General for the discussion of rodent care with a focus on rats. Other rodents welcome but replies maybe slow No brakes: muh feet's don't reach edition >Rats need love >Rats need companionship >Rats need free roam time Caring for your rats https://ratguide.com/care-intro Rat first aid: http://neratsociety.co.uk/articles/firstaid.shtml Good and bad food: https://squeaksandnibbles.com/safe-foods-for-rats/ Cage cleaning https://ratguide.com/care/environment/cage_cleaning.php Continuing from >>>5061960
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Anonymous05/24/26(Sun)17:07:10
They are a distant relative within the superclass.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euarchontoglires
One of my pet rats started limping today. He doesn't put weight on his hind leg and seems to be in some pain. Poor guy can't even scratch his itch ;_;
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Anonymous06/03/26(Wed)17:13:02
>>5131366 Vet ASAP, signs of discomfort is a warning here Any signs of inflammation or are veins more prominent? Note size, colour and track between now and vet visit to establish if it's getting better or worse. Veins being more prominent can help show if there's deep inflammation Any signs of cuts or splinter? If so check https://neratsociety.co.uk/articles/firstaid.shtml for info on cleaning but a vet appointment is still my recommendation Have they been eating alfalfa or apple seeds? These cause kidney issues and the back legs getting inflamed etc can indicate that but injury is more likely than kidney problems Posting pics would help identify care until you get them to a vet
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Anonymous06/05/26(Fri)02:14:18
im a new rat owner and losing my mind over how much DOGSHIT info there is on what foods are and arent safe for rats. even the 'good' info will just say vague shit like "fine occasionally in small amounts" with zero actual hard information on what amounts are in the healthy threshold and pet people online love being insane hypochondriacs saying shit with zero factual basis
yet rats are the most studied animal there is. ive been combing through literally dozens of scientific papers and trying to apply the results in practical terms but even thats hard when so many studies are "we gave them like 3000 mg of this compound every day and they got sick lol" like NO SHIT
if anyone has specific questions or stuff theyre worried about let me know. i might have to make the ultimate scientifically backed hard data guide on 'rat eating yummy treat' to try and shut some of these people up
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Anonymous06/05/26(Fri)07:24:57
>>5131938 >yet rats are the most studied animal there is Yes but it's from the perspective of human health so it leads to >we gave them like 3000 mg of this compound every day and they got sick lol I was trying to figure out if small amounts of rooibos tea was safe for a rat with long term respitory issues but no information in medical papers about long term effects on the rats. Just confirmation on the positive effects it has on humans >make the ultimate scientifically backed hard data guide on 'rat eating yummy treat' That would be appreciated Can you post links to anything you've got for good treats? I CTRL+F http when starting fresh bread and try include anything relevant in the OP
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Anonymous06/05/26(Fri)07:51:27
>>5132003 >Can you post links to anything you've got for good treats? Not really honestly, most of my research so far has been on toxicity. But i'd say anything high in protein that isnt too fatty is going to be a favorite for them, like chicken and eggs
There's some inaccuracies i've already found with the link in the OP. It lists yogurt as a good food, but the lactose in it is one of the few things humans can eat that rats can't. rats past weening age almost entirely lose the ability to break down the lactose sugars or absorb it as nutrients, and it can cause a lot of irritation and inflammation even with small amounts. lactose free cheeses like parm/cheddar are surprisingly fine.
A few of the foods listed as 'never' are also safe and fine. >Chocolate Dark is fine, even reccomended by vets in some cases. The sugar in regular milk chocolate is bad sure, but not uniquely compared to other foods with it too >peanuts listed for reasons that only apply to raw peanuts, which you really have to go out of your way to get >onions Fine. I'm actually surprised they list onions here but not garlic. Since garlic is pretty similar but about 3x more concentrated. Again, you'd have to really try. there's anti-feedants in garlic/onion but they really just deter with scent and break down over time fast, and cooking in any form also breaks them down. you'd have to really try and feed in excessive amounts that cause toxicity >Citrus same story, the amount given to the male rats in that story was a concentrated amount directly of that specific compound that isn't even that abundant in oranges. If you gave them a whole orange every day? Sure it'd be a problem but literally nobody is going to do that
I'm sure there's inaccuracies with the other ones listed there i havent looked into yet
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Anonymous06/07/26(Sun)04:46:13
So I'm going to touch on the rodent part of the thread. The only pets I've ever had were cats and dogs, but I thought about a rodent.
By process of elimination I arrived at a hamster, from what I've read it seems you generally either adapt a terrarium or build your own cage for the dudes because store bought cages are nor really good for them, any other general advice?
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Anonymous06/07/26(Sun)14:25:56
>>5128093(OP) why do some rats have human ears? it freaks me out
>>5132603 You can get store bought enclosures but similar to building out a vivarium or cage you get what you pay for Personally I recommend doing your own but only if you're already a little handy I'm a ratanon so wait about for a hanonster for better advice >>5132701 That's side angle pics, front in they're like >>5131042 I'd guess the shape evolves easy to catch sound
>>5131380 >>5131366 Late reply, have only been on ip-banned cellular network lately. The doctor ordained rest and pain medication which the little guy is happily taking. His paw is healing nicely and his energy levels are up as well!
That aside, I have an old smaller cage with a detachable top and was thinking if that wouldn't be the best for some safe outdoor play? I think they might enjoy some fresh air and new smells. Think something like pic related with the "cage" part against the ground.
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Anonymous06/10/26(Wed)16:37:47
>>5133417 fuark, approaching comf' levels never thought possible
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Anonymous06/10/26(Wed)21:56:04
>>5133624 >have only been on ip-banned cellular network lately try turning airplane mode on then off, i find that resets the IP. Sometimes have to do it more than once but it works.