The Rat Lovers Club! ~MODS PLEASE LOCK!

[iHolli]

{Now everyone is talking about how their mother doesn't - or didn't - like rats. I feel you all, my mom was totally against them until she saw them x3 And even now, two months later, she is only just letting them climb up her arm. She warmed up to my boys pretty quick though :3}

{So... what is really the best of the best bedding wise? If ceder, pine, and aspen are all bad, what should I use?}

.Holli.

Some stores carry something called "Carefresh confetti" bedding, it's like little bits of somewhat soft ground up paper.

{Huh. Okay. I'll watch for that, then :3}

.Holli.

[shadow.wolfdog]

{Now everyone is talking about how their mother doesn't - or didn't - like rats. I feel you all, my mom was totally against them until she saw them x3 And even now, two months later, she is only just letting them climb up her arm. She warmed up to my boys pretty quick though :3}

{So... what is really the best of the best bedding wise? If ceder, pine, and aspen are all bad, what should I use?}

.Holli.

Most rat owners say that Carefresh or other paper-based bedding is best, and a few rat owners testify to rabbit food being a good bedding. I personally use aspen and it's the best bedding I've had so far. Most of my rats were actually allergic to the Carefresh, and now they're doing fine on aspen.

[heartleafed]

{Now everyone is talking about how their mother doesn't - or didn't - like rats. I feel you all, my mom was totally against them until she saw them x3 And even now, two months later, she is only just letting them climb up her arm. She warmed up to my boys pretty quick though :3}

.Holli.

My mother very much disliked rats at first too.
Then when I got my sweet little Mini Ryu, she ended up loving them. She's still a bit bluh with their tails (they seriously give her goosebumps, it's really funny) but other than that she loves 'em.

It's really amazing how just one can change someone's opinion so drastically.

[iHolli]

{Now everyone is talking about how their mother doesn't - or didn't - like rats. I feel you all, my mom was totally against them until she saw them x3 And even now, two months later, she is only just letting them climb up her arm. She warmed up to my boys pretty quick though :3}

.Holli.

My mother very much disliked rats at first too.
Then when I got my sweet little Mini Ryu, she ended up loving them. She's still a bit bluh with their tails (they seriously give her goosebumps, it's really funny) but other than that she loves 'em.

It's really amazing how just one can change someone's opinion so drastically.

{I know x3 I have a friend who was the exact same way. She absolutely hated rats and was convinced they were all - and I quote - "disease-carrying vermin". But then she met Remy and Bowser and completely changed her mind and now she loves them. I can't believe it x3}

{Well, I suppose I'll try both, if I can find either one, and see which one works best. Thanks for all the help :3}

.Holli.

[heartleafed]

If I can convince my mom, I may be able to get two new females soon. They already come with their cage and all, so it works out well c:

That reminds me, I've gotta talk to the elementary school over here to see what I have to do to bring in a few rats to talk to the kids with.
If I can do it, is gonna be awesome. Teaching young kids about rats, hopefully it will change a few minds, and up the rat loving here c:

[iHolli]

If I can convince my mom, I may be able to get two new females soon. They already come with their cage and all, so it works out well c:

That reminds me, I've gotta talk to the elementary school over here to see what I have to do to bring in a few rats to talk to the kids with.
If I can do it, is gonna be awesome. Teaching young kids about rats, hopefully it will change a few minds, and up the rat loving here c:

{That is a fantastic idea! The more kids know about rats, the better :3}
{If you get those two females, you must post pictures. They must be so cute <3 I almost got two females myself, but mom said no way. We're going on vacation in December and two rats are bad enough to take x3 Which reminds me, any tips for a 'rat vacation' so to speak? I'm definitely not leaving them home for two weeks. It was bad enough not having them for a day and night. Do I need to buy a carrier, or can I just take the cage? And, if I have to, what kind of carrier should I get, since no one around here seems to know what a rat carrier is?}
{Now, to keep the family we'll be visiting from totally freaking out when they see Remy and Bowser... ah well, more opportunities to educate more people on rats :3}

.Holli.

[plum]

I don't mean to butt in but, you really shouldn't use Aspen for rats. It's bad for their repository systems because of the dust it has. Or maybe I'm confusing it with something else.

Anywho, I use both newspaper and Carefresh mixed. It's never given any of my rats problems, though it is a bit more expensive than the wood based bedding though.

There is dust-free aspen, this is dust free, it doesn't matter if it's made for snakes or rats. Plus that bedding has a pleasant smell to it. ^.^

[shadow.wolfdog]

I don't mean to butt in but, you really shouldn't use Aspen for rats. It's bad for their repository systems because of the dust it has. Or maybe I'm confusing it with something else.

Anywho, I use both newspaper and Carefresh mixed. It's never given any of my rats problems, though it is a bit more expensive than the wood based bedding though.

There is dust-free aspen, this is dust free, it doesn't matter if it's made for snakes or rats. Plus that bedding has a pleasant smell to it. ^.^

You must have it confused with something else; my rats have reacted much better to aspen than they have to anything else.

Be careful with aspen (or any bedding) with a pleasant smell. It really shouldn't have any smell, good or bad, because it can irritate a rat's lungs.

[ShadiSin]

Okaaay I was bad.

I now have Eleven rats, keeping the male named Pistachio from Syria's litter, but I was just talking to my friend earlier on how I wanted a rex coated dumbo earred BLUE female rat.

Well, I go to Timberlake, and low and behold.. a five and a half week old poor hooded blue, dumbo earred rex coated girl.

I picked her up, she dove into my shirt and into my bra LOL. ff.

She's a boob rat, definitely. I love her. She's so sweet. :'c

She IS possibly going to be bred to Ames in the future, ONLY and ONLY if she handles medication and a vet check and everything well. I KNOW for sure she is not related to Ames, and has a strong lineage of nice dumbo & rex ratties. It's just, due to recent advents, the owner is having to quit his lines.. so unfortunately.. snake food. ;-; he's upset, I was upset, but at least I snatched this girl up before it was too late. the guy was really sweet, too, I told him how many I had and he softened up a bit and felt better one of his dumbos was going to be a non-food rattie. =p she has the cutest curly whiskers. I have her on meds now.

She's seriously sweet, I'm dying of adorableness over here.

Also, my two dark eyed rat pups out of Syria's litter.. they're cinnamon! I can't believe I got two cinnamons out of a silver fawn x mink..

but anyway, here is Spencer. Click.

[iHolli]

Okaaay I was bad.

I now have Eleven rats, keeping the male named Pistachio from Syria's litter, but I was just talking to my friend earlier on how I wanted a rex coated dumbo earred BLUE female rat.

Well, I go to Timberlake, and low and behold.. a five and a half week old poor hooded blue, dumbo earred rex coated girl.

I picked her up, she dove into my shirt and into my bra LOL. ff.

She's a boob rat, definitely. I love her. She's so sweet. :'c

She IS possibly going to be bred to Ames in the future, ONLY and ONLY if she handles medication and a vet check and everything well. I KNOW for sure she is not related to Ames, and has a strong lineage of nice dumbo & rex ratties. It's just, due to recent advents, the owner is having to quit his lines.. so unfortunately.. snake food. ;-; he's upset, I was upset, but at least I snatched this girl up before it was too late. the guy was really sweet, too, I told him how many I had and he softened up a bit and felt better one of his dumbos was going to be a non-food rattie. =p she has the cutest curly whiskers. I have her on meds now.

She's seriously sweet, I'm dying of adorableness over here.

Also, my two dark eyed rat pups out of Syria's litter.. they're cinnamon! I can't believe I got two cinnamons out of a silver fawn x mink..

but anyway, here is Spencer. Click.

{Yes, you were bad. But she is so freaking cute, I would be bad too <3}
{So! Remy is a mink, and Bowser is a champegne. He's got a hint of cinnamon, too. God I love his fur. And Rem, I think he's a ticked, he has very light little streaks, or whatever. I'm happy that he still has his white-tipped tail <3}
{These two, I swear they're getting bigger by the day x3 Goodness, they're nearly five months old now, if my guess is correct. I love my ratties to absolute pieces <3}
{Oh! Oh! And I may be getting more .3. Maybe. Big maybe. And it won't be until after our December trip. Two rats are hard enough to travel with. [Did I tell you this already?] Man, I hate that PetSmart is a bad place to get rats. Cuz they have female dumbos. And I really love dumbos. It's killing me .n. Maybe the local breeder/store will have dumbos... I hope so. I love their ears so much <3 But I will just love my boys for now :3}
{They love their ball x3 It's so funny to watch them. I just put them in it and let them loose, it's so cute when they both run side by side in the same direction, and even cuter when they want to go two different directions. Bowser usually wins there, though, since he's bigger than Rem. He can just start walking, even if Remy tries to go another way x3}

.Holli.