coordination-prt 2

Question
QUESTION: hi, this is nik. ive had to start a new question due to too many follow-ups! i just wanted to ask one final question. as you know my last rat died on tue of a possible pituitory tumour and this has left me with one female rat. i just wanted to ask if you advice getting rats from pets at home? i bought three from the store in notts. my albino-snowy had to be put down at the age of 1yr 3mnths as she had cancer. my second rat hermione had to be put down at the age of 1yr 9mnths on tue and my third rat has already been treated for a urinary infection.is there anything that i could have possibly done wrong to cause this or is this due to poor breeding? they were housed in a jenny cage, news paper is used to line the cage and for nest building, soft tissue is also used as bedding (all rodent bedding from the stores caused my ratties to sneeze!), and a clay cat litter is used in the litter tray. they are fed on rat nuggets from pets at home and a rat mixer for variety. they also got on a daily bases:
carrot, peas, cucumber, tomato, sweetcorn, banana and grapes. as an added treat they also get peppers, cauliflour, broccoli, apple, unsweetened cereal and a little bit of choc if their lucky!! they had a reggie rat treat every night and the fruit/veg reggie rat sticks and a mineral block are hung in the cage. i only ask as i dont want to be the one causing my rats harm. finally, and i know this is a long message-sorry! if i got two more female rats i could not afford to get them neutered, and more to the point i do not trust any of my local vets to carry out the op. would it therefore be unwise for me to get two more female rats, and is there anything i can give them that would help to reduce the risk of the health issues associated with intact females? also, at the moment the only rats available from every store i have been in are dumbo, are there any additional health issues with this breed? scrat-my remaining rat is a black hooded fancy rat. i would be greatful for any help that you can give and i apolagise again for the length of this que!

ANSWER: its ok if you write alot, I do too so dont feel bad!

First of all, get rid of the cat litter, please. Trust me, it can be very bad for the rats. If they eat even a piece of it, it is toxic to them.  Try care fresh??

Also, the health risks with intact females are vaginal bleeding from uterine infections and mammary tumors. The only way to prevent it is to spay at a young age.  If you dont trust your vet, you need to find one that you do trust.  Not everyone spays their rats so dont think you have to do it as it can be expensive, but regardless, you will need a vet that knows what they are doing if the rats get sick with other issues in the future.

Check out this link to find a vet in your area:

http://www.aemv.org/vetlist.cfm

keep the diet low protein and low fat. Check out my link for diets here:

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/ratsandahealthydiet.htm



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: hi,
  i really need your advice..i bought a 6wk old female rat 2 wks ago, put her with my 2yr old female and they get along great. the problem is that i have just gone to clean out my rat cage and i have found 4 babies!!! they can only be a maximum of 3days old. they were born in the same cage as my other rat and there hasnt been any problems so far but i know that your not supposed to house nursing females with  other rats. should i seperate them even though their has been no problems so far, or should i leave them together? i am worried about the two rats not going back together after the babies are gone but i also dont want the babies to be killed. finally, what should i be feeding the nursing rat now..are their any extras that she should be getting with her standard rat nuggets for example soya milk???
i would be greatful if you could get back to me as ive never had rat babies before!!
thanks

Answer
Oh my goodness the little rat had babies?  Thats just so sad!  Was she a feeder rat?   

You can keep the older rat in there as long as there is no fighting. The little young rat had just a few babies due to her young age.  One good thing is since the older rat is 2, well, you never know how long she will be around and now there are  3 new rats too.    Hopefully they are all girls but if not, hopefully there are two males in the mix so they can be together and now you have yourself...5 rats!!  I have four, so its not so much. Its just right.

Feed mom some scrambled eggs, soy milk or soy infant formula,keeping the protein low following my recipes on my diet page.  Make sure they have what is called MILK BANDS which is the milk you can see in the bellies of the pups so you know mom is feeding them good.  Their skin is transparent so you can see the milk through their tummy.Let me know about that!!  Also, be sure the cage they are in has small bar spacing so the pups cant get through them when they move around, after the eyes open around 2 weeks old or so. Also, handle them. You MUST touch, hold and talk to them starting NOW so you can be sure they are social or they will be shy and may even bite when they start to get around.

If you feel better, move the older rat out, not the young rat and babies, and let the older rat and young rat play together daily but dont keep mom from the rat for longer than 30 minutes at a time so the pups dont get cold.  Be sure that mom has lots of white paper towels to shred up to make a nest for them too.

Keep me posted and if you need anything just write!