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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2016 16:44:22 GMT -5
Look forward to hearing all about them!  |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2016 23:23:53 GMT -5
Well, unfortunately it's not good news. The reason I got so interested so fast was because someone in my area was planning on releasing some rats and 2 ball pythons into the "wild," unless someone picked them up. I, of course, got them. The woman knew nothing about these animals. Had the snakes in a bad DIY enclosure together, one has a burn and one has horribly stuck shed. I got them settled in heated tubs with some wet paper towels for humidity, will get pictures tomorrow. The rats, however. The rats. Keep in mind I do not like rodents, but this situation very bothered me. The woman handed me 10-15 rats (I haven't counted yet) in a 5 gallon fish tank with no food or water. I haven't sexed the little ones yet, but she had 3 bucks with 1 doe. Right now they're all in tubs with water and rat blocks, and bedding. They seem to be doing okay now. However I noticed some of them are missing eyes. I'm horrified to think they were eaten by a tankmate out of hunger.     I will get better pictures of them all tomorrow as I sex, label, and place them in the appropriate bins. I will keep everyone updated. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2016 0:18:00 GMT -5
You don't have to have a whole lot of stuff in the tubs. Pets or feeders, in the end they are living animals and all you need to do is simply just have enough that they have their enrichment desires met. That helps with breeding production along with over all health. Try and give them some fresh food as well when ever you can. I doesn't have to be a whole lot of expensive stuff, just a few veggies here and there, they love it and its perfect nutrients for the babies. Here's an article I have book marked, you may be able to get some ideas from it.  sjlas.org/index.php/SJLAS/article/viewFile/209/188 |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2016 0:21:15 GMT -5
Well, unfortunately it's not good news. The reason I got so interested so fast was because someone in my area was planning on releasing some rats and 2 ball pythons into the "wild," unless someone picked them up. I, of course, got them. The woman knew nothing about these animals. Had the snakes in a bad DIY enclosure together, one has a burn and one has horribly stuck shed. I got them settled in heated tubs with some wet paper towels for humidity, will get pictures tomorrow. The rats, however. The rats. Keep in mind I do not like rodents, but this situation very bothered me. The woman handed me 10-15 rats (I haven't counted yet) in a 5 gallon fish tank with no food or water. I haven't sexed the little ones yet, but she had 3 bucks with 1 doe. Right now they're all in tubs with water and rat blocks, and bedding. They seem to be doing okay now. However I noticed some of them are missing eyes. I'm horrified to think they were eaten by a tankmate out of hunger. I will get better pictures of them all tomorrow as I sex, label, and place them in the appropriate bins. I will keep everyone updated. Ah!! Little munchkins!! They look adorable and in good health from what I can see. One does seem to have a missing eye? Am I seeing that correctly? I wonder what happened to him, maybe a litter mate did it. If you see any that appear sickly, it would be in their best interest to simply cull them humanely. Good luck with your colony! |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2016 0:35:24 GMT -5
Ah!! Little munchkins!! They look adorable and in good health from what I can see. One does seem to have a missing eye? Am I seeing that correctly? I wonder what happened to him, maybe a litter mate did it. If you see any that appear sickly, it would be in their best interest to simply cull them humanely. Good luck with your colony! So far I have noticed two with at least one eye missing, and one with no eyes at all. They're all alert and active, but I will be figuring out a bit more tomorrow. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2016 16:08:28 GMT -5
If the lighting isn't fooling me, they appear to be blue and dilutes in the main and they do look very undernourished poor mites. The lost eyes are most likely due to infection/abscesses rather than being eaten by cagemates. This may or may not have been due to fighting.
I would be a little wary of breeding dilutes as feeders, same as ferrets they are much weaker than agouti/black lines in the main. And if you don't know about relatedness between these rats, I would be super wary of inbreeding dilutes.
Well done you for rescuing them though, poor little things.
Just seeing their little faces, I know I couldn't breed rats myself for food. I still have too much fondness for them and have too much first hand experience of their amazing little personalities.
Best of luck with them though.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2016 22:58:45 GMT -5
Just seeing their little faces, I know I couldn't breed rats myself for food. I still have too much fondness for them and have too much first hand experience of their amazing little personalities. So do I. I used to own many kinds of rats in the past. They're wonderful little beings. You can still breed, and enjoy/be fond of them, It's the culling when it comes down to it which is the most hardest part. That's kind of where you need to think of the ferrets and how the life of the rodent would greatly benefit them. My current three ratties are wonderful and so cheeky, but when it comes down to it I'll know when I have to draw the line for their offspring. @desireem81i think started out breeding for feeders but then started up her own rattery as well. ;u; |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2016 22:04:40 GMT -5
Thankfully I have grown up raising my own food, so I have learned to pray for them. I figure there are no kosher butchers within 50 miles of me, so if I want certain meats, I need to do it myself. The babies are now 5 days old, getting their peach fuzz! Name suggestions? (one boy, one girl)   |
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