Fancy Rats Archive forum: 2002 - 2011

We used to give our troubled boy Bal oneof the alcohol-free rescue remedies and camomile tea to help de-stress him.

We dose it as 0.5ml per kg (the dose on the bottle is assuming a dog or cat)

So Jazzy onlyneeds about 0.2ml per day to get all the vits and minerals

I wouldn't personally, as I feel that it's important for rats to be involved in your life and interact during the day and for me thatmeans having them in the busiest room of the house. But if you were happy to spend plenty of time in the shed every day, so would need some creature comforts, or bring...

Coming from a pet shop they may never have been handled before or been mishandled and so left scared of people. At that age they should come arund fairly quickly with plenty of attention. If it were me I would keep them somewhere fairly contained until they are more used to you. On a bed or sofa or ...

One of my boys is really grabby, how did you teach them to be gentle? x We didn't specifically teach her to take it that way, but we did it by offering them treats in a way they couldn't grab. It's hard to describe, but we would put one hand on their backs almost as a restraint and then brought the...

Yeah we've had finger grabbers too

Ours usually litter train themselves. The current three are very good and hardly ever go out of the trays

When we give treats our three can be quite snatchy, so we taught them the phrase 'gently' to slow them down grabbing from us. Twirl has taken this to heart and she now takes nearly all her treats with her hands first and then transfers into her mouth to run off. I don't remember any of our past rats...

This is a good article on feeding lactating rats and weaning foods.

It's not the best but I do think it's got better than it once was. It's only got a limited variety of ingredients (wheat, maize, peas, oats and soya are the main ingredients). Like most commercial mixes it contains alfalfa which rats usually won't eat and don't need but is a cheap filler feed and co...

Water on its own is just fine

Depending on what you feed though, an occasional supplement may be necessary. Dr Squiggles Daily Essentials is a great supplement to give once or twice a week and most rats are addicted to it

New friends will definitely help, but in the meanwhile plenty of attention, treats and cuddles.

Rats don't need to eat meat, the important thing is they get a balanced diet. What do you feed them as a dry mix?

We buy from a local farm shop for £7.50 a bale.

We tend to put girls together straight away more times than not, provided the initial meet went well. You might prefer to let them meet a few times and in different places first, but neither is right and neither is wrong