My boy’s being a menace

[Blaze]

So I have just one rat, a little albino I saved. He doesn't know how to drink from a water bottle because he had a bad leg injury, so he has two water dishes. And I cannot make him stop putting food and bedding in his water bowls. I’m a full time student so I’m not able to spend much time with him during the day, but I do take him out for about an hour each night too give him some exercise and love. But he’s still being crazy and I have to dump his waters every morning and change his bedding because it’s wet. Is there anything I can do to try and get him to stop other than using a water bottle?

 

[Rat_Friends]

Can you lower the water bottles on the cage so your rat doesn't have to stand on his back legs much in order to drink? Or try a bird water bottle like this.

What kind of bottle do you have currently? The kind with a sipper tube and the ball valve? If that's what you have, have you checked to make sure that they work? Maybe they don't and that's why your rat is not able to use them. Give the sipper tube a good cleaning and make sure the ball valve freely moves in the tube when you shake it. Don't overfill the bottle or it will become air locked and no water will come out even if the ball valve works.

 

[Blaze]

He has two little dishes just on the floor of his cage, he’s in a glass cage so I can’t attach anything on the side

 

[Kye]

He has two little dishes just on the floor of his cage, he’s in a glass cage so I can’t attach anything on the side

Tanks are incredibly hazardous to rats as there's not enough ventilation for their sensitive respiratory tracks and often lead to URIs, if you could get a cage even if it's the same size as the tank he would benefit greatly from it. As for the water issue before I lost my final girl I couldn't get her to stop filling her water either so the only way to ensure she would be able to drink was a bottle and a bowl for the times I couldn't be with her.

 

[Lise Patterson]

Dear Blaze,
You obviously love your injured albino, and it is a quandary when these little ones can't use water bottles. Does his leg injury cause balance problems that prevent him from using the bottle? If so, would it help to lower the bottle? Or is it that he can't figure out how to use it? If so, could you encourage him to explore the mechanism?
I have had rats who simply reject the bottle for unknown reasons. For them I don't dare rely on the bottle alone, so I also leave a lot of cucumber slices in their cage while I'm away - those things having amazing water content (even more than watermelon) and rats always seem to love them. Then when I let them out for hours of free-ranging they have access to water in heavy bowls...too heavy to tip. Many rats enjoy access to water in bowls and some use it to help clean themselves.
Wire cages can be expensive, but sometimes you can find great deals on kijiji.
Best of luck with your little sweetie.

 

[Lise Patterson]

Forgot to mention one thing...there are a variety of water bottle dispenser models for glass tanks, in case the setup is your main problem. If your local pet stores don't have them, Amazon does. Of course moving to a wire cage would give you more options.

 

[Dena]

OK. I see on here, nobody has mentioned the most important thing. HE NEEDS A FRIEND. He HAS to have a friend with him. He could be bored, or trying to tell you he needs help or is lonely. Plus, for whatever reason, rats love to push bedding around. So a change in cage (a wire cage with a solid bottom, and solid shelves, or many baskets attached to the side (get these from a dollar store for cheap) and lots of places to hide, and toys to play with. You can make toys, and cardboard boxes make great hiding places and nesting places. He needs a friend though, and ASAP. There's no way you can replace the playing, and grooming, and comfy curled up sleeping pile, that a cage mate can. They will need to be properly introduced. See www.joinrats.com for that info. Best of luck!

 

[Blaze]

OK. I see on here, nobody has mentioned the most important thing. HE NEEDS A FRIEND. He HAS to have a friend with him. He could be bored, or trying to tell you he needs help or is lonely. Plus, for whatever reason, rats love to push bedding around. So a change in cage (a wire cage with a solid bottom, and solid shelves, or many baskets attached to the side (get these from a dollar store for cheap) and lots of places to hide, and toys to play with. You can make toys, and cardboard boxes make great hiding places and nesting places. He needs a friend though, and ASAP. There's no way you can replace the playing, and grooming, and comfy curled up sleeping pile, that a cage mate can. They will need to be properly introduced. See www.joinrats.com for that info. Best of luck!

I’m just scared that, because he was injured and will never really fully heal, I don’t want him to get picked on and hurt again. I’ve since got him a bigger cage with three levels and a hammock so he has a lot more to do now, but he’s never had anyone else with him and I'm just scared for his health if we get someone else for him.

 

[Dena]

It's actually beneficial to his health to have a buddy. Maybe try to find him a neutered male, or spayed female. How old is he? How long ago did the injury occur? Do you know exactly what happened to him? Rats are VERY social creatures, and it's pretty important for their mental and physical health to have a buddy. Try not to let your fears keep him isolated from friends.

 

[Blaze]

It's actually beneficial to his health to have a buddy. Maybe try to find him a neutered male, or spayed female. How old is he? How long ago did the injury occur? Do you know exactly what happened to him? Rats are VERY social creatures, and it's pretty important for their mental and physical health to have a buddy. Try not to let your fears keep him isolated from friends.

When I got him he had a big puncture wound on his back leg that kept getting infected and it took a while to heal. He’s about a year old (I got him when he was about 2 and a half months) and he still doesn't use that leg as much as the other even though it’s been fully healed for about 5 months. He also likes to stash his treats and eat them later and I don’t want him to get his snacks stolen when he’s done the same thing for the majority of his life