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Tangs28

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Joined
Jun 25, 2015
Messages
6
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Hi Everyone! This is my first post and I apologize now for the question[emoji26]. I have had pet rats since I was little and my boyfriend has had many as well. A month ago we had to put our 4 y/o rat Speedy to sleep. We woke up one morning and he was not breathing right, refused to eat or drink and we could tell he was going to leave us so we ended his suffering [emoji24]. Horrible experience his brothers had already passed on their own randomly the passed year. We currently do not have any.

I was looking for a local breeder as all the ones we have gotten were from Petco, I honestly had no clue that there were local breeders until I got Speedy, Vadar, Chubbers and Hoodie(my daughter helped name them lol. Unfortunately they were bred as snake food so NOT a good breeder. I have found one that looks reputable.
So hopefully I haven't lost anyone with my long story so onto my question [emoji16].

As I was searching I came across Rat Bite Fever. I feel like a horrible mother my daughter was bit by one a few years ago, luckily she was totally fine no blood drawn. I want to get my boyfriend a hairless dumbo for his birthday on Saturday but now I can't help but be an overly paranoid mother. My daughters do not clean the cages their only contact is petting them. So now I'm extremely worried about getting another one( I know how stupid that sounds given we have had so many) but my girls come first. Is their a test the vet can do on the rat to check? And what is the likelihood that a rat from a breeder would be a carrier? I have been up all night reading everything I can about it but I'm not getting all info but luckily I found this forum. He's a rat man and the look on his face when he sees old pictures is tearing me up so any and all help is greatly appreciated.

Sorry for the novel [emoji16]
 
I honestly have never worried about Rat Bite Fever. I can say pretty well all of us have been bitten by our rats, some more than others, and not a little nip, I mean blood drawn. I can't say that I have ever heard of anyone getting this fever.
I would say it is highly unlikely to be in pet rats.
 
Thank you for the response. My daughters have been around them most of their lives I just read that article about the 10 y/o little boy and it crushed me.
Just to rest my never settled mind, I have severe anxiety, are vets able to test for it? Thanks again!
 
A few years ago I was bitten pretty bad (required antibiotics) and rat bite fever was never even mentioned by the doctor so I wouldn't worry about it.

Also I'm not sure where you are from but before you support a breeder I encourage you to see if there are any rescues in your area so you can support them rather than a breeder.
 
Thank you for responding. I'm in Phoenix I was looking around and I haven't found very many that will adopt just one. All the others we have had were in pairs or a small group but do to space issues right now I'm only able to set up a small cage for 1
 
A rat cage needs to be at least 4 cubic feet in size with a base of at least 30 in by 18 in and height with levels - this is the min size and it is ok for up to 2 rats.

Rats do need to live in same sex pairs or groups and 2 rats do not require more space them 1 rat.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDy3bMRuobE&feature=related[/ame]

I hope that if you get rats, you will get rats from a rescue, shelter or rats that are being rehomed

good luck
 
My rats were housed in a large ferret cage and very well taken care of my oldest rat lived to be 5. The last batch was the reason I wanted to do a breeder because they were very aggressive. It was to the point that any maintenance in the cage was done with gloves to remove them. They never let us handle them no matter how hard we tried. They were given great quality food as well as fresh fruits and veggies multiple water bottles that contained fresh water from our own bottles because the tap was not good enough.

I have a toddler now and do not want to put up that large cage again since it will be in the bedroom my boyfriend likes them close so they can cuddle after play time. I planned to use a tank this time as everything I read said it would be acceptable for a single rat as long as it was maintained twice a week. I have always had at least 2 but with the tank I figured it would be overcrowded with 2. So I will forget this present and go for something else.

Thanks for the replies.
 
All the cages I own are very large and being a stay at home mom I am not able to purchase a whole new cage. I keep fish so have lots of extra tanks.

This thread can be closed I was only wanting to know if after all these years if this "new to me" disease was something to be concerned with not if I am capable of making a good home, something I have done for countless rats. As stated before I will be getting him something that I can house safely in the space I have available.

Thanks for the replies I appreciate the information. He will just have to wait a few more years until we move. I only wanted to take away some of the pain from losing Speedy. Thanks again.
 
I know you want this thread to be closed but I have to put my two cents in, even if you don't want them. If you cannot get two rats, please, don't get any. Rats are EXTREMELY social animals as I'm sure you know. Housing one rat in a tank is a very bad idea. You are asking for trouble.

I am not trying to be rude but if you cannot keep an animal properly why get one at all? I understand that you miss Speedy and I am very sorry for your loss, but you should probably wait until you move so you can house the rats properly. If you cannot afford a proper small cage, how can you afford vet bills when/if your rat gets sick? Just seems like a bad idea. Just think it through a little more.

We forum users are not rude people, and everyone here sincerely cares about the rats we have. We just want the best for the rats involved. When posting on this forum people will speak up for rats if something seems off. It's just something we do. We have a reference guide on here that could be very helpful to you. Welcome to the forum, we are all people who really care about rats and are always glad to help you out! Hopefully you don't see us as rude people, but people who care. Anywho, just really think it over. I think it would be a really rewarding experience to wait to get rats and keep them once you move and can have more than one and the proper setup. :toothy1:

About the disease, I don't know where you live but it is very uncommon in the US and more common in Asia. It is also usually more common in wild rats rather than pet rats. It is really not something that I would personally worry about :)
 
My problem is that I have stated many times that I was no longer getting the animal. I have never housed one in a tank and this would have been the fist time. As I have also stated multiple times I took very good care of my many pets and yet only the first post was a response to my actual question. Honestly this will be my last post here I feel like I'm being jumped on someone that has plenty to give an animal. I only wanted information on a disease that was new to me and wanted to verify that I hadn't already taken too many chances with my children. I have a very good vet nearby and as I again have stated multiple times I have been doing tons of reading on using a tank and everything I saw has said it was safe if done properly. Not one thing I read stated that it shouldn't be done unless bad husbandry was a factor which it would not have been. But rest assured as I have said since it would not be good for one I will not be getting him one.
 
Hi :) I know it's an older post but I just wanted to say I don't believe anyone was trying to bully you. We're just very passionate about our rats. we want the best for them. I understand how some comments sounded pushy but I'm sure none of it was meant to feel like that.

I'm sure you took great care of your rats and will take great care of your future rats if you decide to adopt any. This forum is a great place to get info. I've gotten a lot of great information from experienced rat owners. It's hard to tell the tone of the person writing the post. I tend to put a lot of happy faces :p :)

I hope you decide to stick around :)
 
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