The Quick Question Thread

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yea this was like clumps not liquid like porph.
But I know what u mean...thankyou for the answer!

One more quick one, as all must know by know Aili and Kaina are my first rats so all rat stuff is new to me.
Those girls are not a year old yet, maybe at the teen level in their growth...but they seem to sleep alot mostly Aili..is that normal?
 
It can dry up and kinda clump. I usually only see that when they are just waking up.

Yeah rats tend to sleep a lot, especially during the hours we are awake since they are crepuscular. So long as they are still active when they are awake that sounds normal to me.
 
I have a cage question.
I want to get pet rats, and the cage I want is either the single or the double Critter nation. HOWEVER, Every 1-3 years (usually every or every other year), in the summer, I will go on a 1-2 month vacation to Ukraine. While I can leave my hamster in the care of a trusted friend who also has a Syrian hamster of her own, I would not feel as comfortable leaving rats because they are more responsibility and they bond with their owners more, so like I wouldn't want to leave a dog for 1-2 months, I wouldn't want to leave rats for 1-2 months. The only solution I can think to this is getting a "collapsible" cage or whatever they are called, along with my Critter Nation. Something not too expensive, good quality and size, but easy to take apart and put back together with little to no tools. Also, does anybody have any experience in travelling with rats in airplanes? Is it too dangerous? The airline I take allows pets in the cabin with the passenger as long as they are under 20 pounds and are in an approved carrier. They stay under the seat the whole ride. How are rats staying in carrier for about 10 hours?
 
MeoMeu said:
I have a cage question.
I want to get pet rats, and the cage I want is either the single or the double Critter nation. HOWEVER, Every 1-3 years (usually every or every other year), in the summer, I will go on a 1-2 month vacation to Ukraine. While I can leave my hamster in the care of a trusted friend who also has a Syrian hamster of her own, I would not feel as comfortable leaving rats because they are more responsibility and they bond with their owners more, so like I wouldn't want to leave a dog for 1-2 months, I wouldn't want to leave rats for 1-2 months. The only solution I can think to this is getting a "collapsible" cage or whatever they are called, along with my Critter Nation. Something not too expensive, good quality and size, but easy to take apart and put back together with little to no tools. Also, does anybody have any experience in travelling with rats in airplanes? Is it too dangerous? The airline I take allows pets in the cabin with the passenger as long as they are under 20 pounds and are in an approved carrier. They stay under the seat the whole ride. How are rats staying in carrier for about 10 hours?
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As long as they are not too crowded, the rats can stay in the carrier. You would outfit it with food and water just like a normal cage. I would only ever take them as carry on.
However, that being said, if I was going away for a month I would probably leave them with a friend. Then you wouldn't have to worry about possibly needing a vet, or your accomodations, or running out of food, travelling delays, or exposing them to extra stress.(I think it would be less stressful to just move to a friend's house.)
I have left my rats at my friend's house several times and they seem to do OK.
 
Yeah, I guess if it's just a month and my friend is willing to care for rats (I'm not too sure how much I can trust her with rats....). But if it's 2 months, I don't think I could stand being away that long, and what if something medical popped up? It would totally ruin the vacation and be a waste of money because every day I would be dying to go home. I guess whether I would take them or not depends on the circumstances. I mean, I ultimately would want what's best for them, so if that means missing them, but saving them the trip, I would find a friend to care for them.
If I were to take them, can anybody recommend some good collapsible rat cages that I could take in my suitcase? :) I would just buy one in Ukraine, but the cages there are absolutely crappy :p
 
Would you have access to food and a vet, etc in the Ukraine?
You might not be able to get a big enough cage into your suitcase. Unless you have a large suitcase! There are some cages that you can break down into each wall. Then you could use zip ties to hold it together. Then when it's time to leave, you just cut the zip ties and throw the walls back into the suitcase.
 
I would just take the food with me (spread it out in bags between the 3/4 suitcases). I have a pretty large suitcase, and barely any clothes/supplies to take, so I would just pack all the rat supplies in there. If there isn't enough room (which I doubt), I can send some of the supplies in a parcel to Ukraine a few weeks beforehand. The health care for humans is *really good* in Ukraine, but I'm not too sure how great the vet care is. Still, I have drove by vet clinics while there. I'd definitely make sure to take a rattie first aid kit along with me, though.
I just thought of someone reliable that could take care of them while I would be away though- my mom. Sometimes, it's just me that goes to Ukraine, and she stays back in Canada, so I could trust her with it. Currently, she isn't a fan of rats, but she has never even held a domestic rat, and it seems as though they really get through to even the most misunderstanding people :)
 
You would absolutely have to find a rat knowledgeable vet before going. If there was a health emergency, they'd be better off being taken in to their existing vet by your friend than you scrambling around trying to find a decent vet there. Considering there are only so many vets in North America that offer reasonably good rat care, I'd think chances of finding one in Ukraine would be slim. Very slim.

That said, if you were to take them with you, and this is something you intend to do yearly, may be better to just have a cage to stay there for them if the person you stay with is willing to store it? Bringing one back and forth... I dunno.. could be a nightmare. And I don't know how much trouble you might have getting it through customs.

I, personally, would recommend them staying home. If we were talking about you going to New Brunswick for a month, or the states, it would be a different story.
 
Moon said:
You would absolutely have to find a rat knowledgeable vet before going. If there was a health emergency, they'd be better off being taken in to their existing vet by your friend than you scrambling around trying to find a decent vet there. Considering there are only so many vets in North America that offer reasonably good rat care, I'd think chances of finding one in Ukraine would be slim. Very slim.

That said, if you were to take them with you, and this is something you intend to do yearly, may be better to just have a cage to stay there for them if the person you stay with is willing to store it? Bringing one back and forth... I dunno.. could be a nightmare. And I don't know how much trouble you might have getting it through customs.

I, personally, would recommend them staying home. If we were talking about you going to New Brunswick for a month, or the states, it would be a different story.
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In addition to the likely lack of vet care available in the Ukraine, you have to keep in mind that animals usually fly as CARGO. It's very likely they would have to go on a different flight than yours as cargo on passenger planes is often kept in an unpressurized compartment. I would not trust my rats to be cared for by the airline for any period of time, let alone the risk of injury if there's any turbulence and the stress it would put your rats under. To add insult to injury, many pets get LOST in transit and there's little you can do. At least in North America, the negative PR to the airlines when a cat or dog is lost is somewhat of a motivation to be more mindful but in the Eastern Europe I doubt there would be any incentive to be extra careful with a rat other than the fact they would have to give you a refund.

As hard as it may be for you, the best thing for your rats would be to find someone here to care for them. They may not be as attentive as you are, but it would still be safer for them than the alternative.
 
I understand what you guys are saying. It won't be a yearly thing (too expensive to go every year) but I'm most likely going next summer and then waiting 2-3 years before I go again. I probably won't be getting rats until next Christmas so I wouldn't have to worry about this for another 2 or so years. If so, I will definitely ask a friend or my mom to care for them. (Oh and the airline I use definitely allows animals with the passengers, not in the cargo). Thank you everyone!!! :)
 
Another thought - I see you are in Guelph. There are quite a few Rat Shackers in Ontario - perhaps an experienced one would be willing to care for your ratties. Even if it's a couple of hours drive, it would be worth it. Frankly I would be scared trying to take ANY pet on an international flight. And if you only have two or three and you bring their cage, then it's not too much more work for someone, and chances are they would already have a rat vet lined up.
 
MeoMeu said:
I understand what you guys are saying. It won't be a yearly thing (too expensive to go every year) but I'm most likely going next summer and then waiting 2-3 years before I go again. I probably won't be getting rats until next Christmas so I wouldn't have to worry about this for another 2 or so years. If so, I will definitely ask a friend or my mom to care for them. (Oh and the airline I use definitely allows animals with the passengers, not in the cargo). Thank you everyone!!! :)
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I think it's great that you're looking into it ahead of time. Too many people get pets and then don't consider this stuff until the last minute.
 
How do you tell when it is time to trim a rat's teeth? If you provide them with chew toys and they are always bruxing does that help keep them down and keep you from having to trim them?
 
For the most part, they'll keep their own teeth down through regular bruxxing/eating.

The only time you'll usually need to do trims is if they've got a malocclusion, where their teeth don' tline up properly. Some rats come by this naturally through genetic defect or whatever, but usually what will happen is they'll break a tooth, and then they grow at an uneven rate so they can't brux them down. that's when a trim comes into play :)
 
How do I get my teen to stop driving me mad?


yeah I know it is a rat forum, but worth a shot! LOL
 

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