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[Hanoverian]

Hi guys. C: I have a bit of a problem, and not knowing lots about rats, I'm hoping you could help me out...

I'm babysitting my neighbor's pet rat, Milo, for 2 weeks when they are out of town. His cage companion apparently died a few months ago, so he is alone. But that's not the problem... this rat is nearly 3 years old, and I'm super worried that he's going to die when they are on vacation. How terrible would that be?! D: They told me that it might happen! But I really, really don't want it to.
So how can I make him more comfortable? He's pretty mellow, but he's pretty skinny and has lost some hair on his back. I feed him 4 blocks a day and some yogurt drop treats... he doesn't eat all the blocks in one day but he does eat the treats. Is there some kind of special treatment I should be giving him since he's old...? Any advice would be great, I don't want this little guy going downhill. Bringing him to my house isn't an option, and I only have time to go to their house once daily.

[ShadiSin]

Meet Oliver, guys.. click.

Also, Hano.. I wish you the best of luck. ;-;

[heartleafed]

Oliver is adorable, and his colors are gorgeous.

Ah man, they had the most adorable baby sky blue berkshire dumbos at the petstore yesterday. I wanted one of them so bad, I mean, the temptation was killing me. It's just a really good thing that I have to extra cages to prevent me from getting more rats XD

Oh yeah, and we got some cat toys yesterday, and I gave the older set of girls one of the balls with the bell in it, and they love it, it's adorable.

On a darker note, I'm kinda concerned for Ryu. She's probably closer to two years old now, and she seems to be slowing down a lot. She only gets up about once in the day, and her and Miju haven't been eating as much. She got a micro flare up yesterday and was really bleh compared to her usual self.
I don't wanna admit she's getting old, but she is.
She's my first rat too.

[ShadiSin]

*Flail*

Rosco is eating on his own :'D I'm SO so so excited/happy. ^_^

He's taking his medicine like a good boy, and I'm just overall beyond proud of this little guy for making it this far. He's bright-eyed and actually moving instead of being curled up in the corner, Oliver couldn't be happier haha. He's still a youngin, and is VERY happily playing here and there with Rosco. <3

A friend of mine suggested raw egg for Rosco, so I made a little mixture of applesauce, honey (just a little drop), & egg.. mixed it up and gave it to him with the syringe, and I do believe that's what gave him this boost. I can't thank her enough for telling me about raw egg, it's doing wonders for him. <3

AND I gave some medication/egg & all that to my girls, Shark was getting slower (as shes getting older.. only almost two years, but being a feeder and all.. yeah..) and, they just LOVED it. It was the cutest thing seeing them all reach up for their turn at the syringe aha.

I'm so happy, fft.

and, Bang.. I know what that's like ;-; when Spiffy got slower I panicked.. she did the same exact thing, and I had to more or less force food into her. again, like what I'm doing with Rosco.. but I do believe it was a brain tumor that overall killed her.. I wish you best of luck with Ryu & Miju, I hope they live to their fullest and are happy the entire time <3 Spiffers was my first rat in this house, and when I lost my actual FIRST rat I was devistated.. but then again I was only seven when I got my first rat, so it was a lot different back then.. now it's hard, but I can push through it with the comfort of my other girls and now boys being there. >.<

[iHolli]

*Flail*

Rosco is eating on his own :'D I'm SO so so excited/happy. ^_^

He's taking his medicine like a good boy, and I'm just overall beyond proud of this little guy for making it this far. He's bright-eyed and actually moving instead of being curled up in the corner, Oliver couldn't be happier haha. He's still a youngin, and is VERY happily playing here and there with Rosco. <3

A friend of mine suggested raw egg for Rosco, so I made a little mixture of applesauce, honey (just a little drop), & egg.. mixed it up and gave it to him with the syringe, and I do believe that's what gave him this boost. I can't thank her enough for telling me about raw egg, it's doing wonders for him. <3

AND I gave some medication/egg & all that to my girls, Shark was getting slower (as shes getting older.. only almost two years, but being a feeder and all.. yeah..) and, they just LOVED it. It was the cutest thing seeing them all reach up for their turn at the syringe aha.

I'm so happy, fft.

and, Bang.. I know what that's like ;-; when Spiffy got slower I panicked.. she did the same exact thing, and I had to more or less force food into her. again, like what I'm doing with Rosco.. but I do believe it was a brain tumor that overall killed her.. I wish you best of luck with Ryu & Miju, I hope they live to their fullest and are happy the entire time <3 Spiffers was my first rat in this house, and when I lost my actual FIRST rat I was devistated.. but then again I was only seven when I got my first rat, so it was a lot different back then.. now it's hard, but I can push through it with the comfort of my other girls and now boys being there. >.<

{I'm so glad that Roscoe is doing so well now :3}
{I hope all goes well for you, BigBang :'3}
{Meanwhile, my boys are doing well... their markings are starting to show now. Bowser looks like a masked, and Remy has some kind of hood. They're eating well [love their lettuce!] and they're very active; they usually sleep when I'm gone, but are up and about when I'm at home. They're up at night, of course.}
{They're very quiet. They rarely squeak, only when they're scared or 'fighting' [which is really just pinning each other down for grooming o.O]. I'm a little worried about Remy, though. Every little once in a while, his whole body kinda jerks, like he has hiccups or something. I've notice Bowser do it once, too. Is it normal, or should I be worried?}
{Other than that, they seem quite healthy. Very curious and playful <3}

.Holli.

[darkvoodoo]

I have a litter due any day now


Im expecting:
*dwarf
*hairless
*dumbo
*blazed
*berkshire
*Russian Silver
*Russian Blue
*Russian Dove

*Small chance of manx, but not breeding for it.

All my rats are bred for health and temperament first and foremost, type, markings, etc is 2nd.

[Centri]

I have a litter due any day now


Im expecting:
*dwarf
*hairless
*dumbo
*blazed
*berkshire
*Russian Silver
*Russian Blue
*Russian Dove

*Small chance of manx, but not breeding for it.

All my rats are bred for health and temperament first and foremost, type, markings, etc is 2nd.

Why do you breed for hairless and from rats that have a chance of producing manx if you want healthy rats?

[darkvoodoo]

Ive been breeding my line of hairless rats for over 6 years, there is no helath problems with them. The does produce their own milk, normal lifespan,etc.
Hairless rats can be healthy rats if bred properly.
As for manx, some of the newer rats carry it, so it pops up time to time.

[rachaelandrats]

Why would you breed when there are so many rescues?

Also to be 'expecting' so many different things.... you should know the exact colours that the litter will produce. Not just possibly this and possibly that....

As for dwarf rats, that is not normal... so you aren't breeding healthy rats at all. That's a genetic fault.....

[Everett.]

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Have you ever had a rat?: I have, his name was George. c:
I also happen to be a rat Otherkin. o3o