Rufus

Question
QUESTION: Rufus went to the vet, he doesnt have any signs of testicular abscesses, good news!! :)
he had to get an IV for some fluids though, he was really dehydrated, now hes okay, but hes still not drinking, anything. right now hes hydrated really well though!! i told them to give him a little bit extra just until i am able to find a way to make him drink. any ideas?
and its amazing how strong, and consistent he can be when he wants to be! It took 3 of us to hold the little guy down to get the needle into him! haha. he was NOT happy. but he got 'er done and now, atleast hes eating!! :) another good thing!!
but hes had a rash on his tail, well since i got him, its never bothered him before, still isnt, but i just wanted to know if there is anything i can put on it that is okay for him to lick and that will moisturize it, but not dehydrate him at the same time. haha. my poor old boys falling apart!! aha.

ANSWER: THats good news but I dont like that part he isnt drinking.

Why isnt he?


You can mash up watermelon, great fruit for getting water in someone. I know if I have just a bite I am in and out of the bathroom for hours. I have a little bladder:) haha

BABY FOOD!  Stage 1. Its alot of water mixed in, too. That will help tons. Did you try kool aid in a dropper? Or on a flat dish?
Pedialyte. Great for this kind of thing.

Poor Rufus.
Did you ever see a Hairless rat get fluids? Its HILARIOUS because you can see where the water accumulates and you have to smoosh it around to distribute it.  I have some scars from clinic rats that were pretty pi$$ed at me when we had to put lactated ringers under their skin. We can start an IV on them but it takes sedation to get them to hold still and you need an tiny itty bitty needle but for critically ill rats we have done it.

I wonder why he wont drink?

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

QUESTION: i know! :( i don't like it either!!!
its likes hes just giving up on it! :s its weird..

haha ill have to get him some watermelon then. :P

I had a hairless rat (although she was supposed to have hair, she just didn't develop it) that had to get fluids before!! it is funny! :P
Haha, i dont have any scars from them yetm Rufus will be the one to do it though i bet :P Lily was so used to needles she just didnt care! :( my poor baby!!
do you think he would drink if i put butter or something on the spout?

ANSWER: Have you put it in a dish? Did you try anything flavored?  Heck melt a popcicle or something....he would probably love that. have you tried baby food?

He will probably lick the spout and get all the butter off and be done with it but you can try. Is the spout working ok as far as getting water out etc??

A long time ago (and it still makes me sick!) I have a huge jug of distilled water (for my crabs) and one with ocean salt water, also for the crabs.  I heard its best to give the rats distilled water rather than tap so I did that for a few days and little did I know I had the stupid bottles mixed up and was giving my rats and bunny rabbit OCEAN SALT WATER!  They were hardly drinking it but bunny drank 8oz of it. I dropped to my knees and freaked out, called the vet and said it was OK as long as they didnt put down bottles of it but they probably took one sip and thought  huh???   But bunny liked it.  He is fine (this was a year or more now) but talk about feeling totally inadequate!!!!

Another time the nipple (spout as you call it) was clogged and no water was coming at all but I found it the same day because I check it all the time which is why I asked you about it.



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

QUESTION: i tried kool-aid. he didnt ake it. the sprout is good, its all coming out. the only thing he eats is babyfood. hes starting on some hard food. but not a lot of it. when i make the baby food i put and extra tsp on water in it so he gets some more water out of it. and i also use cold water instead of hot.

oh wow! haha
what kind of crabs do you have? i used to have Hermit Crabs. they were so cute :) but when i was in the hospital, sadly i didnt have anyone to take care of them and they passed away :'(.
But its a good think that the salt water didn't hurt them!!! that would be horrible!!

Answer
I have four hermit crabs. They are huge (my largest is the size of an orange) and old. THe oldest is about 8. I have had them for 4 to 5 years now, adopting the 8 year old from a friend. I also keep them in their own aquariums. They used to fight and try to pull each other from their shells etc..and dig each other up when one would molt. They say they are social creatues and maybe so, but they would be dead if i didnt put them alone. The two larger ones are males and they are in 20gal tanks and the two smaller ones are in 10 gal tanks. They have side mounted heating mats and I keep the substrate which is eco earth, right at 78 to 80 degrees and the humidity in the air is right around 80 percent. SO they are in the most suitable atmosphere that represents their own environment.
They all molt in their little huts etc...they are too big for those coco huts so they have this huge tree bark houses and they drink up, eat like hogs and molt right in their houses because they know that there is no other crab that will dig them up. Its really cool when they molt. It used to take them a month or more but now that they surface molt they do it within 2 weeks and are out and about much sooner and they are gorgeous if you can call them that. I dont take them out to play or anything I just let them alone. The rats like to go up to the tank and smack the glass if they see one moving around climbing etc...they also do NOT eat commercial food. I get it online and its all organic stuff so they are really fat, plump and they are super happy.  Most people I talk to cant believe i have had them so long but I know other crab people that have had the same crabs over 10 years! They can live to be 40 in captivity. I wish our rats lived at least 10 years!!!!!
Am I a hermit crab enthusiast?  I know stuff, but no, once they are in hermie crab heaven, I wont have any more. At least I dont think I will. If I know myself though I will be in Petco and see a pathetic crab missing legs with a hole in the shell and bring it home. I wont see it home. I did that before with Hobo. He had a hole in his shell and was missing a leg and his large claw. I did not think he would live. He dug down a good 6 inches in the substrate and did not come up for 5 weeks or more. He put on a new shell first though leaving the broken one behind. The pet store said he did not want a new shell when I asked why this poor crab wore a broken shell so bad you can see his abdomen. ANyhow he came up afte 5 weeks a new crab. He had a new leg and a new claw and he never went down to molt again. That was five years ago or so. He is now the size of a small to medium sized tomato.

They are ALOT of work every day and I mean ALOT!  Much harder than the rats who are easy and plus the rats are loaded with personality. The crabs are grumpy.   Its because of them I stopped eating shell fish.  seriously. I cant stand the fact people eat crab and lobster etc...it grosses me out now.  LOL

I am a real nerd when it comes to small animals but the best part is, most people say I dont "look" like someone that would own rats and hermit crabs whatever that means. I guess you need a third eye to own them?  I dunno what that statement means. When I tell people I am a rat care specialist they think I mean some kind of scientist that uses rats for testing or something. Weird people. I like furry friends best. LOL