The Rat Lovers Club! ~MODS PLEASE LOCK!

[Corky]

I asked my dad if we could get my rat neutered, but he said I had to pay by myself, which will take ten weeks to get the money. I don't understand what his big deal is, he owns a car dealership, he can afford it plenty. Sigh. . . but I'll save up for the money anyway.

[Sadies]

I will have my does all spayed, have no reason not to do it, IMO.

Metacam is plenty for after the operation and with a good vet there' not a huge risk.

I think it would be better to remove tumors if they get them. Spaying only lessens the chance of the doe getting a mammary tumor, it does not prevent them entirely. Also, it is a big operation that should not be done unless it is absolutely necessary (if they have uterine cancer or similair), and might cost them their lives.

It decreases the risk by a huge percentage.

Also- cancers often go metastatic, and spread before tumors are found.

And a tumor removal is also a very tough surgery especially for a large tumor, and it also costs a lot of money. I do have money for vet care. I do not have money for multiple tumor removals- I can and will pay for a few of them but over and over is impossible and not fair to the rat. A single operation is much better than many, especially because a spay happens when a rat is fairly young and healthy. As a rat ages, the possibility of dying under anesthesia goes up. Tumors usually appear later in life. I do not think it is a good idea to willingly put a rat under over and over in old age for stressful surgeries when a spay can help prevent the problem in the first place.

And one last thing. What on earth am I supposed to do with does then? I have three very testosterone driven boys.

I would recoment castration for the bucks instead. Spaying a female is a bigger oporation, if you have less bucks i would recomend castrating them instead, it will also relax them and they will no longer have the testostrone and so will be less sresses out.

[MoonfallTheFox]

I have three bucks. And when I look for new rats I look for boys, not girls. My girls have all been rescued and I've never had more than one at a time.

It's not feasible or reasonable to neuter my males, especially not with the health benefits offered by a spay.

[Sadies]

Anyone know what I can do? I am really badly allergiced to my rats! ;,( The allergy upsets my astma and i can't breathe well. :( i already have my rats housed on plain paper and have my bedroom window open overnight but it has little affect. Mum saod my rats will have to be rehomed if it doesn't improve ;,,(

[rachaelandrats]

A single operation is much better than many

That would be true but there's no guarentee. You could get them spayed and have that major operation and they still go on to have tumours.

So even though spaying will prevent certains tumours, it does not stop girls from getting tumours.

[Corky]

Anyone know what I can do? I am really badly allergiced to my rats! ;,( The allergy upsets my astma and i can't breathe well. :( i already have my rats housed on plain paper and have my bedroom window open overnight but it has little affect. Mum saod my rats will have to be rehomed if it doesn't improve ;,,(

Maybe just keep them in another room? I think they have certain types of litter that help too, You would have to look into it though.

[MoonfallTheFox]

I never said it did, but it does reduce the chances of it happening by a lot.

[ShadiSin]

Hnng..

I went to the petstore to buy bird food (walked out with a violet and pink marble betta fish today 8D I love him), and, like always.. I looked at their feeder rats.

They have quite a few litters - one of which has pups that are starting to get fur.. they also had slightly older babies, ones with their eyes open and walking around/exploring already.. they had the CUTEST little dove that looked exactly like my Soli without the white markings on her chest, but my favorite was this little baby albino.. I picked her up, put her on her back and rubbed her tummy. Sweetest little thing ever! she licked my thumb and fell asleep.

I so wish I could have bought her, it'd be so nice having such a calm female in with my group.. I mean she was barely even a dollar but she was barely the size of my adult rats head and I don't think it'd of been a good idea to put her in with them when I don't know how they'd all react since last time Sadie started a huge fight and hurt Sailar.. and.. I don't have an extra cage anymore.. ;/ I feel so bad such a sweet gal has to go as a feeder, no one goes to this specific pet store for pet rats because they're usually anxious/mean rats.. :c I keep thinking about her now.. I'd of named her Sylmar. ;-;

I so hope her death is painless.. it's eating at me now. I wish I had a bigger cage, I'd of nabbed her AND the dove female.. along with this doll of a male, pure black with a star on his forehead. Licked my nose when I opened the 'tank/cage' to pick him up lol. I hate how all the sweet, beautiful rats end up being feeders..

[Centri]

Hnng..

I went to the petstore to buy bird food (walked out with a violet and pink marble betta fish today 8D I love him), and, like always.. I looked at their feeder rats.

They have quite a few litters - one of which has pups that are starting to get fur.. they also had slightly older babies, ones with their eyes open and walking around/exploring already.. they had the CUTEST little dove that looked exactly like my Soli without the white markings on her chest, but my favorite was this little baby albino.. I picked her up, put her on her back and rubbed her tummy. Sweetest little thing ever! she licked my thumb and fell asleep.

I so wish I could have bought her, it'd be so nice having such a calm female in with my group.. I mean she was barely even a dollar but she was barely the size of my adult rats head and I don't think it'd of been a good idea to put her in with them when I don't know how they'd all react since last time Sadie started a huge fight and hurt Sailar.. and.. I don't have an extra cage anymore.. ;/ I feel so bad such a sweet gal has to go as a feeder, no one goes to this specific pet store for pet rats because they're usually anxious/mean rats.. :c I keep thinking about her now.. I'd of named her Sylmar. ;-;

I so hope her death is painless.. it's eating at me now. I wish I had a bigger cage, I'd of nabbed her AND the dove female.. along with this doll of a male, pure black with a star on his forehead. Licked my nose when I opened the 'tank/cage' to pick him up lol. I hate how all the sweet, beautiful rats end up being feeders..

It must be hard seeing those baby rats knowing that they will end up as snake food
In Sweden it is illegal to use live (insects are still ok) snake/hedgehog food, so you rarely see rats in pet shops. I think I have seen 4-5 rats in pet shops in total, and they have been ment as pets, not snake food.

[rachaelandrats]

Hehe, we've all been in that situation.