My Lovely Rats

It’s not necessary to bathe rats normally, because they continually wash and groom themselves (and each other) several times a day. They don’t seem to bother much with their tails though - as I noticed after the “rat print making episode” when Rocky had purple stains on his tail for about a week! Bucks tend to be a bit wiffier than does and as I have four of them slobbing out together, I thought it might be good to give them a little bath.

I got an old washing up basin and filled it to about a quarter (not too deep!) with lukewarm water and a little squirt of baby bath, which is very mild. I had a nice warm towel at the ready for afterwards.

Shy-Shy was not impressed! He gave out a loud squeak of defiance, so I just gave him a quick swish and rubbed his fur very gently, then I wrapped him in the cosy towel which he loved! I rubbed him vigorously but carefully with the towel, and he went still, and seemed to enjoy it. In fact none of the boys were that struck on the bath, but they all liked the towel drying part.

Afterwards I noticed the rats were all busily washing themselves (probably weren’t keen on the baby bath) , but at least they were all very clean and glossy furred!

Note to self and other rat owners: Don’t bathe rats, it’s a futile exercise! Keep their cage clean, and they will keep themselves clean, it’s a rat thing.

Today my rats have been mostly eating sprouts.

Tags: Hygeine by admin
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My three daughters are aged between nearly four and nine, and all have regular playtime with the rats. Hannah, the eldest is very confident and relaxed with them and I’ve added some photos of her holding the rats to show how children should be encouraged to handle rats safely and gently. My second child, Skye is a little nervous at times, because the rats like to ‘nibble’ (not bite) her clothes! She is learning to trust them more and more though. My youngest, Maya is a bit heavy handed at times, and needs constant supervision, but we encourage her to be very gentle and not to grab her rats. Also, Maya will throw out her arms towards the rats and this is slightly alarming to them as you can imagine! So I’ve found the best solution is for Maya to sit in a chair, while I pass one of the rats to her. She is becoming more aware of how to act around the rats and they are much more at ease with her, especially Pip, who goes as limp as a blancmange in her grasp!

Young children need to use both hands to pick up a rat, firmly but gently around its middle, as in the following images:

Today my rats have been mostly eating fresh spinach

Tags: Handling and Taming by admin
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At the beginning of the summer we decided to buy a shed, due to my poor long-enduring boyfriend’s allergy to our little furry friends. Well, it seemed like a simple objective at the outset, but we would never have guessed the frustration, anguish and utter bewilderment it would evoke. We bought shed number 1 from a well known DIY store, it arrived late and water damaged with rust on all the fixings, so we asked for a replacement. Three weeks later, no new shed materialised, so we asked for a straight return and refund, which the store agreed, and a full refund was made, but no one arrived to pick up the damaged shed. After another phone call the store promised to send someone out to pick up the unwanted shed. It’s autumn and we’re still waiting, and there’s a big fat pile of wood in our back garden. Well, undeterred, we ordered shed number 2 from another company which specialised in shed stuff. Shed number 2 arrived on time, but considerably smaller than the size we ordered and it was black and damp with weather damage. We refused to accept it and the grim shed stayed on the lorry, and was sent back. Third time lucky, shed number 3 is being built by a local carpenter who makes good sound, only more expensive sheds!

My main concern for the rats living in the shed is the temperature. It gets pretty cold here in the winter months, so I am anxious to find a good solution to keep the cold at bay. Rats are not hardy animals like rabbits and guinea pigs, and thrive best at temperatures not below 6 degrees celcius. At the moment I am adding loft insulation to the shed, which is getting more even expensive and time consuming, but it will be worth it! You can get small wall mounted heaters, so we’re going to try that.

In the wild, rats live in complex burrows with bolt holes, larders and sleeping areas, which gave me an idea - I wanted to create a burrowing box for my boys to sleep in. I thought that ordinary hammock-style beds would be too draughty, so I bought a couple of large plastic food storage boxes. I drilled two holes (big enough for the rats to get through easily), one on either side, so that they had an “entrance” and a “bolt hole”. I drilled lots of small air holes, and four slightly larger holes to hang the boxes up with, because my rats like to sleep high up in their cage, and never on the floor. Then I added their cardboard litter, and plenty of clean hay.

The result was - all four boys were snuggling in the one box the next day, and seemed happy to burrow into the hay, which should keep them warm and toasty when I transfer them to the shed. Hurray!

Today my rats have been mostly eating porridge oats.

Tags: Housing by admin
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