[FurKidsMom]

Hi all, last night I bought a baby hairless rat from Petsmart (the lady said he was 6 months old but he's more like 6 wks old so she may have just misworded. I figured as much anyway). He seemed fine and healthy and played/snuggled with the other rat there and was active when I was holding him.

Today and last night in his new cage he's been sneezing quite a bit. I read that this can be normal when in new environment. His nose is wet and he keeps cleaning it. I don't see any discharge or anything from his eyes or nose and he's mostly been resting in the crook of my neck or in the corner of his cage. I will take him to the vet tomorrow but wanted to hear if his behavior is normal for a rat when intro'd into a new home? I know it's best to have them in pairs but I can't do that right now :boxed: The bedding in the cage is Carefresh Natural.

Thanks for your advise and help!

 

[Shayna&Liam]

Rats have very delicate respiratory systems and because of that are prone to fits of sneezing, and colds, etc. My first question is, do you have him in a glass or wire cage? Glass restricts the airflow and may make your rattie more prone to sneezing fits. Also, did the tank he was in at the pet store have wood shavings? Shavings are very dusty in comparison to the Carefresh Paper Bedding; my thought is that maybe he was fairly adjusted to the shavings, and the very lack of dust in the Carefresh is what's making him sneeze now.

I'm not an expert though so hopefully someone else has better ideas?

 

[Vladina]

I agree, Carefresh is used by many people though there are quite a few rat people on the forum that have stated it is too dusty for ratties' delicate respiratory systems, as Shayna and Liam discussed.
I thought it was a bit too dusty as well, but there is a Carefresh Ultra, a tad pricier but much less dusty than the regular Carefresh. If you want the lowest dust possible, you can do fleece and flannel fabric to line the bottom of your rat's house as many people do. I did that for my two boys as well. And yes, I agree that a glass tank is not good for rats. They have to have the extra ventilation, not to mention the ability to climb the sides.

May I ask why you said you could not have two rats right now? Rats are very social and they can become depressed and lethargic when kept alone. 2 rats are just as easy to care for as one and it there is no significant increase in costs for caring for 2 rats. Why are you saying you cannot have 2 rats right now? Please, please get your baby a roommate. It is horrible to keep rats as solo pets. They truly need the company.

 

[breyer08]

You've gotten some good responses already. New home sneezes are fairly common, as the rats adjust to their new environment. Taking him to the vet would be a good idea anyway, just to make sure he's all right and also to get acquainted with the vet. I also second Vlad's concern about keeping him by himself. It's even more important when it is a hairless rat, because they need the extra warmth from their cagemates' bodies and fur to keep warm and happy.

 

[Vladina]

Good post Breyer, I second that.

Yes, I forgot about the vet issue. As Breyer said, it is always a good idea to check him with your vet and to make sure all is well. And I forgot this was a hairless rat, so yes, he would greatly benefit from a snuggle buddy to keep warm and be happy.

 

[FurKidsMom]

He's in a wire cage. Cage at Petsmart was a glass tank with Carefresh bedding as well.
Vet appt is at 10:30 this morning
I will go back to Petsmart and buy the rat that he was with when I got him. They did cuddle and groom I noticed. I did not know at the time that pairs would be best. My husband will NOT be happy at all though. I always 'surprise' him with bringing home animals and he's a bit OCD and it's out of his comfort zone. I honestly should not have gotten Archie out of respect of my husband but he was too darn cute and I've always wanted a nakey rat, cat, dog or whatever
I will get some good fleece while I'm out today. Thanks for the advise!!

 

[Vladina]

That is terrific, good for you! You are doing the right thing by going back to get his buddy that he was snuggling with. The other rat could easily be from the same litter..his brother. I hope your husband appreciates that this is humane and kind for the rat to have his sibling/friend with him and also that it will make you happy. Rats bring so much joy, you would not believe it. You will be so rewarded. Good for you! We would love to see pictures of your boys eventually. :thumbsup:

 

[FurKidsMom]

This is Archie

Yes, don't be appalled that he's in a hampster cage right now please! It's what I have at the moment for him to stay in. I do have a big cage for him and his buddy to live in but I have to fix the spacing between the bars so Archie can't get out since he's so little.

 

[Vladina]

He is darling!! What a sweetie pie! Archie is such an adorable name for him too. He looks like an Archie!

Yes, a bigger wire house will definitely need to be set up for him and his brother soon. Thanks for the photo, he is so sweet!

 

[FurKidsMom]

thank you for your encouragement I've been feeling like I'm going to get reemed for having him in a too small of a cage and being by himself! But I've done my homework and know what needs to be done now and working on both of them. There is a lady I just talked to that has a great cage AND a young male rat that comes with it that doesn't live far from here but one of her students said he would take him... last Thursday! He hasn't yet and is absent from school today so I'm praying she renigs on him and calls me! back. I

 

[FurKidsMom]

do most same-gender rats get along?

and how much should we be handling Archie? My kids want to hold him all of the time (well, ok, and I do too )

 

[Vladina]

Yes, same sex rats get along fine, BUT, if they are not siblings from the same litter and you are introducing two different rats to each other, like the one you mentioned that you might get from the woman down the street, you would have to do careful introductions before putting them together in their housing. That is a whole different topic altogether. But if you were to get Archie's litter mate from the pet store that you saw him grooming and cuddling with, that is great. They already know each other.

When a rat (or any other small animal) is in a new environment, it takes some getting used to for him or her and you need to remember that Archie is probably nervous, a bit scared of his new surroundings and not yet sure if he is in a safe environment. Of course, he is safe with you, but he needs to learn that. Despite how tempting it is to want to reach in and pick him up right away, what a new rat needs is some time to adjust and kids making noise around his house and grabbing for him, etc, will just make him more nervous and scared, so take it slowly, and give him a couple of days to get used to the sounds of your voices, the sounds in the house, the new smells, and everything else.


You can certainly approach his house and speak gently and in a soothing voice, to reassure him. Perhaps offering a small treat, like a Cheerio or even a spoonful of something like low fat yogurt, or baby food, from a spoon is a great way to get him used to being near your hand and not being scared.

A spoon of something tasty forces him to stay at the spoon and lick it, rather than getting a treat and running off with it to hide and eat it. Hope that makes sense?

But take it slow. The benefits of letting him get used to you in his own time will be far better than trying to hold him too soon and having the kids scare him and so forth. It would just take that much longer for him to come around and relax with you.

 

[FurKidsMom]

ok. Just got back from Vet. He's on Doxycycline combined with Baytril. Got a shot with Baytril mix, not sure if it was with Doxy or something else, to treat the possible Mycoplasmosis.

Otherwise he's fine, active, cuddly, doesn't bite and just plain ugly-cute!

 

[Shayna&Liam]

Sounds like you're doing everything right, good for you. I agree that you should get the rat at the petstore that Archie was cuddling up to, they are already bonded and it would be easier than introducing him to a new rat. If they don't take to each other, you will be stuck with two rats in two separate cages, don't forget - and two cages means twice the cleaning, and space taken up.

There is a kind of Carefresh, I don't know what it's called actually (funny enough since it's what I use with the girls) but it's multicolored, made from recycled paper and virtually dust free. It looks like confetti, it's really easy to dig and nest in, and it absorbs pee smell a lot better than anything else I have used.

Here is a good tool when selecting a good cage for your rats:

http://www.rattycorner.com/odds/calc.shtml

I'm sure there are many ratty calculators and maybe somebody knows one that is more accurate, but it's a good guideline anyways. Definitely get Archie out of the hamster cage as soon as possible.

P.S. He's very cute.

 

[breyer08]

Aww, Archie is super adorable! Yes, you should definitely go get his brother from the pet store. That would be the best option for you and him--less stressful on both ends!

For my boys, I use fleece as their only bedding (blankies, hammocks, etc.), but they also have a litterbox with Yesterday's News in it. Rats are fairly easy to litter train, and I like YN because it has almost no dust. When you have a litterbox with fleece for the rest of the cage (changed out every few days), it is a lot better for their lungs because it's so low in dust.

 

[Vladina]

Yep, everything Breyer mentioned, ditto!