Im new at this!

Question
QUESTION: I just recently bought 2 new rats from a local pet store. I have been reading up on proper care for my new buddies, but every site has different advice! They are both females (Kanga and Roo are their names). They are in a 24" by 14" wire cage, is this big enough for the both of them? I'm using CAREFRESH bedding is this safe for them?

I'm mostly concerned about their diet, I bought them NutriphaseGOLD rat and mouse seed mix. I have seen a lot about lab blocks being healthier but i have no idea what they are or where to buy them. I'm still in high school and don't have my own credit card so I am unable to purchase them over the Internet. I have been giving them fresh fruits and veggies (mostly carrots grapes celery and bananas) every day as well. I was advised to buy Oasis vita-drops to put in their drinking as a supplement. Are these okay to give them?

I am also taking care of 2 of my friends rats for the next 2 months while they both went on vacation. One friend has a hairless rat who has been kept alone for about 2 months now. He wanted me to buy her a friend. When I brought a new friend home i cleaned Kiro's cage and placed them both inside Kiro was very aggressive towards the new younger friend(who is now my Kanga.)Was this because she wasn't hairless? When i went back the next week to buy Kanga a friend she had no problem being introduced to Roo. Has Kiro been alone for too long to have a friend? Even though shes active sometimes i feel like she's just bored.

Kiro also has had a problem with her right eye. At first it was just slightly more closed than the other. My friend said The people at petsmart said to just give her 1 drop of human eye drops 2 times a day. But just recently a red colored crust has formed around her eye. Should i take her to a vet or are the drop okay for now?

One Last thing (I swear!) the other two rats i am taking care of (sneezy and chef) are a lot more active than Kanga and Roo. Roo is the youngest and smallest and i think she may just be adjusting since i've only had her for about a week. I believe Kanga is older than Roo because Kanga is larger and was in the pet store for a few week longer. I'm not certain of their ages but I know Sneezy and Chef must be older than 4 months old. Kanga sleeps most of the time and occasionally makes sneezing noises but when i open the cage to say hello she's get up and seems very curious. Is this just her personality or should i be concerned?

Thank you soo much for taking time to read this! I just feel sort of overwhelmed! I want to make sure my new friends have the best life possible!

ANSWER: Hi there, Caitlin! Welcome to the world of rats!!


I will try to answer your questions best as I can, and will go in order but I do want to address this first:
Never use any eye drops that are for humans. Whoever told you that from the pet store had no right to suggest you do that and possibly harm the rats eyes. The only thing you can use is sterile saline that is often found in contact fluid. However, many of these products contain preservatives and this is one thing we need to avoid. Sterile preservative free contact solution (saline) is OK for an eye that may be irritated.  However, what you are seeing is NOT infection. The rusty colored mucus is called "porphyrin" and it resembles blood, but it is not. Instead, it is a secretion from a gland behind the rats eyes that is usually produced in excess when the rat is stressed. Being Kiro is hairless, she may have some eye irritation but sometimee when the rat is stressed due to illness they produce porphyrin. I hope she is not sneezing etc....and is near your rats. Is she healthy otherwise?
See more about porphyrin at my website:
http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/bloodynoseandeyes.htm

Please check out the photos and compare it to Kiro and let me know if ths is the same thing she has in her eyes too and how often do you see it?

Next, their cage. No their cage is too small for them. It is not even big enough to house 1 rat comfortably. Rule of thumb is to allow 2 to 2.5 cubic feet per rat. If they are tiny young rats, its "ok" for the time being, but they will need a new cage very soon. Rats kept in small cages are not happy or healthy no matter how much they come out to play. They need to move and have room to themselves.

The minimum you can go for two rats would be 28" high, 28" wide and about 18 inches deep. This size would be comfy and not cramped. One way to do it is that you want a cage that would house at least one extra rat, so a cage for 3 rats would be ideal for two and so on.

You can check out the cage calculator here:

http://kristinewickstrom.homestead.com/files/panelapplet.html




Just an idea of cages that house 2 rats happily, a before and after photo:

Cage at store:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753352&cp=2767038.2769317&s

Cage fixed up with fabric added to shelves etc...very comfy for two rats.
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j71/sugarfoxx/08%20June%20Misc/cage1.jpg

Martins Cages
http://www.martinscages.com/products/cages/rat/

Here is a cage fixed up and ready, rats living in it from Martins. It is an R 680 which is good for two rats.

Hope you can see these images ok!!


http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j71/sugarfoxx/08%20June%20Misc/cageratlodger68


Next up is food and DIET! There is ALOT to learn, I know, but dont get overwhelmed. I made my website, Critter City, for new rat owners and veteran rat owners too so once we are done here, you can go and see the website and hopefully you will get alot out of it.
Anyhow, rats need a good diet, but not a diet of seed mixes. They are rats, not birds and they are not made to live off of seeds. In fact they will pick out their favorite bits and leave the rest behind. These seeds are often full of fat and proteins and protein can lead to kidney disease (a diet high in protein)  Check out my website about proper diet and learn what is best for your rats, from veggies to meats to making your own rat chow, like I do and many other rat owners do too.Just go back to my website (URL Is above, where I showed you about the porphyrin discharge) Just go to the side menu and click on the link about healthy diets and you will find a wealth of info for you.
As for the other rat not wanting to be with furred rats, being hairless has nothing to do with it.  She is a rat, period, just like the others and has no clue she is hairless. Just like a human man that is bald is a man just like a man with hair, there is no difference.
She,however, is older and set in her ways. In order to properly introduce her to another rat they need to be in the same room with each other with their cages side by side so they can sniff the air and get to know their scent that way and slowly let them around each other. Not all intros need to be this way because some rats just welcome others with open arms, but some are more sensitive like this hairless rat is so its best to use a different method.
Rats are very social animals and should always live in pairs or more, same sex of course to avoid pregnancy since rats can reproduce as young as 5 weeks old!!  Yikes!


Anyhow, hopefully I helped answer some of your questions but the best way to learn about rats and the basics and no so basics is my website. I wrote it especially for the people that write to me here because I get alot of the same stuff and so instead of always writing the same thing over and over, like for example,someone writes about diet, and I write all about it and I get two more of the same questions, so instead of writing another long message its easier to send them to the website since everything I was going to say is right there anyhow.

Please dont worry about asking too many questions either. Its important to learn and educate yourself as much as possible about rat care in order to provide them  with what they need to live a happy and healthy life. ALL experts here will only allow a few follow ups and if you stops you and says you have too many follow ups, just ask a new one thats all and remind me its you when  you write!

good luck

Sandy

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

QUESTION: Thank you so much for all your answers!

Kiro's eye does look  similar to those in the pictures, but with slightly less crust built up. I usually find that her eye has more "porphyrin" at night than in the morning. Kiro is eating and drinking and doesn't sneeze. She is not currently near the other rats should i bring her cage next to the other rats?

Kanga, my rat seems, to be super lazy some of the time is this normal? She sneezes occasionally. She is curious and always comes to the cage door to say hi. Should i take her to the vet?

Answer
Hi

When she has the porphyrin, is it more after waking up?    SHe is the hairless right?  This is more common with hairless rats. They dont have eyelashes and are prone to getting junk in their eyes which can cause irritation so its not real unusual to see more in hairless rats.

Also, if Kanga normally has been full of energy and all of a sudden she is "blah" she may not feel good. Does she have any congestion in her chest or nose? Is she eating ok and showing interest in things or acting like she doesnt care?