Daisy & Lily - Paw Talk

Tessa83 · #1 07-18-2008, 03:18 PM

I decided to put them back together in the three level cage. I just put them together for a few minutes and they seemed to be doing good so I cleaned the cage and put them both in at the same time. So far, they are getting along great. I looked at Lily and said "Don't you make me regret this!".. I hope she understands and behaves herself. I put both of their houses in there (one on the bottom and one on the very top level) and put all their toys in with them and put both water bottles side by side.

Vanilla_Rat · #2 07-18-2008, 03:20 PM

Hopefully they will continue to get along.

luvboyrats · #3 07-18-2008, 03:22 PM

I hope it works out and they get along. It's so sad when little ratties have to live alone

Tessa83 · #4 07-18-2008, 03:27 PM

Thanks! I hope they continue to get along also.
Yeah, I hated keeping them apart.
They seem really excited to be back together.

Question - I read that when rats get older, they might become too weak to climb on ramps and should be put into a smaller one-level cage. How will I notice if my girls need to be put in a smaller one-level cage when they get older? They're almost 1 and that's getting to old age for rats, isn't it? And if I do need to put them in the one-level cage, is it okay to keep them together in a small cage like that?

Vanilla_Rat · #5 07-18-2008, 03:34 PM

You probably have nothing to worry about yet.
I find when my rats are closer to 2 or 3 is when they start slowing down.Not all cases need to be moved to one level cages.This usually needs to be done when they start to get lethargic or paralized in their back legs,which unfortunatly is common in older rats.

Tessa83 · #6 07-18-2008, 03:36 PM

Okay, thanks! Paralized as in they can't move their back legs? I have not heard about this. Why does this happen?

They're still doing good in the cage together. I like that the cage is big enough so they can be apart if they want to and also together if they want to.

Tessa83 · #7 07-18-2008, 04:12 PM

Daisy is officially a nesting freak. It's like she's obsessed or something! Right now, she is shoving all the bedding from inside her house out and pushing it to the side. Lily is just stretched out on the first level, watching her.

Vanilla_Rat · #8 07-18-2008, 04:26 PM

I have had it happen with my older rats before.
Here is an article all about it.

http://www.rmca.org/Articles/oldrats.htm

Tessa83 · #9 07-18-2008, 04:43 PM

Thanks for the link! Whoever wrote this has a rat named Tessa... lol

Tessa83 · #10 07-18-2008, 05:01 PM

Lily has been the dominant one, but is it possible for that to switch and Daisy be dominant? I think it would be good for Lily to get a taste of her own medicine.. lol
What signs do I look for to know which is the dominant one? Somebody told me, but I forgot.

fezzik · #11 07-21-2008, 01:43 PM

We have a definite nester. To our knowledge she has only been pregnant once and we bought her just as her babies were starting to be sold out from under her. She hasn't stopped nesting since. She was a great help to the other girl we bought at the same time who got pregnant probably minutes before we got her. Poor Genie wasn't ready to be a mommy and poor Lucy missed it so bad. Both hated it when we had to separate them come baby time. Anyway my point is some of them are just inherent nesters. They love it. It really is their nature the ones that aren't normally I think aren't more so from domestication than from normal behavior. IN the wild rats live in nests they gather hide and share food it is what they do. The nesters just have a bit of that left in them I guess.