Rats - Updated on the cage I'm getting.

[luckies4me]

I have always LOVED your avatar lol!

Thanks!

[king2005]

If your going to rescue 2 rats, try to get them as young as you can... about the size of an adult mouse & eatting on their own. Make sure they are both females. Its kinda tricky to tell but if you know what your looking for its easy, & if the rat behaves its even easier lol

I don't know rat body parts, but luckies4me will correct my terms lol

There is a pointy flap of skin that almost looks like a penis. Ina male it is & in a female its not. A male will have a hole at the tip (cotton swabs are a great tool for this, if you think touching a rats privates is icky), move the rats belly skin around & it will either show you a tiny hole or nothing. The females hole is on the side of the flap closest to the anus. I personally find it harder to see the hole in a female, due to her muscles. but in a male there are no muscles where the hole is.

Maturing males testies should start to drop as they are decently small (I forget the age). If your holding the rat by the tail (not a great idea, they can drop their tails like snakes) the testies will hide inside their bodies. I personally find it easiest to check with a silly test. Put the rat on bars (like a barded cage) & have it so the rats head it up & its butt is down.. make him try to squeeze through the bars (with food) & his testies should show a little or a lot lol Make sure your looking at his belly, but don't get peed on lol


Also if your getting 2 rats, get them from the same littler.. it just gives you better luck that they'll get a long. Some rats don't like company or are protective towards their food & will get agressive with another rat. So do keep a close eye on them. If they don't get along, don't get upset, you did nothing wrong. Its just like how some people do & don't get along. It happeneds.. But its best to remove the problem rat.. either house her in a nother cage, or find her a new home & get a new cage mate for the other rat.

Also a little tip..
NEVER feed through the bars!! It causes the rats to learn that what goes through the bars is food & then they'll bite.. its usually just a nip & no blood, but its still no fun, esp if there are kids around.

Do you know about bad foods? & bad bedding? (thought I'd mention it so it can be answered).

I'm very strict on my rat care & I know luckies4me is aswell. I learned a lot from her, have always had healthy rats & healthy litters.