The BRODENTS! Rodent Enthusiast Thread!

[cornspurrd.]

I can Hear my rats boggling
in the other room. Wonder whats got them
so happy? I dunno but hearing them happy
makes me happy lol.

[FLYBOY]

I don't currently own any rodents but I've had rats and guinea pigs before.
I actually used to work for a rat rescue- the rescue would take in rats rescued from poor living conditions, once they were fixed and cleared of any illnesses or injuries we'd take them in until someone was interested in adopting them. It was pretty cool to work with them, & less commitment than actually owning rats, once we decided we were done we didn't have to rehome them, just found our current foster rats a home & then didn't take on any more. I'd totally recommend fostering to anyone else who likes rodents!

[MoonfallTheFox]

Good and bad news in my world lately.

One of my best mouse sires (an up and comer, Gold Rush) has two litters down right now. They're coloring up and I am -so- excited to see what they look like. They are the first out of him and I can't even handle how excited I am. One is off a black tan doe and the other is a linebreed to his sister so I expect a lot of satin short ear beige pieds. So far it looks like 3 black tan and 3 banded and blazed blacks off the first litter, the second being so light often won't color out distinctively until day 6 or more and they're only day 3.

Cash, my favorite mouse buck and Gold Rush's Father and great grandfather (Gold Rush was linebred to produce him) passed on last week. I miss him. Abdominal cancer. He was an old boy and he was comfortable up to the end but I miss him anyway.

And one of my favorite rats isn't far behind. She's got tumors in her uterus. That's the hard thing with rodents..they live such short lives.

[ryukrem]

I can Hear my rats boggling
in the other room. Wonder whats got them
so happy? I dunno but hearing them happy
makes me happy lol.

Boggling is my favourite sound they make. It's music to my ears!

I don't currently own any rodents but I've had rats and guinea pigs before.
I actually used to work for a rat rescue- the rescue would take in rats rescued from poor living conditions, once they were fixed and cleared of any illnesses or injuries we'd take them in until someone was interested in adopting them. It was pretty cool to work with them, & less commitment than actually owning rats, once we decided we were done we didn't have to rehome them, just found our current foster rats a home & then didn't take on any more. I'd totally recommend fostering to anyone else who likes rodents!

Wow that sounds so incredible! When I eventually get my own home, hopefully within the next three-four years, I plan to be a foster/rescuer for rats and reptiles.

Good and bad news in my world lately.

One of my best mouse sires (an up and comer, Gold Rush) has two litters down right now. They're coloring up and I am -so- excited to see what they look like. They are the first out of him and I can't even handle how excited I am. One is off a black tan doe and the other is a linebreed to his sister so I expect a lot of satin short ear beige pieds. So far it looks like 3 black tan and 3 banded and blazed blacks off the first litter, the second being so light often won't color out distinctively until day 6 or more and they're only day 3.

Cash, my favorite mouse buck and Gold Rush's Father and great grandfather (Gold Rush was linebred to produce him) passed on last week. I miss him. Abdominal cancer. He was an old boy and he was comfortable up to the end but I miss him anyway.

And one of my favorite rats isn't far behind. She's got tumors in her uterus. That's the hard thing with rodents..they live such short lives.

Congrats on the new babies and I'm very sorry for your loss and sorry to hear about your rat :c

[cardboardteeth]

my pet mouse, saluki, just died last night,, he was having seizures and before he went he was hopping instead of walking,, does anyone know what could have happened to him?? I miss him so much and I want to know if I did something wrong,,

[w0ah]

my pet mouse, saluki, just died last night,, he was having seizures and before he went he was hopping instead of walking,, does anyone know what could have happened to him?? I miss him so much and I want to know if I did something wrong,,

@eggnoi : I'm so sorry for your mouse Saluki. I too know what it feels like to lose mice. Even though they are such small, innocent creatures, you are able to bond with them so easily. It's such a shame they do not live longer, but the time they do have on this Earth is well spent, and they sure make a lasting impression.

You most likely did nothing wrong. I'm sure you gave him the best life you could provide, one rather then becoming someone's snake food, or worse. When mice age, their bodies will start to not function properly and slow down. Their organs will start to shut down. Your mouse was most likely dying of natural causes.

May I ask, how old was Saluki? If he was younger, it may have been from a sickness. But if he was older, it was most likely old age.

-------


I got my three females, Mary, Edith, & Sybil, about two and a half weeks ago. So far all has been well. I was easily able to wean them off of their old food that had no nutritional value, and have them on a much more efficient seed and lab block diet. They love to get fed. Mary, the largest of the females, will crawl up on one of their shelves and jump in my hand. She gets really adventurous at night, especially when I haven't fed them yet. I wonder if she's trying to tell me something... ( "feed me human!" ). They love their tank, especially since I have it arranged and decorated in a way to make it more interesting, with lots of surfaces to climb up on, and DIY hammocks they seem to really enjoy. This comes to show that even though I don't have the biggest tank ( i have them in a 20 gallon ), they can still enjoy it and feel as if they have enough space. I think of their tank as like a place they would nest in the wild, and typically stick around in the same area.

As time goes on, I can start to see the personality of the mice come out. Mary is definitely their "matriarch", as I like to say. She seems to control and boss around the other two whenever they are out together, and is definitely the more adventurous one. Edith is also very sweet, but shy. She loves to get in my hand, but at other times she will shy away from me. Sybil is the only little brown mouse, as well as the smallest, and she is the most cautious of them all. I rarely get to hold her, but it had only been two weeks, so I'm still hopeful. I think she'll eventually come out of her shell, and become more adventurous like her companions are.

I'm so happy to have them, and I'm hoping for many more memories. Here are a few pictures of them:
Mary
Edith
& Sybil, x

Tell me which one is your favorite!

[cardboardteeth]

@rose gold,
I had adopted him from a Petsmart less than two weeks ago, and I know that they're fairly young,, around six months, maybe? I don't know his exact age but I'd guess around six months, he seemed young and healthy and active.

I just don't understand. Before last night, during the day, he was happy, running around and eating, drinking,, I just miss him so so much.

[☆ Lincoln & Grover ☆]

I have just stumbled across this thread, but it seems awesome already! I love rodents! I used to own a rat named Skipper. He was my best friend! I held him as he died due to a collapsed lung. I was heartbroken. I loved him so much! Rats are the best! He was loyal, friendly, and funny! He watched me do everything! I wish I could have done more about his lung, but I still don't know what caused his collapsed lung. May you rest in peace Skipper! I love and miss you so much :'C

[w0ah]

@eggnoi : When you buy an animal from any brand-name pet store, it's always a risk you have to be willing to take. Animals from there, especially mice, are horribly inbreed and grown in terrible conditions. There are many cases of young mice from pet stores dying young. It is because mice from those stores aren't bred for being "pets", even though they are labeled in stores that they are. Most mice will only get adopted out to be snake food, as feeders. It's extremely depressing and sad for me to think about, but this is a risk I have taken, and am taking as of now. All three of my females are adopted from a Petco. I would have much rather bought from a breeder, but I had no other choice. There are no breeders around me, or in any of the neighboring states/cities. Rescue shelters rarely even get pet mice, for they most likely die before they even make it there. It's really, truly heartbreaking that as humans, we treat animals as items, and not as living and breathing animals much like us. :c

[jengatower]

It's a dream of mine to own a rodent, especially a rat, but we have three cats in the household... yeah

I totally agree with the thing about name-brand pet stores. Pretty much all of the animals there don't come from good places and die pretty early.
In my area they sell mice labeled "fancy mice" so I guess that sets them apart from feeder mice? They're really colorful, unlike the feeder mice I've seen.

Something that really makes me uncomfortable about pet stores is that they don't have a policy against tapping or banging on the glass. Last time I went to Petsmart to get cat food, there was this girl who was banging really hard on the glass where the mice were. Neither her father nor the staff did anything about it!!! x.x