| 1000% increase in rat population... WOW! - CLICK HERE for the Pet Manual Forum Home Page |
| Neo Geshel |
Just to let you know, I've "liberated" an entire clan of rats from the
SPCA here in the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada. One reptile
owner was eyeing them, so I just had to do it!!
Oldest rat is a female, hooded with a stripe down the back. Brown hood,
white sides and belly. She seems to be only about a year old. Was named
Lexus.
Second oldest rat is another female, basic brown all over, no name.
Either she's very pregnant, or I'm mistaking a consumed golf ball for
potential babies. =) Looks to be about the same age, but is slightly
smaller than the other female.
The other eight came in as a bunch. Three males, five females. All less
than three months old, and obviously siblings (not from either of the
first two). I already have two favorites from that litter. All are brown
all over, or with white bellies, but one male is black with a white
belly and white paws, and one female is white with a gorgeous brown hood
and a single tiny patch of brown halfway down the spine. All are hand-
tame, although a little shy and nervous.
I tried to place all the males in with Peaches 'n' Cream, my *very old*
male buck, but only the black one with the white belly was too large to
stick his head out between the bars. It looks like I'll have to fatten
up the other two before I can put them all in the same cage, otherwise
they'll escape.
I've also introduced Peaches one at a time to all the other rats, and
did so in a neutral area; a rather large cardboard box. That also
allowed me to prevent Peaches from conducting something more than mere
introductions. *grin* The last thing I need is more pregnant females.
But at least they all know each other now.
So I have a quick question: The two brown males are still very small.
Can I leave them in with the rest of the females until their heads get
too large to fit through Peaches' cage bars, or should I keep them
separated at all costs from the females? I have never seen baby rats in
person before, but based on their size, I would say that they're less
than three months old. Think of a full-grown bull elephant with a normal
human standing beside it. That's the size difference between Peaches and
these juvenile males. It's just hilarious.
If anyone in the Okanagan area wants a standard brown rat from the main
litter (I'm keeping the two colourful ones, at least!), pls contact me.
I'd love to keep them all (and I'm building the facilities for it,
too!!) but with the second adult female being pregnant, there's another
batch on the way. All I ask is that you pay me what I paid for them (~
$CDN6 per rat).
I'll post pics as soon as I can borrow my father's digital camera. I'm
not fond of sandwiching them into my scanner... *grin*
....Geshel
--
**************************************************
**********************
Reply-to e-mail forwards all received e-mails to SpamCop for UBE/UCE
(Unsolicited Bulk/Commercial E-mail) reporting. DO NOT USE THAT ADDRESS!
Please send e-mail to my first name at my last name dot org.
**************************************************
**********************
|
|
|
| J&S Bouchard |
"Neo Geshel" <gotcha@geshel.org> wrote in message
news:MPG.19a4d7666149cd15989683@shawnews.ok.shawcable.net...
> Just to let you know, I've "liberated" an entire clan of rats from the
> SPCA here in the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada. One reptile
> owner was eyeing them, so I just had to do it!!
>
> Oldest rat is a female, hooded with a stripe down the back. Brown hood,
> white sides and belly. She seems to be only about a year old. Was named
> Lexus.
>
> Second oldest rat is another female, basic brown all over, no name.
> Either she's very pregnant, or I'm mistaking a consumed golf ball for
> potential babies. =) Looks to be about the same age, but is slightly
> smaller than the other female.
>
> The other eight came in as a bunch. Three males, five females. All less
> than three months old, and obviously siblings (not from either of the
> first two). I already have two favorites from that litter. All are brown
> all over, or with white bellies, but one male is black with a white
> belly and white paws, and one female is white with a gorgeous brown hood
> and a single tiny patch of brown halfway down the spine. All are hand-
> tame, although a little shy and nervous.
>
> I tried to place all the males in with Peaches 'n' Cream, my *very old*
> male buck, but only the black one with the white belly was too large to
> stick his head out between the bars. It looks like I'll have to fatten
> up the other two before I can put them all in the same cage, otherwise
> they'll escape.
>
> I've also introduced Peaches one at a time to all the other rats, and
> did so in a neutral area; a rather large cardboard box. That also
> allowed me to prevent Peaches from conducting something more than mere
> introductions. *grin* The last thing I need is more pregnant females.
> But at least they all know each other now.
>
> So I have a quick question: The two brown males are still very small.
> Can I leave them in with the rest of the females until their heads get
> too large to fit through Peaches' cage bars, or should I keep them
> separated at all costs from the females? I have never seen baby rats in
> person before, but based on their size, I would say that they're less
> than three months old. Think of a full-grown bull elephant with a normal
> human standing beside it. That's the size difference between Peaches and
> these juvenile males. It's just hilarious.
>
> If anyone in the Okanagan area wants a standard brown rat from the main
> litter (I'm keeping the two colourful ones, at least!), pls contact me.
> I'd love to keep them all (and I'm building the facilities for it,
> too!!) but with the second adult female being pregnant, there's another
> batch on the way. All I ask is that you pay me what I paid for them (~
> $CDN6 per rat).
>
> I'll post pics as soon as I can borrow my father's digital camera. I'm
> not fond of sandwiching them into my scanner... *grin*
>
> ...Geshel
Hi, the Humane Society would have allowed that reptile owner to take the
poor ratties as snake food?
So much for the "humane society". Good of you to rescue those poor fellas.
As for the males, absolutely separate all males from females from the age of
5 weeks!!! Or you will have plenty of batches to come, and some mighty happy
male rats. ;)
You should try posting at Pets Rats Canada forum. They are a good bunch
there and quite a few are from the west.
http://petratscanada.com/forum/
Good luck to you and your gang.
--
Joanne
Mom to 15 rats
http://community.webshots.com/user/joanneb70
j-s.b@nospamsympatico.ca
remove "no spam"
|
|
|
| Ailish |
"Neo Geshel" <gotcha@geshel.org> wrote in message
news:MPG.19a4d7666149cd15989683@shawnews.ok.shawcable.net...
< big snip>
> So I have a quick question: The two brown males are still very small.
> Can I leave them in with the rest of the females until their heads get
> too large to fit through Peaches' cage bars, or should I keep them
> separated at all costs from the females? I have never seen baby rats in
> person before, but based on their size, I would say that they're less
> than three months old. <snip>
> ...Geshel
DO NOT PUT THEM IN WITH FEMALES. Rats are sexually mature at 5-6 weeks of
age, and you'll end up with alot (<<< understatement of the year) of rats.
If you don't know their age, but they're eyes are open and they look more
like a rat than a mouse, than you should keep them seperate.
|
|
|
| Neo Geshel |
In article <9NK_a.8734$Z03.670662@news20.bellglobal.com>, j-
s.b@nospamsympatico.ca says...
> Hi, the Humane Society would have allowed that reptile owner to take the
> poor ratties as snake food?
> So much for the "humane society". Good of you to rescue those poor fellas.
> As for the males, absolutely separate all males from females from the age of
> 5 weeks!!! Or you will have plenty of batches to come, and some mighty happy
> male rats. ;)
> You should try posting at Pets Rats Canada forum. They are a good bunch
> there and quite a few are from the west.
> http://petratscanada.com/forum/
> Good luck to you and your gang.
>
> --
> Joanne
> Mom to 15 rats
> http://community.webshots.com/user/joanneb70
> j-s.b@nospamsympatico.ca
> remove "no spam"
>
I doubt they (the SPCA) even knew. I just knew the guy through my
brother, who was interested in getting a gecko from him. Besides, the
clan of eight then came in, and I struck a deal to get all ten for the
price of the original two!! I mean, how long would it have taken them to
adopt out EIGHT rats? Most rats they get in often stay for several weeks
at least, if not months. Eight of them would have taken forever to adopt
out.
By the way, how large are they by five weeks? I haven't a clue. All I
know is that they're climbing the sides of the cage by now, and are
weaned from their mother (obviously), even though they still go after
the teats of the mature females...
Checked out Pets Rats Canada, registered and browsed. Thanks!
....Geshel
--
**************************************************
**********************
Reply-to e-mail forwards all received e-mails to SpamCop for UBE/UCE
(Unsolicited Bulk/Commercial E-mail) reporting. DO NOT USE THAT ADDRESS!
Please send e-mail to my first name at my last name dot org.
**************************************************
**********************
|
|
|
| Neo Geshel |
In article <9NK_a.8734$Z03.670662@news20.bellglobal.com>, j-
s.b@nospamsympatico.ca says...
> As for the males, absolutely separate all males from females from the age of
> 5 weeks!!! Or you will have plenty of batches to come, and some mighty happy
> male rats. ;)
>
Some quantitative data: The family of eight are all smaller than wild
mice (excluding tail, of course!). I'm specifying wild mice, because I
have seen many pet mice, and most are *TINY* little buggers; more like
dustballs with feet than anything else! =) Does this make them less
than five weeks old? One of the three males even has underdeveloped
"tumors", as they don't seem to be full size yet. If I was to estimate
the length of the baby rats, I would say that they were no more than
three inches long from nose to butt, without the tail; and that is while
trying to run back to their litter mates (i.e., at full torso
extension!).
I hope this helps.
....Geshel
--
**************************************************
**********************
Reply-to e-mail forwards all received e-mails to SpamCop for UBE/UCE
(Unsolicited Bulk/Commercial E-mail) reporting. DO NOT USE THAT ADDRESS!
Please send e-mail to my first name at my last name dot org.
**************************************************
**********************
|
|
|
| J&S Bouchard |
"Neo Geshel" <gotcha@geshel.org> wrote in message
news:MPG.19a53e9e6cb60792989685@shawnews.ok.shawcable.net...
> In article <9NK_a.8734$Z03.670662@news20.bellglobal.com>, j-
> s.b@nospamsympatico.ca says...
> > As for the males, absolutely separate all males from females from the
age of
> > 5 weeks!!! Or you will have plenty of batches to come, and some mighty
happy
> > male rats. ;)
> >
>
> Some quantitative data: The family of eight are all smaller than wild
> mice (excluding tail, of course!). I'm specifying wild mice, because I
> have seen many pet mice, and most are *TINY* little buggers; more like
> dustballs with feet than anything else! =) Does this make them less
> than five weeks old? One of the three males even has underdeveloped
> "tumors", as they don't seem to be full size yet. If I was to estimate
> the length of the baby rats, I would say that they were no more than
> three inches long from nose to butt, without the tail; and that is while
> trying to run back to their litter mates (i.e., at full torso
> extension!).
>
> I hope this helps.
> ...Geshel
Oh wow... they are young, but to be on the safe side, separate them. They
sound to be 3 or 4 weeks old, (it's hard to tell) but if they are eating
solid foods then the males should be on their own.
It's so good of you to rescue them... At least now, they have a fighting
chance!
--
Joanne
Mom to 15 rats
http://community.webshots.com/user/joanneb70
j-s.b@nospamsympatico.ca
remove "no spam"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
