Simon and Dexter :)

I hope this is the right section to post this in.

My two female rats recently passed away pretty close to one another, so I decided to look for another rat. I ended up finding a really cute little guy (who I've named Simon) online and decided to take him.

Only now, I'm not sure if he's actually a rat, I think he may actually be a mouse. Since I'm still fairly new to owning rats, I really can't tell. He seems to have characteristics of both an adult mouse and a baby rat, but the more I research the more I think he's actually a mouse. He's pretty hyper and seems to burrow under his bedding. He also has really big ears. But he has huge feet as well.

I don't mind as he's super cute and friendly either way (and who knows what would've happened to him if they couldn't get rid of him), but it'd be good to know, aside from waiting a month or so and seeing if he gets any bigger. I don't know how old he is right now. Person I bought him from just said they got him at a pet store and they said he was a baby.

Figured I'd ask here since there are way more people here who can probably tell the difference. I don't have very many good pictures of him yet, but here are some:

http://i57.tinypic.com/ibkqom.jpg
http://i59.tinypic.com/2s8llih.jpg

luf100 said:

I hope this is the right section to post this in.

My two female rats recently passed away pretty close to one another, so I decided to look for another rat. I ended up finding a really cute little guy (who I've named Simon) online and decided to take him.

Only now, I'm not sure if he's actually a rat, I think he may actually be a mouse. Since I'm still fairly new to owning rats, I really can't tell. He seems to have characteristics of both an adult mouse and a baby rat, but the more I research the more I think he's actually a mouse. He's pretty hyper and seems to burrow under his bedding. He also has really big ears. But he has huge feet as well.

I don't mind as he's super cute and friendly either way (and who knows what would've happened to him if they couldn't get rid of him), but it'd be good to know, aside from waiting a month or so and seeing if he gets any bigger. I don't know how old he is right now. Person I bought him from just said they got him at a pet store and they said he was a baby.

Figured I'd ask here since there are way more people here who can probably tell the difference. I don't have very many good pictures of him yet, but here are some:

http://i57.tinypic.com/ibkqom.jpg
http://i59.tinypic.com/2s8llih.jpg

Click to expand...

He's a rat (Mice are much smaller.)

Are you going to get him a buddy?

Definitely a rat,and beautiful if you are going to get him a cage mate.( whilch is a good idea) I have some siamese rescue boys available. Theres three and it would be great to give the third to someone that has another young male. If you're interested pm me

Edit: they are five weeks in a few days. So thetre ready to go soon

As Vic said,. a rat but a very very young rat who should probably still be with his mom. What are you feeding him? And yes he needs a baby friend (or 2) ASAP...you can literally just toss babies together and they love each other.
He has testicles I assume to confirm his maleness? if he does he's probably a small 4 weeks.

I vote rat too, and a buddy for him. Yes, make sure you confirm gender! If you are unsure you can post a pic here and people will let you know.

Rat! but I will tell you a funny story... this is before I had rat or was interested in rat, but as kids we had mice since my sister loved them. So about five years ago my dad's wife found a white "mouse" on their property and thought we would rescue it. She called my sister for advise who told her to but it in a tank with toilet paper tube, food, water, etc. Anyway, she calls her back and tells her it doesn't fit in the toilet paper tube - so my sister asked her does it have a thin tail or a thick tail like a pencil - answer thick! So my sister informs her - you have a rat not a mouse!!! This was a full grown adult rat!!

Thanks guys! Oh, he is most definitely a boy, there's no doubt about that.

It is kind of sad that he was taken from his mom at such a young age though. I got him on Kijiji and fell in love with him, but the girl I got him from didn't give me much information on him aside from "got him at a pet store, don't have room for him, and they said he was a baby". No idea why they bought him if they didn't have room, but okay.

I've just been feeding him regular adult rat food, along with fruits and vegetables, since I thought he was a little older. Is there something better I should be giving him? I've seen Oxbow baby rat food at the pet store, would that be better? Or should I even be giving him something else to make sure he's getting enough? I do see him eating quite a bit and he doesn't seem to have a problem with it, but I want to make sure he's getting enough nutrition and stuff if he's still so young. My first rats were from a breeder who knew what she was doing so I don't have a lot of experience with really young ones.

I was definitely planning on getting him a friend too, but didn't want to until I knew for sure he was a rat. Everyone seems pretty certain so I'll definitely start looking for a friend or two right away, especially if it's really easy to introduce babies. Unfortunately I can't go too far to pick them up. I'm a bit too far from Toronto minnieflower but your babies are so cute! I wish I could make it that far! I'll start looking locally right away though!

luf100 said:

Unfortunately I can't go too far to pick them up. I'm a bit too far from Toronto minnieflower but your babies are so cute! I wish I could make it that far! I'll start looking locally right away though!

Click to expand...

Where are you located?

I'm two hours away from Toronto (doesn't seem far but too far for me, gah). Fort Erie.

He's a cutie, congrats! Good luck finding a buddy for him.

Thank you! I'm going on Saturday to look at some babies. The lady says they're about 8 weeks old, so I'm just wondering, does it matter how big they are or just how old they are?

Simon is still really really little and I'm worried that if I end up getting him a friend or two but they're bigger than him, that they'll bully him. But I know lilspaz68 said you can basically just put babies together and they'll love each other, so is 8 weeks compared to Simon's probably 5-6 weeks now, okay? Simon is getting bigger already (I can tell because he likes to hide behind his wheel and now when he runs up there his belly sticks out between the bars) but he is still pretty little.

I've never had to introduce ratties to each other before since my two girls before were sisters and were never out of each other's company, so I'm just a little nervous.

Here's a video of him eating a tiny bit of ice cream. :love7:
View My Video

Oh I was also wondering if a mod could maybe move this thread to Rat Chat and Pics if that's the right section, since it's not really a health or general care question anymore. I just went and put a thread title change request in the Welcome section.

I agree with Lilspaz - young rats don't need 'intros' like adults do. The sooner he has buddies, the happier he will be. Three weeks difference in age should be fine.

I just took Simon out of the cage to clean it, and after I put him back in he hasn't moved. He's really really scared for some reason. I'm giving him some time to sit by himself before I try taking him out again. Might've been the vacuum or something that I used that scared him.

And sadly I wasn't able to find him a friend yet. Still looking. Anyone know of any rescues in the Niagara area?

luf100 said:

I just took Simon out of the cage to clean it, and after I put him back in he hasn't moved. He's really really scared for some reason. I'm giving him some time to sit by himself before I try taking him out again. Might've been the vacuum or something that I used that scared him.

And sadly I wasn't able to find him a friend yet. Still looking. Anyone know of any rescues in the Niagara area?

Click to expand...

Loud noise of the vacuum certainly could of done it..

Oh my goodness, Simon is just precious...what a beautiful little baby! He looks very comfy and happy in his soft hammock...I loved the video you posted! Licking food off Mommy's finger is a great way to bond with your baby! I LOVE the name Simon for him. Beautiful name!

Yes, it is always perplexing when someone gets a rat, then say they do not want it, no room, no time, etc...then WHY get a rat (or any other animal) in the first place?? :gaah: It is maddening. I am very happy you took Simon. He is just a jewel, but yes, sadly he does look very young, too young too be away from Mom, but I am sure he will be okay now... he is eating lab blocks and the fruits and veggies, yes? Drinking from his water bottle?

I wish I could help with finding a rescue rat that is close to his age for you, but I live in Seattle, pretty far from Toronto! Luckily, there are lots of Canadian folks here on this forum that will be of great help for tips and connections on getting sweet little Simon a friend or two. He definitely needs at least one buddy to keep him company so he does not get depressed.

Keep the questions coming as they occur to you! Great people here on this forum that know their rats! Thank you for trying to do right by Simon. He needs love and attention and gentle care, like all rats, and it looks like you are doing a great job of trying to do your best for him.

I am sure he probably got very scared by the vacuum cleaner..that could be it. My two boys are big, huge adult males and they STILL get upset by a loud noise or the vacuum sometimes! (I will take them upstairs to our bedroom and close the door and play with them in there and comfort them while my husband vacuums downstairs! They do NOT like that vacuum! I can't blame them! Rats have incredible hearing, so a loud vacuum to us probably sounds like 5 jet engines roaring, eh?)

Congrats again on Simon..he really is just so precious and sweet! What a handsome little boy! Send him my love! :heart:

Yes he's super cute. He is eating his blocks and veggies and drinking from the water bottle. He's getting a lot bigger pretty quickly too.

Yeah, I think the vacuum scared him. My other two rats were surprisingly fine with it whenever I cleaned their cage, but I'll have to bring him downstairs next time I do it. And yes, I'm hoping to find one somewhere soon. I really don't want to get one at the pet store though. :/

And thanks I hope I'm doing good with him. I did have two female rats so I'm not totally new, but he is my first male (not sure how different they actually are) and he is really little, so I'm watching him carefully. Plus he is still pretty shy so I need to keep working with him on that as well.

Sounds like you are doing a wonderful job with Simon as a first time boy rat Mommy! :-D

Love, care, and attention will help any ratty thrive and feel comfortable and safe. :cuddle:

I understand how you are trying to avoid getting a friend for him from a pet store, believe me!

Boy rats are wonderful! My husband and I are partial..we have always had only boy rats (girl rats are awesome too!) and I always remember when I was reading about nutrition for ratties that for some reason citrus fruits are not good for boy rats, but fine for girls. Isn't that funny? I read it in several different articles and books, so...we have always avoided giving our boys anything like oranges, pineapple, grapefruit, etc. I guess it does something bad to boy rats that does not happen with girls!

I am sure that Simon is feeling more comfy with you every single day. That video of him licking ice cream off your finger was so precious! He is doing the all important connection between Mom and yummies, ha ha! I sometimes think if someone asked my boys why they love Mommy, first and foremost they would say, "Mommy brings us TREATS!" :laugh:

I am only slightly kidding though...my husband does not pass out the treats as fanatically as I do (since our boys are too fat) but he showers the boys with lots of attention, cuddles, kisses, rides around the living room, and skritches, and I think our boys love him even MORE than me! So there you go...it is not ALL about num nums, but they do make for great bonding of course. :

Hi again!

So I was finally able to pick up a friend for Simon today, thanks to Crumbilina and minnieflower who originally had the babies (she posted them in her thread here). Crumbilina was awesome enough to pick him up all the way in Toronto for me and keep him until I could come and get him.

I don't have any good pictures of my own yet, but here's a gif I made of a video I took while they were in the playpen together.



I decided to name him Dexter! It was hard to choose between a few different names, but he looks like a Dexter to me. He's such a pretty rat I love his red eyes (my mom said they almost look like lights they're so bright) and his little brown snout.

He and Simon seem to be getting along really well together already. I wasn't sure how to go about introducing them because even though they are both young still I was still a little nervous. So I let them out in the play area first. Simon basically followed Dexter around everywhere (he did try a little humping already too), and if he got too annoying Dexter would basically pin Simon down on his back, then they would get up and start it all over again.

I put them back in the cage after (I have another cage that is brand new and hasn't even been used yet) to see how they would be in there. There was a bit more wrestling and squeaking that time, but they seem to be okay right now. They must be tired out. I'm cleaning out the regular cage that Simon was in now and plan on putting them in that one since it's bigger and nicer.

How much wrestling/squeaking should I be expecting? I'm assuming because they're new to each other they will fight a bit at first and even play fight later. As long as there's no actual injuries/blood they should be alright?

Dexter is slightly bigger than Simon (who's gotten quite a lot bigger now) but Simon is a little bugger too, which seems to be the reason for most of the wrestling.

Ooh I also bought those baby Gerber puffs the other night at Walmart as well, I see them all over this forum! They loooove them. New favourite treats.

ETA: They're both sleeping together under a blanket in the back up cage right now.

It sounds like they will be fine.
No blood, no foul.

Sounds like they are doing very well together so far! And Dexter is a perfect name for your new baby...he looks like a Dexter! Congrats on finding a sweet buddy for Simon! I am sure they will be the best of friends! Dexter is a cutie too!

Yes, as Joanne said, no blood, no foul. I am sure you will get a feel for the difference between squabbles and wrestling vs. real bullying or violent behavior. They seem to be getting along great so far! :lovestruck: