Ratties May be Taking in some Ratties, Need Help!

Ok, my fiance OK'd it...

Yikes, I'm nervous and excited. I haven't been a rattie mum in ages!

Help guys!

Oi, sorry for writing again. I'm just nervous!

The lady already has a converted bird cage set-up and said if I adopt all the 4 sisters together (one has special needs, a wandering eye type syndrome) I can take it. I'll post pictures once I have them and you can tell me what you think!

Thanks!

I think I'm taking them in the morning...

Can anybody give me some advice, pleaseeeeee?

I am looking into SueBee's mix for food.

Well, I guess no one has advice to give me!

I am bringing home the girls in the morning. :-0

Gotta drive 3 hours each way to pick them up, but it'll be worth it!

Going to mix up Suebee's once the girls settle in, and make up some fun toys. I'll post pictures after they are home!

Just an UPDATE for anyone who starts to read this thread :

I'm going to pick up the ratties in an hour! We are treking out for 6 hours round trip to get these girls. Can't wait till they are home safe and sound. We'll let you know how the trip goes, and post pictures of the lovely ladies!

Welp,

Girls are here, all 4 of them. They were spoiled by my fiance, who bought them a Ferret Nation cage, which took 4 1/2 hours to baby proof. And they are STILL makin' a fight to get out They are mischeivous.

They already have names, after the female characters of Harry Potter.

We have : Hermione, Ginny, Luna, and Bella (Bellatrix Lestrange).

I'll post some pictures pretty soon here.

Now, my girls are only 3 months old. Have you guys had babies at this age, and were they very feisty?

I don''t have rats but I would like to say I am happy for you and can't wait to see pictures of the new crew.

Well, the girls are settling in very well.

They are very young. I think younger than the lady said. She said 3 months, I'm thinking maybe a little over 2.

If anyone replies to this I have a question...

My girls, I tried to take them all out for "floor-time" in the bathroom. I put fleece on the ground, crumpled paper, a dish with water and peas for the "fishing game", and big concrete block to play on, and a few other things. They ran around for a few minutes, and them all 4 came bound over to me ( I was sitting on the ground) and climbed up my back onto my shoulders, into the hood of my jacket, and wouldn't play. I took them out, and tried again, but they were like being very clingy to me.

Eventually we gave up in the bathroom and I just sat and watching "Alias" and they cuddled in my hoodie.

Any ideas on how to get them to play? Is this maybe because they are so young and they are clinging to me like a mama? I don't mind it at all It adorable. Just wondering! They are crazy in they cage. They roll around and wrestle. But when they come out its like, "MAMA!".

So sorry I didn't see your post before now. I'm rather new to the piggie forum and just got my two piggie girls a couple of weeks ago. I've been a rattie person for many years and hope I can help answer most of your questions.

First of all, kudo's to you for adopting these little girls. But my first question for you is, how long have they been separated from boys? Females can get pregnant as early as 5 weeks old. So if they were in with the boys, even for a day....well, you could have your own mess soon. I'd watch them very closely and look for weight gain or if their little nipples start to show. They aren't like piggies in that you can see them all that well, but when they are pregnant, they start to protrude a bit.

It sounds like your girls already love you and are wanting to bond with you. This is GREAT! Also, sometimes it takes them a little while to get used to wide open spaces like a room or bathroom. Make sure you have an igloo or things they can duck in and out of..and that will help. If they weren't socialized much before, it could take them a little while to be comfortable out in the open.

If you have a litter box and can start training them to use it, you may find that having them on your bed with you is also a good way to help social them. Our's like to duck under the blanket, then hang out with us while we watch tv at night. They NEVER go potty on our bed. Typcially ratties pee or poo on you, unless it's done in fear.

Regarding your "special needs" rattie with the "wandering eye syndrome", does she tend to sit in one place and sway her head back and forth in a Stevie Wonder (sorry Stevie) kind of way? This is actually a very common thing in ratties and does not indicate a health issue at all. Ratties have extremely poor eyesite. Ratties with pink or ruby eyes, tend to have even worse eyesite than their black eyed pals. I've had several ratties over time (even some with black eyes) that do the "head sway". It's just their way of trying to see or get focused on something.

I used to be one of the moderators on Rat Palace dot com. The forums were shut down a while back, as the admins were no longer able to keep them. But, the site still has many articles, advice and you can still read many of the threads on the old forum. Their link is:

(broken link removed)

This should provide answers to many of the feeding, housing, socializing etc questions you many have. If not, please feel free to contact me here over via PM. I am happy to help any fellow rattie lover.

Wow, I can't believe I missed this thread.

Congrats on the girls! I love love love their names!

RattieMom gives a lot of good advice, so I'm not going to repeat very much. I would defiantly watch for pregnancy, especially since they had problems separating the first time. Hopefully everything will work out and no surprise babies will show up.

I let my boys (one at a time) come into my bed while I am watching TV at night. I usually put down a blanket on my stomach and the snuggle in. Sometimes one of them *cough*Jasper*cough* will be more rambunctious and want to play, but I really haven't had a pottying problem on the bed. It did happen once, but that was my fault- I forgot the towel.

Yay for the FN cage- Isn't it just great?

Ok- Now I demand pictures. Must see!

We have several of our ratties on the bed at one time. We have a little fleece igloo where they will dart in and out of, to snack on treats. We also have one of those headboards with cubbies and the rats have a litter box station, etc. In all the rats we've had, only ONE has ever tried to get down off the bed to the floor. Usually, they like to bee bop around, visit with you and even "watch tv".

Fleece igloo? Where did you get that?

So I have a question --

I have never had a "mischief" of girls before!!! (My research tells me this is what you call a group of rats...I find it ABSOLUTELY fitting) I have only ever had solo rattie girls. So, is this HIGH level activity/always wriggling a normal thing because they are in a group? Or is this just their age? My rats were always low-key snugglers, and these girls are giving me heart-attacks with all their jumping and leaping off furniture. I'm glad to see them explore, but I'm SO not used to this.

I know rats are very inquisitive. But will they calm down as time goes by and they get older? Or should I expect my hands to be full for the next 3 years? Either way I'm perfectly content, just wondering what the future holds. I've been enjoying their silly antics.

OH, we JUST tried some scrambled egg today...Holy Cow, I thought they were going to just die. They LOVED it. Spoiled girls!

Well, girls are very active...yes. But you have "teenage" girls too. So, they will be pretty spazzy for a while. I have a cage group of girls ranging from 2-6 months...and it's just one big party all the time. Of course, they are the cage group that gives me the most laughs and there's never a dull moment.

Even young boys this age are pretty active and love to popcorn around and such.

It seems to me that you spend a part of their lives wishing they would calm down...then the other part of their lives wishing they were young and energetic again.

The snuggly stage will come much too soon....and then they are elderly :sad:

I love both stages...because I adore my snuggle babies...but get such a kick out of the youngsters too.

The more you interact with the girls, the more they will eventually come for snuggle time.

Do you have a woden wheel? This can keep your girls entertained while they are in their cage. I have three in my cage group of 9 girls...they run on them all night long.

No, I don't! Not yet.

We are trying to finish the baby-proofing of the bottom level of their FN cage. Once that's done, more toys/accesories will be added!

Thanks for the advice! And yeah, I know about the stages of these little ratties. Its so hard to have them because their lives are so short, but its so worth it. I just haven't had a group before, and man, these girls are hyper! They are funny though!