Weaselsue
Active Member
We just adopted three new skinnie rat babies. I thought it would be simple to integrate them into our already existing colony, since our first sets of girls got along together immediatly. But the new girls are more different than I expected!
Any tips on hairless rats?
What I have noticed in how they are different from our current girls: (although not sure if it is all because they are a different breed, or its different personalities, or different backgrounds, or what)
They smell different. It could be from diet.
They have a faster metabolism, more food, more poop (makes the different smell extra noticable).
They are about half the size.
They are much shyer with us.
While our other rats were immediate friends, one of our original girls seems interested and wants to hang out and play with them, while another original girl seems afraid of them. She puffs up like a cat when it is afraid. They have interacted only through the wires of a cage. not directly, but it did seem like some nipping was going on. I thought at first it was the old girls nipping them, but it seems to be the new little girls nipping the original ones. This might be complicated by one of each having sight problems?
I read that they need more grooming attention, and we hope to give them their first bath tonight. I'm planning on just using warm water with touch of rose water, and a touch of coconut oil for moisturizer. Since it is all food safe, I thought it would be a good place to start. I read that baby shampoo was the best thing to use. Could I just use my liquid soap on them? I am careful to use gentle stuff because my skin is picky. And if they work by scent, I was hoping a shared scent would help them ease into interacting with us calmer.
Any tips are welcome! I thought I knew what I was doing with rats enough, but these girls are just a bit different and I want to keep them happy and healthy too.
Any tips on hairless rats?
What I have noticed in how they are different from our current girls: (although not sure if it is all because they are a different breed, or its different personalities, or different backgrounds, or what)
They smell different. It could be from diet.
They have a faster metabolism, more food, more poop (makes the different smell extra noticable).
They are about half the size.
They are much shyer with us.
While our other rats were immediate friends, one of our original girls seems interested and wants to hang out and play with them, while another original girl seems afraid of them. She puffs up like a cat when it is afraid. They have interacted only through the wires of a cage. not directly, but it did seem like some nipping was going on. I thought at first it was the old girls nipping them, but it seems to be the new little girls nipping the original ones. This might be complicated by one of each having sight problems?
I read that they need more grooming attention, and we hope to give them their first bath tonight. I'm planning on just using warm water with touch of rose water, and a touch of coconut oil for moisturizer. Since it is all food safe, I thought it would be a good place to start. I read that baby shampoo was the best thing to use. Could I just use my liquid soap on them? I am careful to use gentle stuff because my skin is picky. And if they work by scent, I was hoping a shared scent would help them ease into interacting with us calmer.
Any tips are welcome! I thought I knew what I was doing with rats enough, but these girls are just a bit different and I want to keep them happy and healthy too.