The BRODENTS! Rodent Enthusiast Thread!

[Keriae]

so last weekend (sunday) i went to a pet store to have a look at the hamsters and cages n' stuff.
so we go in and look at some rabbits then we go to the area where they keep the hamsters and i didn't see ONE hamster there.
they usually only have dwarf hamsters but last time i went there were three syrians.

anyways i was looking at a few cages and is it just me or does anyone else just not like those plastic cages? you know those colorful plastic cages? yeah i just... don't like them.

- notes; i might be getting a hamster this summer for my birthday because this will be the second year asking for a hamster.

Please make sure that you get a cage that is a minimum of 80x50cm if you get a Syrian!
I’ll edit this with some cage suggestions in the morning for you c:

Right, here's some cage suggestions!

If you're in the UK, any of the following are amazing cages that meet recommendations!


• The Alexander Small Pet Cage x
  
• The 80cm Mamble Rat/Hamster Cage x
• The 100cm Mamble Rat/Hamster Cage x
• The Alaska Hamster Cage x
• The Savic Hamster Heaven Cage x
• The Barney Small Pet Cage x
• Large coco Hamster/Rat cage x
• Savic Ruffy 2 x
• Zoozone Cage x The lid will need meshing, however!
• Grosvenor Large Hamster/Rat Cage x

If you're in the US, you could use any of the following:


• Prevue Pet Products 528 Universal Small Animal Home x
• Marchioro Goran 82 x
• Marchioro Kevin 82 x
• Savic Mickey 2xl x

Any Ferplast cage such as the Mambles, Ferplast 100, Savic Hamster Heaven and Savic Ruffy 2 are available in the US, as Ferplast as a US company!

If you have an Ikea near you (most countries do!) you can make a cage! You can either make:


• Bin cage Tutorial
• Ikea Detolf Tutorial
• Ikea Billy Tutorial
• Ikea Linnmon Tutorial
• Ikea Kallax Tutorial
Please note that for some of these, you will also need to make a lid!

Alternatively, you can look for tanks - they're often cheap second hand! As long as they meet the floor space requirement of 360 square inches, they're good!

When you get your hamster, please bare in mind that they need big wheels! While all the cages above are suitable for all hamsters (those with bigger bar spacing will need meshing for any dwarfs), syrians need bigger wheels than dwarfs! A syrian must have a wheel that is at least 28cm across, while a dwarf needs one that is at least 20cm across. Ideal wheels are:


• Trixie Small Pet Exercise Wheel x This comes in 20cm and 28cm!
• Wooden Exercise Wheel Speedy x So does this one!
• Trixie Wooden Exercise Wheel x And this one!

As for bedding, paper based such as Carefresh is better than wooden shavings, which can cause splinters and are too dense for hamsters to burrow. It must be deep enough to dig in (at least six inches, but deeper is better!). For their nests, providing tissue paper is cheap! My own hamster, Bella, however, is perfectly happy with just her Carefresh. A sand bath is also an enriching option to provide your hamster with! You can use chinchilla sand or children's play sand, but this must be baked first.

Spot cleaning is best done every couple of days, with the nest cleaned out once a week. The entire cage should be cleaned roughly once a month, and half of the bedding put back in the cage - this is because it carries the hamster's scent, and therefore reduces stress c:

[ryukrem]

When rats boggle while boxing
what does it mean?

My ratties boggle while eating because they are so happy. It's the cutest noise and they are probably exciting and happy to be boxing one another.

I bought my two boys a kind of hanging hammock-tube-thing. They seem to really love it! c:

snip

Your rats are so cute. I love when they look all sleepy and cozy like that <3

[meerkat boi.]

so last weekend (sunday) i went to a pet store to have a look at the hamsters and cages n' stuff.
so we go in and look at some rabbits then we go to the area where they keep the hamsters and i didn't see ONE hamster there.
they usually only have dwarf hamsters but last time i went there were three syrians.

anyways i was looking at a few cages and is it just me or does anyone else just not like those plastic cages? you know those colorful plastic cages? yeah i just... don't like them.

- notes; i might be getting a hamster this summer for my birthday because this will be the second year asking for a hamster.

Please make sure that you get a cage that is a minimum of 80x50cm if you get a Syrian!
I’ll edit this with some cage suggestions in the morning for you c:

Right, here's some cage suggestions!

If you're in the UK, any of the following are amazing cages that meet recommendations!


• The Alexander Small Pet Cage x
  
• The 80cm Mamble Rat/Hamster Cage x
• The 100cm Mamble Rat/Hamster Cage x
• The Alaska Hamster Cage x
• The Savic Hamster Heaven Cage x
• The Barney Small Pet Cage x
• Large coco Hamster/Rat cage x
• Savic Ruffy 2 x
• Zoozone Cage x The lid will need meshing, however!
• Grosvenor Large Hamster/Rat Cage x

If you're in the US, you could use any of the following:


• Prevue Pet Products 528 Universal Small Animal Home x
• Marchioro Goran 82 x
• Marchioro Kevin 82 x
• Savic Mickey 2xl x

Any Ferplast cage such as the Mambles, Ferplast 100, Savic Hamster Heaven and Savic Ruffy 2 are available in the US, as Ferplast as a US company!

If you have an Ikea near you (most countries do!) you can make a cage! You can either make:


• Bin cage Tutorial
• Ikea Detolf Tutorial
• Ikea Billy Tutorial
• Ikea Linnmon Tutorial
• Ikea Kallax Tutorial
Please note that for some of these, you will also need to make a lid!

Alternatively, you can look for tanks - they're often cheap second hand! As long as they meet the floor space requirement of 360 square inches, they're good!

When you get your hamster, please bare in mind that they need big wheels! While all the cages above are suitable for all hamsters (those with bigger bar spacing will need meshing for any dwarfs), syrians need bigger wheels than dwarfs! A syrian must have a wheel that is at least 28cm across, while a dwarf needs one that is at least 20cm across. Ideal wheels are:


• Trixie Small Pet Exercise Wheel x This comes in 20cm and 28cm!
• Wooden Exercise Wheel Speedy x So does this one!
• Trixie Wooden Exercise Wheel x And this one!

As for bedding, paper based such as Carefresh is better than wooden shavings, which can cause splinters and are too dense for hamsters to burrow. It must be deep enough to dig in (at least six inches, but deeper is better!). For their nests, providing tissue paper is cheap! My own hamster, Bella, however, is perfectly happy with just her Carefresh. A sand bath is also an enriching option to provide your hamster with! You can use chinchilla sand or children's play sand, but this must be baked first.

Spot cleaning is best done every couple of days, with the nest cleaned out once a week. The entire cage should be cleaned roughly once a month, and half of the bedding put back in the cage - this is because it carries the hamster's scent, and therefore reduces stress c:

Thank you~ them cages look lovely!
My parents have ever only brought me into one pet store and they have small little cages -.-
Yeah, I really like those 'trixie small pet excersisw wheels'
The only wheels I've seen in pet stores are mesh wheels and those 'saucer' ones as I call them.
Yeah when I get back from my holidays this year in France I'll be sure to show my parents the cages~ I really love the alaska one and the large coco Rat and hamster cage ~

[Keriae]

Thank you~ them cages look lovely!
My parents have ever only brought me into one pet store and they have small little cages -.-
Yeah, I really like those 'trixie small pet excersisw wheels'
The only wheels I've seen in pet stores are mesh wheels and those 'saucer' ones as I call them.
Yeah when I get back from my holidays this year in France I'll be sure to show my parents the cages~ I really love the alaska one and the large coco Rat and hamster cage ~

You're welcome! I have an Alaska for my hamster, and it's great! I also have that Trixie small pet wheel, and she loves it! Stay clear away from mesh wheels and flying saucers; mesh can trap toes and cause bumblefoot, and the saucer ones just simply aren't big enough.
I'd recommend having hammocks in the cage if you get an Alaska or a large Coco, just because they're both quite high and you don't want your hamster falling!

[emjayy]

Anyone have any rats who have had head tilt? I came home and one of my boys is walking in circles and his head is tilted. It’s 1am here now and I can’t get to a vet until 9 am. I’m so afraid he won’t survive the night. Is it too late for them if the tilt is obvious? His eye isn’t bulging but it’s obvious he’s very uncomfortable! I’m terrified

[MotherMother]

Anyone have any rats who have had head tilt? I came home and one of my boys is walking in circles and his head is tilted. It’s 1am here now and I can’t get to a vet until 9 am. I’m so afraid he won’t survive the night. Is it too late for them if the tilt is obvious? His eye isn’t bulging but it’s obvious he’s very uncomfortable! I’m terrified

I'm so sorry to hear that :c
A vet will be able to diagnose your ratty much better than anyone else, so don't take my thoughts as fully true facts.
A rat with a head tilt likely has neurological problems. This doesn't suddenly kill the rat, but it will get worse over the course of around 1 or 2 months until it is too much. Rats generally handle this well though and still enjoy life, they just slow down a bit and get more cuddly.
This is just what I've learned, but your situation could be different. Keep us updated on how the vet visit goes <3

[spiderfish]

Anyone around familiar with guinea pig genetics?
Need someone to tell me whether one of my girls has roaning or not. Kind of urgently.

Please PM me for pictures.

[ShadyBro]

Anyone have any rats who have had head tilt? I came home and one of my boys is walking in circles and his head is tilted. It’s 1am here now and I can’t get to a vet until 9 am. I’m so afraid he won’t survive the night. Is it too late for them if the tilt is obvious? His eye isn’t bulging but it’s obvious he’s very uncomfortable! I’m terrified

Obviously your vet will be able to help you out better than anyone else, but Ive had a few head tilted rats in my care so I can at least tell you not to panic too badly over it. Most often it occurs due to an ear infection which can be cleared up with antibiotics, though sometimes theres residual tilt. Other times it can neurological or spinal issues. In almost all cases though, the tilt itself is not deadly, so even if it is permanent you'll just have a slightly lopsided little friend for the rest of their long life. Good luck at the vets and I hope he comes out of it alright <3

[meerkat boi.]

Thank you~ them cages look lovely!
My parents have ever only brought me into one pet store and they have small little cages -.-
Yeah, I really like those 'trixie small pet excersisw wheels'
The only wheels I've seen in pet stores are mesh wheels and those 'saucer' ones as I call them.
Yeah when I get back from my holidays this year in France I'll be sure to show my parents the cages~ I really love the alaska one and the large coco Rat and hamster cage ~

You're welcome! I have an Alaska for my hamster, and it's great! I also have that Trixie small pet wheel, and she loves it! Stay clear away from mesh wheels and flying saucers; mesh can trap toes and cause bumblefoot, and the saucer ones just simply aren't big enough.
I'd recommend having hammocks in the cage if you get an Alaska or a large Coco, just because they're both quite high and you don't want your hamster falling!

Thank You so much for all the advice! I've done all my research and am continuing to do some since last year (around may when I first wanted a hamster) so I knew about the bumblefoot n' stuff.
-story - when I was in the pet store I saw a whole cage just made out of mesh wire and i was like how can something live in that?

[Yorkipoo Hudson]

Thank you~ them cages look lovely!
My parents have ever only brought me into one pet store and they have small little cages -.-
Yeah, I really like those 'trixie small pet excersisw wheels'
The only wheels I've seen in pet stores are mesh wheels and those 'saucer' ones as I call them.
Yeah when I get back from my holidays this year in France I'll be sure to show my parents the cages~ I really love the alaska one and the large coco Rat and hamster cage ~

You're welcome! I have an Alaska for my hamster, and it's great! I also have that Trixie small pet wheel, and she loves it! Stay clear away from mesh wheels and flying saucers; mesh can trap toes and cause bumblefoot, and the saucer ones just simply aren't big enough.
I'd recommend having hammocks in the cage if you get an Alaska or a large Coco, just because they're both quite high and you don't want your hamster falling!

Thank You so much for all the advice! I've done all my research and am continuing to do some since last year (around may when I first wanted a hamster) so I knew about the bumblefoot n' stuff.
-story - when I was in the pet store I saw a whole cage just made out of mesh wire and i was like how can something live in that?

I know right! I used to always have them tiny cages when I was a lot younger (Like 7) and now i have realised it is cruel. Especially for syrian hamsters, I have bigger cages for them now. I have 10 gerbils and 1 hamster (The gerbils had a mass breed because they were meant to be girls but it turned out one was male, one was female and they bred without us knowing. We separated the male a day later and she was pregnant again!!) It makes me really mad how pet stores can just get away with this stuff. I am now attached to the 5 newest babies to the gerbil family but my mum is making me give them back to pet at home because she says there is too many but I am attached.
Anyway pet stores are cruel - All they care about is the money, not the well being of their animals! Also the rodents in their stores are not well looked after as a lot of them catch diseases during their time in the pet store.
I should stop going on now, thanks for reading!