The BRODENTS! Rodent Enthusiast Thread!

[.Middy.]

So I just talk to my mom, and she talked to the vet. They said it should be about $40 per girl apparently! That's including meds after surgery.

[Gryffindor's Sword]

So I just talk to my mom, and she talked to the vet. They said it should be about $40 per girl apparently! That's including meds after surgery.

That's an amazing price! I wish I could get my one male guinea pig neutered but it would be like $150+ And he might not survive it. Not really worth it

[Keletheryl]

I'm wondering if I should get my boys neutered, or not?
I was awake until 2am reading up on rats as much as I could because I realized I hadn't really done that much research... And I'm getting them on Friday!
Anyways, back to the neutering... even though i'm getting them (3) all young, should I still neuter them so they don't get territorial to each other in the future....? I'm just not sure if neutering is better or worse when it comes to rats.

Also; I'm either going to get them from a pet store that ONLY sells rescued pets from shelters that have a tough time getting adopted (except for their fish, of course). They are a really good store because they will ONLY buy the BEST products for your pet to sell. Seriously, all the food in there and such, you can trust 100%.
or, if they don't have any male rats in or whatever,
I will go to another pet store that also only sells the best stuff. They are more of an exotics pet store only; no cat or dog stuff, just reptiles, amphibians, exotic fish, and yes, rats/mice. Mostly for feeders but they have some for sale as pets, too.
They all really know what they're talking about there, and they all get their animals from high-quality breeders. (The guy who owns the place will tell you who the breeders are if you ask and want to check them out for yourself; he did that with my hermit crabs). They really care about their animals! And i've seen they have a larger selection of pet rats/mice there than they probably would at the other store.
(In case you're wondering; they have the feeder rats and mice separate from the pets, so you know which one is which.)

[.Middy.]

If you are only looking at neutering on the off chance they do get aggressive, then I wouldn't. If you want to eventually get girls and combine them, then yeah it might be something to look into.

All 5 of the boys I have owned lived/live very very happily together. I haven't had any aggression issues and none of mine came from fabulous breeders. (Not the worst breeders, but no where near the best either. Just kinda the middle)

I wouldn't put them under the knife just on the rare chance one could become aggressive. If one does wind up having issues, then it would be time to think about neutering.

Sword- (mind if I call you Sword? Gryffindor is not a word my iPad likes haha)

It is a great price! I'm excited to get then all into one cage! Just gotta get the $120 and get them in to get fixed!

[Keletheryl]

Okay! I'll let mine continue to have their... Balls then.
I might in the far future get females, but if that happens, I will think about it then.
Thanks!

Be sure to expect lots of pictures on Friday!

[darkvoodoo]

So I just talk to my mom, and she talked to the vet. They said it should be about $40 per girl apparently! That's including meds after surgery.

Really? thats a great price. Its about $80 here I think Never done it, but a few adopters did

[King of Crows]

I'm wondering if I should get my boys neutered, or not?
I was awake until 2am reading up on rats as much as I could because I realized I hadn't really done that much research... And I'm getting them on Friday!
Anyways, back to the neutering... even though i'm getting them (3) all young, should I still neuter them so they don't get territorial to each other in the future....? I'm just not sure if neutering is better or worse when it comes to rats.

Also; I'm either going to get them from a pet store that ONLY sells rescued pets from shelters that have a tough time getting adopted (except for their fish, of course). They are a really good store because they will ONLY buy the BEST products for your pet to sell. Seriously, all the food in there and such, you can trust 100%.
or, if they don't have any male rats in or whatever,
I will go to another pet store that also only sells the best stuff. They are more of an exotics pet store only; no cat or dog stuff, just reptiles, amphibians, exotic fish, and yes, rats/mice. Mostly for feeders but they have some for sale as pets, too.
They all really know what they're talking about there, and they all get their animals from high-quality breeders. (The guy who owns the place will tell you who the breeders are if you ask and want to check them out for yourself; he did that with my hermit crabs). They really care about their animals! And i've seen they have a larger selection of pet rats/mice there than they probably would at the other store.
(In case you're wondering; they have the feeder rats and mice separate from the pets, so you know which one is which.)

I wouldn't neuter unless they're actually showing hormonal imbalance issues (which won't happen until around 8 months of age). Technically, neutering (at like 10 months of age) will lengthen the lifespan and help remove potential health problems from the equation.

Also, I wouldn't count the feeders out! My advice, when choosing your rats, is to let them pick you out, and not the other way around. Just get to know them all a bit first, and the ones that like you from that start will let you know (my Styles literally jumped in to my arms as a baby, and Isaac licked my finger tips while the one I wanted based on color bit me), and you'll all be much happier for it! I would check out the feeders as well as the pets. Feeder rats make excellent companions, too! The only difference is usually how they are raised, so while the "pet" rats may have been handled more, that doesn't mean the feeders would be less friendly.

[spiderfish]

Bumping, 'coz i didn't get a reply before

I can't decide on Phoenix or Ash for the new rat.
Opinions?

There's quite a few pictures of him in my last post, but here's one

[orpheus.]

Bumping, 'coz i didn't get a reply before

I can't decide on Phoenix or Ash for the new rat.
Opinions?

There's quite a few pictures of him in my last post, but here's one

He's gorgeous. <3
I really like the name Phoenix for him.

[Keletheryl]

I wouldn't neuter unless they're actually showing hormonal imbalance issues (which won't happen until around 8 months of age). Technically, neutering (at like 10 months of age) will lengthen the lifespan and help remove potential health problems from the equation.

Also, I wouldn't count the feeders out! My advice, when choosing your rats, is to let them pick you out, and not the other way around. Just get to know them all a bit first, and the ones that like you from that start will let you know (my Styles literally jumped in to my arms as a baby, and Isaac licked my finger tips while the one I wanted based on color bit me), and you'll all be much happier for it! I would check out the feeders as well as the pets. Feeder rats make excellent companions, too! The only difference is usually how they are raised, so while the "pet" rats may have been handled more, that doesn't mean the feeders would be less friendly.

Thank you! I'll be sure to look at the feeders as well, and let the rats come to me! I'm very excited, i've been watching youtube videos and such trying to get a sense of what they're like.

Another question, did anybody here with rats train them to do any tricks? I think it's really cool how smart they are, and i'd love to be able to train them to do things!
So far i've heard you can train them to come when called, to stand up, to play basketball... is there anything else?