-- Couple questions for the Rat Breeders of the Board

[Clubkidcarlos]

Hey all !
~ Just a couple random questions for the breeders here, or anyone with experience on the topic

I have been trying to read every post, every thread on info with rats and even hitting up rat websites for answers,....
but a couple still elude me,.............

1. ) Would there be any detrimental effects of putting a couple small branches from a OAK tree in with the rats ? for knawing purposes ? My rabbits of long ago never had any ill effects and provided some "teeth relief".

2. ) What signs can I look for when the female rats go into heat ? anything else besides tail wiggling, odd manerisims and weird noises ?

3.) Do your rats seem to sneeze often ? it seems like every rat I have ever come into contact seems to sneeze. I have researched and have found no signs of the redish discharge associated with that bacteria that causes upper RI in them, no oily or rough coats,.... could it be attributed to the bedding ? That aspen should would get me. Is it somthing they just do ?

Thanks for the tips and advice in advance !
Hate to make another RAT thread, but I have not found any good posts on these questions in all the history of this forum.

~ carlos

[rattekonigin]

Answers:
#1 - Oak is fine
#2 - Apart from the "helicopter ears" and back arching when approached by a male, supposedly the vaginal opening is larger when they are in heat, I've never bothered to check this out, but that's what I've heard.
#3 - I had a pair of rats with Mycoplasma (the chronic RI that rats have) and they sneezed constantly and had red discharge...now I have 7 rats, my 6 females don't ever sneeze, but the male has been sneezy since I got him (again, the chronic RI)...I have my rats on pine chips right now. I personally think that some rats are more prone to respiratory irritation (and RI symptoms) than others (in my experience, all my blue rats have had RI problems)...If you're using cedar, then that's definitely the problem, rats in general are very sensitive to cedar bedding, in this case changing to pine would probably help, but pine can irritate them too...so, if you're already using pine, you could change the litter to something not softwood related for a few weeks to see what happens, but if the sneezing doesn't stop then, there's not much you can do about it apart from antibiotics, which don't always clear up
the problem and can be rather expensive.

[Clubkidcarlos]

Great !!
thanks a million !
thats what I needed to know !!


~ carlos