#rat help

[sosquaresowhat]

Hey does anybody know about rats and mice? Found this guy under my bed at 6am

I need help figuring out if this is a rat or mouse and if it's a wild rat / mouse or someone's pet.

He is mostly white with just a smidgen of brown on his nose.

He was found in Central texas

[vegetafucks]

TW pet death

.

.

.

.

.

Hey guys, so you lot who follow me may know that I had 2 pet rats, Goku and Vegeta, and that I loved them dearly and that they were like children to me

Yesterday as I was getting ready for work I noticed that Vegeta was totally limp, but still breathing. Immediately I knew something was very wrong because he's usually so energetic, and he seemed totally fine the night before when I went to sleep. Long story short, he was diagnosed with pneumonia, and so really the only option was to have the vets keep him comfy on a heat pad whilst they put him down. I'm absolutely devastated, him and Goku are the first rats I've ever owned, and although I knew they have a short lifespan and are prone to respiratory illnesses, I thought I had more time with him because they're both only a year and a half, and had never shown any signs of illness beforehand.

This means that Goku is now alone in the cage, and having grown up with Vegeta and how sociable rats are, I know that it's important to get him some friends ASAP. Unfortunately due to the circumstances I'm in, plus I reckon Goku would not accept new young rats into his home, I'm thinking I'm going to have to rehome him, either to a person or organisation who are experienced in caring for rats in this situation. I'm not at all experienced in it, and I don't want to risk the safety of new rats by unknowingly doing it wrong.

It's going to be a painful goodbye because I love those boys with all my heart, but I want to make sure that Goku can live out the rest of his life as happily as possible.

Please could I get some advice on this? I'd greatly appreciate it because honestly atm I'm so devastated and lost I can't think of what I can do

If it helps I'm in the UK (West Midlands) so if you know anywhere or any resources that could help me I'd appreciate it so much

[thecameracrewrats]

Does anyone know a good way to get an old (2 year) rat to gain weight?

Tripod dislikes being held or touched much, but I was handling him and realized he was pretty skinny and I'm concerned, haha. I know they lose weight when they get older, but these are my first rats so I'm not sure what to expect as they age (besides what I read on google)

[realistic-rat-breeding-and-care]

I don't think you should be supporting self medding. That's super irresponsible and someone can easily overdose their rats.

Doxycycline has a high LD50. You're WAY more likely to underdose your rat than over dose your rat.

And because finding a vet that will even see small animals AND knows what to prescribe, in the correct amounts, and for the correct duration AND is up to date on rat care AND is within driving distance AND is affordable is extremely hard and luck based.

Do you know how often in rat groups I see...

* Vets saying a rat that clearly has a URI is fine?

* Vets giving improper antibiotics?

* Vets giving the incorrect dosage?

* Vets not open on weekends and won't take emergencies?

* Vets that won't budge when given scientific evidence that they're not treating the animal properly?

* Someone who literally does not have a vet who will see a rat within 2 or more hours of them?

* Someone who cannot afford $200+ just to get some antibiotics?

So then what? Their rat dies? Like, dying is safer!? You're so against self medication that you'll let someone's rat suffocate to death over the course of weeks because you think guided self medication is worse? Because livestock owners can apparently understand how to dose antibiotics for common conditions, but rat owners and breeders are incompetent and incapable of following directions?

Nope. Of course the vet should be your first option, but barring that? I am 100% cool with self medding respiratory infections with Doxycycline.

Sorry if I sound mad, but this issue frustrates me so much that people would rather someone's rat slowly suffer and die over guided self med.

[hindbodes]

Uhhhhh... help?

My rats are safe, but they don’t like me and I feel like little Granite is unhappy with me 80% during this daily playtime and I fear I’ll just increase the percentage by continuing to approach him.

[nemui-nemuii]

Does anyone have any ideas as to what’s wrong with his hand? He won’t walk on it or uncurl his fingers but when I touched it and stretched his hand a bit he didn’t show any signs of discomfort or pain.

I’m gonna keep an eye on him but I’ve had so many pets need vet visits I don’t wanna take him if I don’t need to. Do I need to bring him? Or will this heal on its own?

Hes still doing normal rat things like playing with his toys and eating and drinking and grooming btw!

[applejarjar]

Do old rats just fall off stuff?

Yall this morning I watched my Dumbo boy take a tumble. He's about 5 months shy from 3 years old, but I've never seen one of my rats fall and not catch themselves, except when the newspaper slips underneath them or something. Anyway, I was feeding all my rats and Neptune, the boy in question, was on top of the stump house. I don't think it's quite a foot tall, but the house is damn near close. He was on top so I gave him a block and he went to the edge, clearly with the intent to jump down, but he just like fell off the log and landed on his side/backish. And I immediately went to help him, but he looked like he was really struggling to flip back over in the second he was trying on his own. I'm kind of worried? I've never had a rat with hind leg degeneration or whatever it's called, and I'm kind of scared that maybe that's what this is? I don't know. I had to go to school, but I just thought it was really weird for him to fall like that. I wish I'd had more time to look at him and make sure he was OK. But he and some other rats are going to the vet today, so I guess I can ask her about it. Idk I'm probably overreacting, like I said I really don't know what happened. One minute he's fine and the next he's flat on his ass

[thanishua]

Mid-ear Infection

Hey guys! I’m not sure if this’ll reach a lot of people, but I figured trying couldn’t hurt.

I’m currently a first-time proud rat mom of three girls, however, my smallest girl Mac, has a mid ear infection... I went to the emergency vet last weekend as I noticed something was really, really off and got antibiotics and a painkiller and stuff. Since it was pretty hectic and all that,I was stressed af and on the verge of tears cause I thought I’d fucked up, I wasn’t left with a lot of time to ask a load of questions or tips, so I was wondering if the petblr/ratblr community could give me some advice?

Mac is somewhere in between a year and half- two years old and she weighs about 300 grams, she’s truly a lil thing and I’m pretty worried I might do something wrong. From a previous visit to the vet I found out she also isn’t particularly fond of taking any form of oral meds... I try to stuff it into a treat or some veggies or fruits but she’ll just chew off a bit and hide the parts with the actual medication in it so she’ll get another treat and be put back in her cage.

Anyways, I was extra thorough with cleaning the cage yesterday and I make sure to give the girls extra fresh fruits and vegetables every other day. I turned up the thermostat a bit as well since my studio can get quite chilly these days as one of my walls is basically a window to my garden.

Are there any tips or things I should be very mindful of? Is there anyway I can maybe help her eat her antibiotics and painkillers more easily? I’m pretty concerned since the vet stressed she should be taking her meds till the last drop of I wanted her to get better... I’m maybe considering going with the injection-option, but I’m not confident in my skills nor very comfortable with the idea of pricking her with a needle for the following 4 weeks.

Thanks for taking the time to read this post and a million thanks more if you reblog or reply!

Lots of love 💕

Mac, Truffles, Cheese and I