasper slept like this all the time. These two were my two biggest rats. Jasper was the biggest at 3 lbs and 19 inches long. 

Of course I had to throw in a funny picture of these two. Jasper doesn't seem to mind that Hades has fallen asleep with his foot on his face. 

This was Fang. He was my cuddler. He spent so much time sitting in my arms, on my shoulder or sleeping on my chest. He always wanted to be held, so much so that sometimes when I opened the cage door to clean the bathroom corner he would take that opportunity to jump on me and sit on my shoulder until I was done and could sit and hold him for a while. If you want a pet that will love you unconditionally, want to cuddle and sneak over to play with your hand...a rat is what you want to get.

And this is Marbles. One of his parents was a hairless rat and so he is half hairless and has patches of hair that are missing because of his mixed parentage. Some of his hair is curly, some is straight and some is gone. He's a nibbler. He says hi by grabbing your finger and nibbling on you, just like he would do to another rat in his pack. 

As you can see, I think rats make great pets and think people who have never thought of owning one should give them a chance. They are not dirty vermin, in fact they are quite clean. They groom themselves several times a day just like a cat does and they pick one corner of their cage to use as a bathroom, which makes keeping the cage cleaner for longer much easier. 

If you would like to learn more about rats, I have written a few articles that you might find interesting. 

Rats: Debunking Common Misconceptions

Rats: What is Popcorning?

How To Clean Your Rat Cage

A To Z Blogging Challenge: C is For Caring For Older Pets

This is Ares and Hades. At the time this was taken they were both 3 years old and just a couple of months later, Hades passed away. I knew it was going to happen because most rats don't make it to 4 years old. You're lucky if they make it to 3 years old, that's old for a rat. Ares made it to the 3 1/2 mark which I am very happy about. I've had several rats live to be very old boys but when animals get to be this elderly, there are things you have to do to make them more comfortable.

Make sure they are in single level cages so they don't fall off of the second floor of their cage. Elderly animals may also need help cleaning themselves and may be incontinent. Check them each day for dried feces and urine and bath them if needed. I sometimes had to wash my Ares off because he has hind leg degeneration and cannot clean his private parts or belly.

Check their bed in case they have accidents on it, you may need to keep a supply of towels, fleece blankets or beds that you can easily wash and replace each day.

They may need extra help eating. My Ares started eating baby foods and softer human foods as he got older. The harder rat foods he wouldn't eat anymore. Sometimes you have to change their diets, their cages, bedding, beds, surroundings ect..just to make them more comfortable when they get older.

When my mom's dog got older she had to pick him up, take him out let him do his business and pick him back up and carry him back in her home. He wasn't into walking much when he got really old. As animals get older you have to care for them more, just as you would an elderly parent. You want to make sure they are as comfortable as possible.

Ratty Pictures

I switched cages last week and put the 4 younger boys into the bigger 2 level cage because my two older boys can't walk up and down the ramp any more and I don't want them getting hurt or falling down the ramp, so they are now in the single level cage. 

The boys are checking out their new digs. 

I think they like it. 

Bandit wondering how to get on the floor. 

Bandit, always the one wanting his picture taken. 

My two 3 year old boys went right in their bed to take a nap. 

Fang was trying to clean himself but Patches wanted to sleep on him. 

Ares and Hades. Ares is winking at you. 

(I actually think Hades whiskers were poking him in the face...lol)

My old boys just want to sleep. Elderly rats love to cuddle, fall asleep on you and aren't as rambunctious as the youngsters.