rattys are very social animals and usually get along with other rats, are you planning on keeping afew females to be friends with the mommy ?
D'awww. Rittens galore.
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I have nine little rittens, four girls and five boys, born on Christmas Day.
I bought Mama at a pet shop a few weeks back and little did I know, she was very pregnant.
Getting past the initial shock over the fact I now own ten rats, I've fallen in love with each and every one of them.
Knowing full well I cannot care for them all, I have arranged to have the majority of them be surrendered to Star's Rat Rescue in South Dakota come early February.
I will miss them dearly, but I know they will be so happy once they reach their forever homes.
In the mean time, they are a blast! I can't believe how silly and energetic they are! It's been quite an experience to watch them grow up but I hope to never do it again. Ha.
Also, out of curiosity. My friend is taking three of the five little boys to keep as loving pets. My question is, can you tell from such a young age what kind of personality they will have? Or if they have a preference on cage mates so young already? I'd hate for him to take home rivaling brothers. Or should I not even worry because they are in fact related?
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I could tell from about 7 weeks old exactly what type of personality my boys were going to have. Stanley was always independent and had his own ideas about what he wanted to do (and is still that way at 30 months old!) and Russell was sweet and also a bit mischievous! I'm sure you'll be able to tell right now more or less what they will be like as they age, but even opposite personalities will generally get along quite well together. Rats are great like that!
ETA: I should add that the rat in the upper-right photo in the bottom right corner reminds me a lot of my beautiful Russell, and the one in the lower-right photo getting a treat is identical to Stanley! :heart:
ETA: I should add that the rat in the upper-right photo in the bottom right corner reminds me a lot of my beautiful Russell, and the one in the lower-right photo getting a treat is identical to Stanley! :heart:
Thanks! They really are a delight. And yes, no worries, my friend has owned many rats in the past and he just recently lost his last two boys four or five months ago and he is thrilled to be getting three of my ritten boys. He's even bought a new bigger and better cage to better accommodate three. He takes his rat care very seriously. I couldn't have asked for anything better.
And don't worry, being a protective rat mom is a great thing! Ha. Someone has to look to out for the lil' ones. So thanks for your concern.
D'awww. I have Russell and Stanley doppelgangers! Haha. That's amazing! Your rats sound truly darling with their silly personalities. No two rats are ever the same! I can't wait until they start to develop their own individual personalities. And I'm happy to hear that I shouldn't have issues with housing them together. Phew! That makes things easier. Thank you.I could tell from about 7 weeks old exactly what type of personality my boys were going to have. Stanley was always independent and had his own ideas about what he wanted to do (and is still that way at 30 months old!) and Russell was sweet and also a bit mischievous! I'm sure you'll be able to tell right now more or less what they will be like as they age, but even opposite personalities will generally get along quite well together. Rats are great like that!
ETA: I should add that the rat in the upper-right photo in the bottom right corner reminds me a lot of my beautiful Russell, and the one in the lower-right photo getting a treat is identical to Stanley! :heart:
Thank you! I will be more than happy to update on my ratties.
And something new has developed. I will be keeping three of the boys from the litter instead of my friend. We decided upon a trade because Momma rat needs a lot of patience and socializing because she came from a not so great pet store (which I later filed a complaint about). Anyways, she doesnt particularly care to be handled and seems overly frightened all the time. And i feel like I am always stressing her out. My friend who loves rats and has owned many in the past offered to take her and two females from me instead of the boys. He loves working with rats who need a little extra help and I just don't have enough experience to do so considering I've only ever owned one rat prior. And she was a dream to own.
He thinks boys would be a better fit for me since they just like to sit with you and be pet as opposed to girls who are much more active and curious. He loves caring for both boys and girls so he doesn't mind the trade in the least and this way Momma will be in the best possible hands.
Since I have little experience with rats, and no experiences with males, I've sought out advice from my friend on how to care for them to the best of my ability. But I was wondering if you could shed some wisdom on what it takes to care for male ratties as well.
My biggest and most expensive question would be, should I neuter them? I know it's immensely beneficial for females to get spayed, but is it good for males as well?
Thanks in advance.
Hey, that sounds like a super plan for your more experienced friend to take Momma! I bet he will do a wonderful job working with her on socialization, and you are right, boy rats are normally more of the lazy cuddle bear type, and they tend to enjoy lounging on your lap or shoulder and they are more laid back and less active than girls.
I have never had girl rats myself, just boy rats (and boy gerbils!) BUT I have only had my two boy rats (brothers) and no other rats, so I am not exactly a rat veteran like some others on here who have had many, many rats. But my opinion on neutering, and this is only my opinion, is that I preferred not to neuter my boys. I knew to keep on the lookout for any overly aggressive behavior or constant fighting (which is a red flag for the pro-neutering position) but my two boys never fought or got too aggressive with each other. They were absolute sweeties.
I also liked having them natural, with their adorable cajones intact and not having to put them through a surgery. But that is just my opinion.
As far as differences in care for boys rather than girls, there are a few details that I can think of off the top of my head...for instance, male rats should not be given citrus fruit of any kind as for some reason, it can be harmful to them, but not girls rats, if you can believe it! I read articles and forum posts on this but I am not sure about the whys on it. But I just steered clear of citrus fruit with my boys. Also, sometimes boys can get greasy patches on their fur that you can clean off with unscented baby wipes, if you ever see this. I never did see any greasy patches on my boys but some boy rats get this. Whoah, my typing fingers are hurting, so I will stop here and hopefully think of some more things later! I hope you get some good advice from our other forum members...they are loaded with information!! By the way, my husband and I LOVE boy rats so much. They really are cuddle bugs and a great choice for newbie rat people.
I have never had girl rats myself, just boy rats (and boy gerbils!) BUT I have only had my two boy rats (brothers) and no other rats, so I am not exactly a rat veteran like some others on here who have had many, many rats. But my opinion on neutering, and this is only my opinion, is that I preferred not to neuter my boys. I knew to keep on the lookout for any overly aggressive behavior or constant fighting (which is a red flag for the pro-neutering position) but my two boys never fought or got too aggressive with each other. They were absolute sweeties.
I also liked having them natural, with their adorable cajones intact and not having to put them through a surgery. But that is just my opinion.
As far as differences in care for boys rather than girls, there are a few details that I can think of off the top of my head...for instance, male rats should not be given citrus fruit of any kind as for some reason, it can be harmful to them, but not girls rats, if you can believe it! I read articles and forum posts on this but I am not sure about the whys on it. But I just steered clear of citrus fruit with my boys. Also, sometimes boys can get greasy patches on their fur that you can clean off with unscented baby wipes, if you ever see this. I never did see any greasy patches on my boys but some boy rats get this. Whoah, my typing fingers are hurting, so I will stop here and hopefully think of some more things later! I hope you get some good advice from our other forum members...they are loaded with information!! By the way, my husband and I LOVE boy rats so much. They really are cuddle bugs and a great choice for newbie rat people.
Whoa. I'm so glad you told me they can't have citrus fruit. I really had no idea. I have yet to experiment with treats yet with them, but oranges and what nots are definitely out of the equation now. Thank you for that.Hey, that sounds like a super plan for your more experienced friend to take Momma! I bet he will do a wonderful job working with her on socialization, and you are right, boy rats are normally more of the lazy cuddle bear type, and they tend to enjoy lounging on your lap or shoulder and they are more laid back and less active than girls.
I have never had girl rats myself, just boy rats (and boy gerbils!) BUT I have only had my two boy rats (brothers) and no other rats, so I am not exactly a rat veteran like some others on here who have had many, many rats. But my opinion on neutering, and this is only my opinion, is that I preferred not to neuter my boys. I knew to keep on the lookout for any overly aggressive behavior or constant fighting (which is a red flag for the pro-neutering position) but my two boys never fought or got too aggressive with each other. They were absolute sweeties.
I also liked having them natural, with their adorable cajones intact and not having to put them through a surgery. But that is just my opinion.
As far as differences in care for boys rather than girls, there are a few details that I can think of off the top of my head...for instance, male rats should not be given citrus fruit of any kind as for some reason, it can be harmful to them, but not girls rats, if you can believe it! I read articles and forum posts on this but I am not sure about the whys on it. But I just steered clear of citrus fruit with my boys. Also, sometimes boys can get greasy patches on their fur that you can clean off with unscented baby wipes, if you ever see this. I never did see any greasy patches on my boys but some boy rats get this. Whoah, my typing fingers are hurting, so I will stop here and hopefully think of some more things later! I hope you get some good advice from our other forum members...they are loaded with information!! By the way, my husband and I LOVE boy rats so much. They really are cuddle bugs and a great choice for newbie rat people.
And I'm happy that they will be little cuddle bugs. I'm so excited to see what personalities my boys will develop! And I'll definitely keep an eye out for aggression and that will be my deciding factor in wether or not any or them need to get fixed rather then put them through an unessecary surgery just because. Thank your for the tips. It is very appreciated. And your rat boys sound like they were very loved and were a blast to own.
I hope I have the same experience.
Thank you again!
And reading through threads like this are why I love this site.
Agreed Storyseeker! Speaking of cute lil furries, how are our Alabama Ghost Boys doing these days?
Oh that's right, I haven't updated in a while. I'll start my own thread so as not to hijack this one.
They are so adorable
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