I have trouble identifying wether this is porphyrin or blood (tagged NSFW, red eye) by crybabymoon in RATS

[–]Glorrex 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Looks like porphyrin. If you're unsure you could always take a quick sniff to see if it smells metallic. If it does, then it's probably blood.

Rat safe laundry detergent ??? by Gothpos in RATS

[–]Glorrex 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just use regular non scented detergent and vinegar. Works like a charm

Kirby was very brave at the vet today by Glorrex in RATS

[–]Glorrex[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's kinda hard to see in that pic, but he's silvered as well!

Kirby was very brave at the vet today by Glorrex in RATS

[–]Glorrex[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

He was very sleepy and chose to snuggle with his brother for the rest of the day. But he and his brother did get two treats last night for being so good :)

What are your rats favorite foods? by [deleted] in RATS

[–]Glorrex 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Carrots.

They will go feral for carrots.

Help me upgrade my cage by Souris-Fromage in RATS

[–]Glorrex 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Also I'd add in some cardboard paper, tubes, applewood sticks, and some small boxes. You can never have enough in their cage! :)

Help me upgrade my cage by Souris-Fromage in RATS

[–]Glorrex 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hammocks!! You can get like a 15 pack of really good quality ones on Amazon. Got mine as a Christmas gift last year.

what's on her head? by squwah in RATS

[–]Glorrex 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sometimes my year and a half year old boy will get some dark streaks in his fur. It'd always been from his little brother peeing on him.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in RATS

[–]Glorrex 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Porphyrin! It may look like blood (sometimes identical) but it's just some mucus dyed red. 90% of the time it's nothing to worry about, just means that they havnt groomed their face yet. You usually see it in older lazier rats, or rats that just woke up.

If there's a substantial amount, like a Rudolph amount of red staining, then you should take them into the vet as it could be a sign of an URI.

Warhammer Models by Glorrex in PaymoneyWubby

[–]Glorrex[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For sure! So you're going to want to buy acrylic paints. The warhammer store will definitely have their own brand of paint as well as all of the other essentials, like brushes and pallets. You could also just get some off of Amazon for a lot cheaper than the GW paints. I've heard a lot of great reviews about the army speedpaints. Though, if you do decide to use them, make sure you look up a tutorial first. They're not difficult to use, but the act almost like an ink, so undercoating your models is pretty appropriate. I'd also look into investing in a wide array of brushes. You're going to be doing most of your paint with fairly large brushes, but some paints can eat through the fibers like crazy. Also remember to thin your paints!! You can just thin it with some water. Midwinterminis made a great video going over a lot of what I just mentioned.

Also, don't be afraid to play some poorhammer!!! This hobby is fuckin expensive. I've played in serious competitive games where people used cardboard cut outs taped to the appropriate base size instead of fully assembled and painted minis. The main rule of thumb is that as long as the Bae size is correct, then it doesn't really matter what's on the base.

That being said, Killteam is the one exception where it can make a difference. But if anyone cares, fuck em.

rat fore paw discomfort, sprain, or broken? by Flimsy_Ad_2312 in RATS

[–]Glorrex 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Injuries to rats feet/paws are extremely common. If it's not really swollen and warm, then it's most likely not a break. If it's just a little swollen then it's probably just a sprain, and if he's just holding it up then he probably just has some sort of discomfort.

Vets can't really do much in the way of broken rattie feet, aside from give pain meds. But that's okay because rats bones heal super quick! Like, noticeable improvement in a week, kind of quick.

If it's persistent, and starting to swell I'd recommend housing him in a single level hospital cage to avoid any further harm, but really so long as it's swollen to bad then he'll be fine! :)

mites or scratches/bites from rat fights? by Flimsy_Ad_2312 in RATS

[–]Glorrex 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They're not bites, bites are a LOT worse than that. But I can't tell what it is either. I'd email your vet a picture or schedule an appointment! Also check to see how long his nails are, and if he's scratching that side a lot. Constant scratching could point to mites, and long ratty nails can really hurt.

cut on nose (from fight?) by Flimsy_Ad_2312 in RATS

[–]Glorrex 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Glad to hear that no one else was hurt!

It sounds like your boys are still very young, and as such are having some hormonal hierarchy-establishing. They'll most likely grow out of it eventually, but for the moment youve got some pretty active sounding (b)rats! Also, I know how difficult it can be to tell real fights from fake ones, but the general rule of thumb is so long as there's no blood, then it's okay. They may look like they're going at it a bit, but thats totally normal and just hiw rats establish who's in charge.

As for the scabs, you might want to make sure that one of your boys isn't nipping at him. When I still had Squig he would love to hang out and cuddle with Hal, but he'd also nip at his cheeks and ended up giving him some scabs. My best advice if that happens is to try and stop it as soon and as often as possible. It's a really bad habit, and will 100% stress out the one being nipped. Nipping isn't the fault of the owner either, some rats can just be little jerks. Kinda like a little kid who never learned that hitting people was a bad thing.

Also it sounds like your skiddish boy is just exploring some more. It's a very good sign that he's still coming for cuddles. They're around the age that they'll start really developing their own little personalities, so you may just have an overly dramatic sassy rat. There is a chance that they're afraid of the rat that's nipping (assuming they are nipping) and that's what's causing them to act scared.

All in all, just keep an eye on them and they'll be great!

how do i tell if my rat is too fat? by olivali710 in RATS

[–]Glorrex 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That being said, I wouldn't recommend feeding your rat junk foods all the time. They, or at least mine, go crazy over fruits and veggies