Your all in one source for fancy rat information, news, tips, and help!
Let’s be honest: who doesn’t love a chocolate treat?
Whether it be some form of candy bars, cookies, brownies, or cakes… it’s likely that you enjoy one of them.
I can promise that your rats do, too! If you decide to offer your rats one of the most delicious guilty pleasures on the face of the planet, give yourself a minute to read this post before you drop a treat to your rats!
For those who are trying to distinguish between a mite or lice infestation, this is a great example of a severe lice infestation.
As you can see, the rat has significant hair loss and even sores.
As this man demonstrates, the poor rat is itching like crazy.
Lice like to hang out around the back and rump of the rat, making them a little easier to distinguish from the mites.
Once you have viewed the video, you can click here to return to our Treating Rat Mites & Rat Lice page.
Hopefully you will be able to more easily distinguish between mites and lice with this video example! Read more
With the recent outbreak of the Seoul Virus among pet rats, rat owners may find themselves overwhelmed with all of the big headlines giving rats just one more strike on their bad reputations. But just how bad is this virus? Should we all panic? My opinion: yes, and no! Read more
this is a guinea pig, but it is exactly the same as rat bumble foot. Very gross, very painful, and very difficult for a rat to go through.
Rat breeders and rescuers make it possible for owners and prospective owners to find ratties to adopt and love. However, not all breeders are created equal. Some breeders are poor quality “feeder breeders.” These breeders do not take care of their animals as they should, significantly increasing the risk of a sickly animal. If you have purchased a sick or injured rat from a poor quality breeder, there are several steps that you can take. Read more
A rat going bald could be something as simple as a unique coat variety, or as serious as a deadly infection, parasite, or severe bullying. If a rat suddenly begins losing hair, his or her age, coat type, sex, overall health, and relationships between cage mates must be noted. All of these different things can play an important role in baldness. For a rat going bald, the owner can rest easy once he or she knows that the fur baby is safe and healthy!
Rats can develop white eyes, giving the impression that the rat has become blind in one eye. Usually, a blind eye will be completely and totally bluish white, as if it were cloudy. However, white spots can occur as well. The severity of the condition depends upon what is causing the eye to become white. Read more
Between caught toes, disfigured backs, and tail injuries, the exercise wheel can be a very dangerous territory for domesticated rats. If you plan to buy a wheel for your rats to run on, it is necessary to do some serious research and find the right wheel for the health and safety of your rats. Here, we will highlight some do’s and don’ts, as well as link to some appropriate wheels!
Sometimes, female rats may bleed from the vulva. Some people might assume that this is a rat in heat, or estrus. Others might assume that female rats have periods or menstrual cycles. However, the truth is there is something going wrong in there! A female rat should never bleed if she is healthy; unless she has recently given birth or is in the process of giving birth.
If you have a pair of rats and one suddenly dies, you as the owner will not be the only one mourning. Rats are very intelligent, social creatures who build strong lifelong bonds with their cage mates. Once the cage mate dies (especially one of only a pair), the remaining rat or rats will grieve. They might even be seen staying near the sickly rat as death approaches. Depression and grief is a very real thing for pet rats, despite the criticism they face from many humans who lack any knowledge regarding these animals.
If this post has helped you, please consider supporting us on Patreon. We would love to continue to expand this blog for our readers, as well as offer more features.
Lice and mites are hard to get rid of when they infest pet rats. This is especially true when you are not equipped with the proper medications. Both lice and mites can become immune to chemical or medicinal treatments, requiring a change in formula when drug resistant specimens are found on furred rats. External parasites on rats can become a massive problem in homes with several ratties. To better understand the difference between rat specific mites and lice, we’ll give you a small overview. This video will show you exactly what a LICE INFESTATION looks like; if this is not what you’re seeing, keep reading for more information on diagnostics; if this IS what you’re seeing, we’ll tell you how to treat them!
