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Gizmo, neither is good for an adult rat, so keep looking. The cage should be AT LEAST 18" deep so the rat will have rooom to run around, and so you can put a litter box in there. You can train your rat to use the box to do his business. That'll keep the cage cleaner a little longer. Using cat litter really helps to keep the odor down, too.
What are you using to clean the cage? To keep expenses down, don't buy any of those cage cleaners, just use plain white vinegar and hydrogen peroxide. DON'T mix them together, they'll produce a toxic gas. It's what I use to clear up a slow kitchen drain! Put each in it's own spray bottle. Spray down with one, wait a few minutes, then spray with the other, and let it do its work. Shouldn't have to scrub very hard if at all. Then rinse. I take my cage (5 ft. tall) out to the patio and do it all there, and hose it down to rinse.
My last rat died in December, but I'm getting 3 more in the next 3 weeks or so. I can hardly wait!
the first cage is really pushing it for 2 rats, the second isn't suitable at all. below is a cage calculator that can determine the number of rats that can fit in a cage. for boys, I tend to round up to the nearest whole number and for girls, I round down (only b/c I tend to give my girls wheels to run in and my boys have been lazy bums who sleep all day)!
btw, does this look like a male to you? I've studied the pictures online, but can't seem to tell the difference... I know it will be obvious eventually, just curious now! :d
oh, and does anyone know what kind of rat he is? Color, marking, breed? In case you can't see in the pics, he is a solid blue-gray color, with white feet and two white "hearts" on his chest.
Thanks guys/gals! I'll check out that website you suggested for cages, and get something appropriate... it would be nice to save money by going used, but I doubt I'll find what I need.
P.S. We discovered the snake has a clear preference for mice, since she gobbled one up yesterday... a little sad watching her eat it live, but at least I didn't end up with another pet.
It's like you're making the house as scary for our father as possible so he wont want to come inside...
That little rat is cute, but if I was the snake, I'd probably eat him at some point.
Yeah, I don't think there's much of a mystery now... his testicles started to drop this week.
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Try to feed him some raw walnuts and pecans. Better than peanuts.
I tried walnuts (they were out of pecans), and he kind of liked them - not as much as the peanut, though! I'll get some pecans next time I'm at the store, and will limit his peanut intake.
I'd be careful w/ nuts since they can be fatty (wouldn't give more than one whole almond/day). here's a link to the type of diet I feed my rats (I've made a few alterations in regards to brands used, but overall, it's pretty similar to this recipe):
that "do not feed" list is WAY stricter than it needs to be for rats. a lot of the things on that list is fine for rats (and contrary to opinions, chocolate isn't poisonous to rats! but it's still a junk food and shouldn't be feed daily if at all). carrots, dog foods, and sunflower seeds are all fine for rats. rats aren't vegetarian, so can stand far more variety in their diets than squirrels and I prefer to give my rats more animal proteins as opposed to those from nuts and dairy products
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I'll check out that website you suggested for cages, and get something appropriate... it would be nice to save money by going used, but I doubt I'll find what I need.
