Fancy Rats Forum

Are we talking big wrinkles, or what make-up companies call fine wrinkles? Big wrinkles in hairless I've seen mainly seem to be a weight thing (the skinnier the wrinklier). The thing I would worry about breeding hairless if you don't know much about the line is eye problems. They can get a few diffe...

Aussie mink is a bit weird. I've been told by more than one person, including a breeder that it is the same as european russian blue as it has the distinct heathering and is more grey than brown. However, that said Australian cinnamon (agouti x mink, same as in the uk) doesn't look like russian blue...

Ah, yes, wild rat in heat... It's an experience! Oddly my rattus only currently go into super powered buzzy bunny heats when they meet a neutered norvegicus boy. Meeting the unneutered rattus boy (right species, technically capable) through the bars does nothing. Meeting an intact norvegicus boy (w...

There's a vet at the practice we use who is severely allergic to rats and mice. She doesn't do routine consults on them, but she's rallied round out of hours or at the weekend a few times. She just masks / gowns / gloves up and has us / a nurse do most of the handling. But our practice will treat pr...

I really can't walk into the vet surgery saying 'there's nothing obviously wrong but I can just tell she isn't comfortable'! You can - I have a few times! And normally something has been found. Also, a good vet won't mind. As one of my two favourite vets said on the one occasion I pitched up and it...

We pull our diabetic boy out most night at dry mix time, and give him something low in carbs to partially fill him up and dilute the dry mix so the overall diet has a low glycemic load. It's usually avocado, although sometimes nuts. He's 26 months now and the diabetes seems pretty controlled (no exc...

I'd get an opinion from another vet who has dealt with similar things before. If it is cancerous and attached to the muscle or bone, then taking the whole leg might be the only option to allow survival, and whilst not ideal, they can adapt well to having three legs, especially if fairly young. So I'...

I don't know if he is close enough to you for routine things, but for surgery, I would without any doubt whatsoever, go with Steve Smith, the exotics specialist at Wendover Heights Veterinary Centre (I put him on one of the recommended vets list, but can't remember if it got filtered into SE or East...

As he's improved a lot on antibiotics and an NSAID, I'd guess ear infection. PTs that are showing serious symptoms normally need quite aggressive treatment (steroids and potentially something like galastop) to see improvement. I'd certainly treat it like an ear infection unless other symptoms develop.

Rat Health Guide states that as the Galastop comes in a 50mg/ml concentration over here then a higher than usual dose is required, although they do not state ( unhelpfully ) how much the dose is. Galastop is 50 ug/ml (50 mg/ml would be huge!). That's 0.05 mg/ml. Therapeutic dose for the active ingr...

The hooting noise when sleeping is a combination of a bit of mucus getting stuck and compression of the airways. Rats have a habit of sleeping with their heads in really daft positions ("ooh, I've got a resp infection! I kknow, I'll fold my neck double and sit on my own head! :roll: ), which doesn't...

I'd go to the vet first, and get their chests checked. If it is upper only, especially with the one who is only sneezing, it may not be appropriate to give antibiotics at this stage (on the otherhand it may, or it may have spread lower, which is why I'm saying vet, as you need to know the full range...

It's a little while since I've had a boy done, but if my memory is right, with our current Aus vet, it is usually a more or less invisible single incision on the upper part of the scrotum (so not low down on the dangly ball sac, but also nowhere near as high as the penis). The UK vet generally did t...

Old age issues... not a lot really. There is probably a slightly increased risk of boy mammary lumps, but I've only had two cases of that in well over 20 boys, so it's not a big thing here. They also technically might have a predisposition to become podgier, but they are also usually more active, so...

Ok... Op details: It can be done with the tunic closed or open. In closed, they (double) tie off the whole tunic above the testicles, which also ties off the sperm cords and main blood vessels. Then they cut the tunic to take out the testicles. This is the favoured method by both my UK and Aus vets,...