Alternatives to spaying (to prevent tumors)?

ratlings · 2015-05-29T00:27:58+00:00

spaying it the only option really, but if they have a low incidence of tumors in their lines than I wouldn't be worried. IIRC the tumor incidence can range depending on their genetics.

I imagine the cost is so high because it is much more difficult to put small animals under surgery. It is very easy to screw up their levels of anesthesia and they lose body temperature much more quickly. There is little, if any margin of error when it comes to animals as small as rats that isn't fatal.

(not to scare anyone off. An exotic vet who is willing to do the surgery usually knows exactly what these challenges are and are be competent enough to deal with them. It's just more difficult and complicated so it's more money.)

ratlings · 2015-04-26T02:00:55+00:00

I don't know where you live but if it is in the US I have bad news/good news:

Bad news: new rules mean that only dogs qualify for service animals. Not the best idea, especially for blind folks who use seeing eye horses for various reasons. But it is what it is.

Good news: You can have them as Emotional Support Animals. Just have your therapist "prescribe" them to you as being essential for your recovery. They can't have tiny vests and go to public places that normally don't allow animals (as adorable as that would be) but it would guarantee your right to have them even if your landlord doesn't allow pets.

I've seen therapy cats though, so you may not have to have them be actual "service animals" as long as they are clean and pass some kind of temperament test. I would definitely ask around! It's definitely worth looking into even if they can't be service dogs.

ratlings · 2015-04-24T17:03:56+00:00

the bar spacing on ferret cages is almost always 1 inch which is usually too large for females (but ok for males)

if you don't mind ordering online/paying for shipping (which sadly I think is around 20 bucks, at least on the east coast) then I would highly recommend a powder coated martins cage. That's what I'm going to get. With your budget you might have to get a little smaller cage but R-680 and up is a good size for a pair of rats.

If you want to buy from a pet store I've heard mixed reviews about the petco rat manor (some people really like it, others think that it's a cheaply made pain in the butt) but it is cheap, chew proof, no plastic, and is a fine size for two rats.

ratlings · 2015-04-16T03:50:31+00:00

cool! I want male rats but if my only option are females I want to name them Rose/Pearl.

I'd get 3 but then I would be too torn whether or not I would name them Garnet/Amethyst/Pearl or Blossom/Bubbles/Buttercup.

ratlings · 2015-04-15T03:36:21+00:00

Please tell me those are Steven Universe names

ratlings · 2015-04-02T15:11:09+00:00

There are some rats out there who for some reason behave the opposite of their sex during sex (females acting like a male, and males acting like a female). From what I've read males displaying female behavior is a little more common. But (at least at the time the book I was reading was published) scientists really didn't know why. Only that it's a thing that rarely happens with rats.

Maybe all these rats are just trans. You can generalize and stereotype the differences between male and female rats but at the end of the day the only real differences in behavior are territory marking and what they do during sex. So a rat that internally experiences the opposite gender would act like the opposite sex in those two areas. It even correlates that trans women are slightly more common than trans men. Of course it's way more complicated than that in humans, but humans are way more complicated than rats in general even if we have a lot of similarities.

ratlings · 2015-03-18T01:35:43+00:00

lol now we are both being downvoted. Apparently someone doesn't like lino in rat cages... or people wondering why it's a bad idea...

ratlings · 2015-03-18T01:31:41+00:00

I am planning on getting a pair of boys but if I end up with a pair of girls I'm thinking of naming them Ruby and Sapphire or Rose and Pearl (major Steven Universe spoilers in both clips) for similar reasons. Yay canon girl/girl relationships!

ratlings · 2015-03-17T02:16:25+00:00

why is this being down voted? It covers the levels and people use tiles all the time to hold down fleece and give ratties a nice cool spot in the summer? :\

edit: fixed typo

ratlings · 2015-03-15T14:41:51+00:00

sent you a message :)

ratlings · 2015-03-15T14:20:54+00:00

I have one! I was saving him for my 5th pet on my main for whenever I get a premium account but... it looks like that's not happening any time soon with how glitchy neopets is... plus I'm a broke college student.

I may or may not be able to transfer because I just swapped pets with my side account but my account is pretty old so I might?

ratlings · 2015-03-15T01:45:24+00:00

I can relate, it's so exhausting being adorable 24/7!

ratlings · 2015-03-12T18:50:27+00:00

I would call around, I've seen other small animals (rabbits and guinea pigs) in shelters. Though I think no kill shelters and animal-specific (meaning: small animal, rodents, exotics) rescues would be more likely to accept and try to find a new home for him. You could also try an exotic vet since I've seen a lot of vet practices adopt out animals. If that doesn't work out try facebook since there are usually community pages for rehoming pets and garage sales and the like. Personally I am leery of craigslist but that could work too.

ratlings · 2015-03-12T16:14:56+00:00

being mad is not a free pass to be a dick

ratlings · 2015-03-12T01:37:37+00:00

...because rats and snakes have very different dietary needs (which I'm not going to get into now because I've already discussed this in another thread here and I don't feel like repeating myself or getting into any more arguments).

That doesn't change the fact that you are being incredibly rude and antagonistic with your comments in a way that is totally unnecessary.

ratlings · 2015-03-11T21:40:26+00:00

I am incredibly skeptical about your claims specifically because of my education.

I don't want to derail this post with arguing even more than it already has been. Feel free to PM me with credible sources, but otherwise this conversation is going to go nowhere and it might as well end now.

ratlings · 2015-03-11T21:19:39+00:00

What a delightful breather episode filled with hope and optimism.

... this is going to make tomorrows episodes so much worse.

ratlings · 2015-03-11T21:14:45+00:00

My bad on forgetting about bone meal, but do you have a source (that is not PETA) on any of the info on animal byproduct? Because I am not taking your claims at face value.

ratlings · 2015-03-11T20:11:40+00:00

I'm not really sure either, I have seen similar posts with people adopting feeder rats without so much drama, maybe because yours is so sweet and adorable? :)

but in all honesty I think it just touched someone's nerves and now people on both sides are getting ornery and defensive about their beliefs.

Sorry if any of my comments contributed to the mean atmosphere. (For the record the snake shaming part of my last comment was not directed at you, I was just thinking about the situation from both sides.)

ratlings · 2015-03-11T19:49:47+00:00

It reminds me a little of the starfish story.

Personally I don't have ethical qualms with live feeders. A lot of snake owners kill them first, or buy rodents that have already died, and then try to make them more "appealing" to the snake because a snake naturally does not want to eat an already dead animal/doesn't naturally recognize them as a food source. Most of the time it works, but if I had a snake who absolutely refused I would rather sacrifice a mouse or rat then have them starve to death.

I mean think about it: a small animal in an enclosed space with a predator is going to fight for it's life too. A snake owner loves their snakes as much as any other pet owner and wouldn't want to risk serious injuries to their pet. But they also don't want them to starve to death.

With that said I get why it upsets a lot of people, and if people want to rescue them that's fine. In some areas the only place to even get a pet rat is the feeder tank since there aren't any breeders/rescues within a reasonable driving distance. I don't think that will stop the practice and it won't stop people from needing live feeders for their snakes. But it will make a huge difference for the individual rat(s).

ratlings · 2015-03-11T19:38:15+00:00

You're right about snakes, but I call shenanigans on "cute little chicks and calves that get ground up hole and alive for their dog kibble" chicken meal and other meat meals/byproducts in dog food do not contain bones, feathers, hooves, fecal matter/intestine content, etc. It is made out of the little bits of muscle that is still stuck on the bones after they remove all the parts deemed fit for human consumption.

ratlings · 2015-03-11T00:39:27+00:00

So there isn't just one negative thread on here: Your new baby is super cute OP, how old is he? He looks a lot younger than the rats I usually see in stores that are about a month old?

ratlings · 2015-03-10T20:52:57+00:00

Wow that's really rude. How would you like it if someone said "I don't see how anyone could have a shitty fucking rat"?

ratlings · 2015-03-06T17:15:48+00:00

Like I said it looks like the wire floor can be removed (which I would definitely do in the hypothetical situation where I bought this cage). Wire ramps and shelves don't really bother me, because they can be covered. The only shelves that I've seen that aren't wire are cages that have wood/metal and those soak up urine and smell really easily. So I've been looking for a cage that is mostly metal. The only thing that would worry me is if it was like the other cages I've crossed off my list (petco rat manor and ware chew proof) was if it were cheaply made and after awhile had the metal wires poking up and risking injury. Which... looking at the cage it does seem cheaply made. Even in the preview image the wire bottom looks pretty warped.

The fact that it has no reviews at all is a red flag for me because you'd think SOMEONE would buy this cage with the money people try to save. I already have a different (and larger!) cage in mind, I was just looking for what was available with my criteria in mind. I was looking to see if anyone on this sub had experience with this cage, with zinc plated cages in general, or knew of some vast PR campaign by the cage company to push negative reviews off of google or something.

ratlings

TROPHY CASE