Has anyone ever boarded their rats?

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ViciousCurse

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2019
Messages
80
Location
Minnesota, USA
So, it looks like I have to move again. This time, I had only a two-week notice and my rats aren't allowed to be in the house during showings, but can live there up until we close on the house. Unsurprisingly, all of my friends said no, my family members dislike them because they're rats, so I'm out of options (aside from leaving them in the house during showings). A friend's roommate had four rats, but lost three in a week, so I don't know that I trust them with my fur babies.

So, I have to board my rats. This thread was made to ask how other people experienced boarding their rats. I know it'll be different from person to person, from facility to facility, etc. In the end, I guess I'm looking for some comfort, knowing my babies will be okay while they're away.

We have a place in mind and are going to go see it tomorrow, but they told us my cage (a DCN) may be too large for their facility and I may have to separate my group into two groups. Would I have to worry about re-introducing everyone? I just got Genji and Hanzo in with my group, and I worry about separating them and my older boys from each other. I can't say for sure how long it'll take since it could either take a few days, a few weeks, or even a few months until we finally get an offer for the house.

If I had to separate my boys, ideally, I'd have Genji and Hanzo with Arthur and Luci (my four youngest who seem to care more about new rats) as a single group, and then Grumpy, Ni, Lil Chu, and Owen as the other group (the older boys who don't seem to care about new rats). Do you think this a good idea?

It breaks my heart being away from my rats. I've never been away from them for more than 24 hours (aside from a random trip a couple years ago that was extremely brief). When they were at my aunt's, I went over every night to check up on them. I even moved in with my aunt well before our house sold just so I wouldn't have to be away.

And no, the aunt said my rats apparently smelled and she refuses to take them. Maybe I'm used to "rat smell" but I thought my guys smelled pretty good.

EDIT: I got in contact with the only local "pocket pet" rescue if they knew of a place where to board rats and they essentially just sent me a link of people they like, but at the same time, said they aren't responsible for how the small animals are treated and whatnot. It was just a list of five people or so. No organizations or facilities. Dunno how I feel about that. I guess, I'm just afraid of never seeing my babies again.
 
I work at a pet boarding facility and it will vary place to place obviously but we love our animals and take very good care of them :) i have lots of friends in the industry at other places and I can say the same for most of those facilities as well. If you haven’t already I would ask for a tour of where they are planning to keep your babies and I would be hesitant to leave my animals anywhere that said I couldn’t tour. You can also ask what you should bring for them at my work we allow people to pretty much bring whatever they want and I always mention we have a refrigerator for fruits and veggies! Above all just talk to the staff and make sure you get a good vibe before you drop off your babies but I’m sure they’ll be fine and loved and well cared for! Those of us in the pet industries are mostly in it for the love of the animals not the money.

Edit: also if you are going to be in the area while they are being boarded it never hurts to ask if you can visit them during their stay. We encourage it at my facility!
 
Ironically enough, the day you replied was the day I bought my rats home, lol.

Everything ended up going well, although one of my elderly rats had a myco flare due to the ammonia in the room. The "small critters" room had rabbits, ferrets, a bird, etc. They did a fantastic job at keeping my boys clean, but ammonia sometimes just persists and ended up irritating my rats' lungs. I've given them a couple of days since they got home and it's cleared right up, thankfully.

I visited them daily and the people said my rats were a hit. Apparently no one in my area ever boards their rats and mine were the first at the facility in at least four years!

I also felt a little silly going in and having them list off my rats' nicknames. I decided it was way better to tell them Grumpy's name was Grumpy instead of his real name, Chuchule.
 
I'm glad it went well!! Thats pretty funny about the rats nicknames lol. We love when friendly, fun pets come into my place of work... they're a blast! :)
 
No, not sure I would either. Way too risky for an illness to be contracted from other boarders,Cor even a parasite. Nope no thanks.
 
Boarding rats where no rats have been would be far better than boarding rats where rats are kept as well. There's a huge risk of spreading rat illness.
 
To my knowledge, they do clean down the room each time an animal enters or leaves boarding. They washed their hands in between handling/petting other animals in boarding. I didn't ever see it because, well, I was there for a single hour of the day. I realize the risk of illness, but I really had no other option. All of my family didn't want them (even if it was just a week), none of my friends could take them, and they absolutely couldn't be in the house while I was trying to sell it and have strangers tromping through. And, the vet charged an astronomically high price for boarding. Trust me, if I had any other option, I would've taken it.

My rats were also in their cage with litterbox bedding I provided, along with food provided by me, and any treats were given by me. Obviously, this doesn't make too much of a difference with airborne illnesses.

Plus, not a lot of facilities take pet rats, at least locally. Most either scoff, tell us no, or directed us there.

I should clarify, when I say the ammonia persisted in the room... Has anyone ever kept rabbits? I know this a rat forum and we won't get into the debate of how rabbits should be kept, but not-potty trained rabbits tend to urinate and defecate wherever they please, and for whatever reason, one of the rabbits in boarding was on newspaper of all things without a litterbox. They did clean the newspaper daily, but still. At least where I went, the boarding facility made it priority that the animals are kept in similar conditions as when they're at home, hence why this specific bunny cage had newspaper. The week my rats were there was the week of the rabbits lol. A couple of rabbit cages.

The one positive to come with all of this is with all of the loud noises (yes, they were in their own small room, but dogs were barking), people walking by the window of the room, and people saying hello, my shyer rats became a little more brave and less fearful. So, it worked as a great socialization for my shy boys! Of course, Luci still hides all day, but he doesn't run when he sees me anymore.
 
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Ok, that makes more sense. You were definitely in a predicament. I know what you mean about that ammonia smell. Great that your boys did very well!
 
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