OT: New Guinea pig friend & cage!

First I got my guinea pig: Guiness a brand new cage. It is the Midwest Expandable Guinea Habitat. It is a really nice size, inexpensive, and easy to clean & move.

Midwest Exandable Guinea Pig Cage

He loves it!

Now he needed a friend. It is really important for guinea pigs not to be kept alone. They are very social animals. In some countries it is actually illegal to keep them alone even!

I picked up my little baby Bacardi. He is such a sweet, adorable little baby! He literally makes my heart melt.

Pet Daily Routine

This is the daily routine I go through with my pets. I find it is very helpful to develop a routine, so that you can make sure all of the animals get what they need and I find it helps your pets to keep them on a routine. They have good inner clocks and can tell when it is time for play or dinner.

The first thing I do every morning is take my dog outside for potty time. We go for a morning walk. Then once we come in, I feed her breakfast.

Then I check the cats food and water to make sure they didn't run out over night.

Next I prepare breakfast for the rats & guinea pig. I give them whatever fresh veggies I have at the time- lettuces, carrots, peppers, broccoli, etc... They all know it is breakfast time and are very excited and waiting.

Guinea pig gets fed first. I like to use a word to signify food time. My word is nummy. Then the boys and last the girls because I have more girls and they are far more excited about food then the boys.

Then I check food levels of all their kibble and refill as needed. I check all water bottles as well.

Now it is time for the boys to come out to play for free range time. I spend some time with them snuggling and playing. Then they just get free time to run around.

During the day I take the dog out a bunch, play & work on training with the dog. And check in on the rats. This is also the time when I would brush the cats & trim nails as needed.

Early evening...

The dog and I take our evening walk. Then she gets fed her dinner.

I spend some more time playing with the boys before putting them back in their cage.

I give the girls some treats, spend some time with them and let them out of their cage for their play free range time. It works really well and rats can adjust to our schedules. The boys are super awake and ready to play in the morning, while the girls are sleepy lazy butts all day.

After dark is usually when I play with the cats.

Bedtime routine...

I check and refill the cats water and food.

I put the dog to bed in her crate.

It is dinner time for the rats & guinea pig. And I give them lots of fresh yummys. And once again check kibble and water levels.

I then play with the girls for alittle while before putting them to bed for the night.


Ofcourse throughout the day all the animals get spontaneous love, affection, cuddles and playtime. I usually do cage & litterbox changes in the afternoon.

Interspecies Playtime

Warning: This post includes some graphic tales. Nothing goes into details but you may wish to skip it if this upsets you.

Lets all be honest, seeing two animals of different species hanging out in a friendly manner is heart melting awww material.

I have a dog, 5 cats, a guinea pig and all of my rats, I have also owned birds in the past. Keeping different types of animals together can be great fun but it also can end tragically.

1. Instinct is strong within animals. Little fluffykitty is sweet and loving to you but just take out a wand toy, wave it around and watch them pounce. Or throw a stuffed toy and watch Fido chase it, catch it, and shake it like mad between their teeth. They are made to go after smaller animals and just the movement can trigger their instincts.

Many dog breeds were bred to hunt. There are even events called Barn Hunt where dogs try to find rats! It may be deep within them to go after other prey animals.

2. Ofcourse that doesn't mean little sweet fluffbutt is a mad rabid killer. I see it oh so often that my kitty or dog would never hurt a fly! First of all most cats will hunt and either attack or kill things. They won't eat them, they are not vicious. It is just in their instinct.

3. Accidents happen. Size difference can mean alot and cause alot of problems. When my dog was a puppy she weighed like 7-8lbs she was tiny itty bitty. Her best friend was my sisters husky who weighed about 50lbs or so. That is a huge difference. He loved her and was often gentle but every now and then he would accidentally step on her or push her too hard.

I knew someone with two dogs one a lab and the other a shih tzu. They were playing and sadly the shih tzu lost an eye. Neither dog was aggressive or had attacked each other, it was an accident.

Now notice the size difference between a rat and a dog...

4. Sharp teeth, sharp claws...sometimes animals just get on each others nerves and lashing out to say hey you are bugging me can cause serious damage.

When people ask if they can put two different animals together my first question is why? Just because it is cute? Is being cute worth the risk? An accident or severe injury could happen in a split second and you can not take it back. Would you be able to forgive yourself for that?


You should NOT put inter-species small pets together. Rats, mice, hamsters, ferrets, guinea pigs, rabbits, etc... should never be kept together in the same cages and should not be allowed to play together. Even though they are some what similar and small does not mean they should be together. Rats would almost definitely kill a mouse. Ferrets are predators and would kill a rat. Rabbits have strong legs can could kick and injure another animal badly.

I have heard countless stories of people having their dogs get to their rats and kill them or injure them. Some dogs have even destroyed doors/cages to get to the rats. And these were often sweet dogs who they wouldn't think would hurt anything.

I have also heard stories about cats getting to rats or mice. I even once had a tragic incident when I left the top off of a tank with a mommy mouse and babies. I had a foster kitten and she got into it & killed the babies. She did not eat them and the mommy got away bless her. It was a heartbreaking lesson to learn. I had pets my entire life including mice, rats and birds with cats & had never had an accident before. So this was unexpected and a reminder that animals do what they were born to do.


All that being said...

I have let my animals have some interactions between themselves. I have let my cats sniff my rats. I have allowed them to see each other with very strict supervision. My cats are afraid of my rats for the most part but my rats are not that afraid of the cats. They will chase them or even try to attack them. It can be dangerous for the cats and the rats. I would never leave them in the same room together free.

My dog is a sweetheart, she is small and has played with itty bitty kittens. But she does also have quite a prey drive. I do not trust her with my rats. I do not actually think she would harm them on purpose. But she gets jumpy and excited.


So my advice is this: always be very careful. Do not underestimate your pets, they may be an angel but that doesn't mean they won't react like an animal. Do not take a risk just for a cute moment. Always supervise!! Secure your cages/rooms. Know your pets and what body language to look for.

Veterinarians, pet shops and nutrition

I have seen oh so many posts on forums and online groups about nutrition advice. Many people ask their vet or their local pet shop and get just god awful advice. And the sad thing is it is very confusing when they then talk to other knowledgeable pet owners who tell them that advice is not only wrong but perhaps harmful. We think we should be able to trust vets for sure and are hopeful to being able to trust our pet shop employees.

Pet stores are first and foremost about profit. They train their employees with that in mind. While some employees may be well educated pet parents and try to inform customers, most probably only know what they are told. The stores often sell pure junk food full of artificial colors and flavors and often not even covering the right nutritional needs of the animal it is labeled for and is of very iffy quality.

Vets are awesome in oh so many ways. They are supposed to care deeply about the health and wellbeing of our pets as if they were their own, and many do just that! But it is important to remember that vets are not perfect. For one they often treat quite alot of different types of animals and when you get past dogs and cats it is even more difficult to know everything about the animal. It is also really important to know that vets are not animal nutritionists. And the very fact that they often push expensive junk food like science diet on cats and dogs gives me concern. Science diet is no better then cheap grocery store Purina brand. I just do not recommend anyone take their vet's food advice to heart unless it is medically related.

Then there is the very basic fact that humans can not even agree on what is great or bad for us to eat. One moment they are saying eat this to prevent cancer & live forever and the next another study shows it causes cancer. We have to juggle between different opinions and their studies and on top of that all the power & influence the companies have plus all of the naysayers & conspiracy nuts. Who can tell what is really true anymore? Just look at all the craziness over high fructose corn syrup...

So what can you do as a pet owner who just wants the best for their pet?

Seek the advice of other owners. Those who have spent a great deal of time and effort in giving their pet the best and seeing the outcome with healthy, long living and thriving pets.

These people are not in it to make any profit. Their top concern is the quality of life for the animal.

Yet...as i said above everyone has their own opinions. See the top debate between owners of dogs/cats & raw food vs kibble debate.

So the next step is to do your own research! You have spoken to countless pet owners and see what they feed and why. You have asked those who are well known/respected in the pet community what their opinion was and why. You now have a good list of top brands/ideas to feed.

Now you have to ask yourself:

• What is the right choice for my pets specific needs? Do they have allergies? Picky? Healthy issues? Age, size, breed? Are they active or lazy? What flavors do they prefer and what types of food hold their interest? All of those questions may change what your pets diet needs.
• What is my lifestyle like and what does it mean for the food I need to feed? Do you have the time/effort/mentality to feed raw or wet? What is your budget? What can you reliably get?
• Out of the list of top chosen foods by others what do you agree with? Disagree with? Why do people like x-brand, do you think that is a good reason?

Diet is very important choice. Please do not leave it up to fancy marketing of companies or some random advice from a single person. Take the time to research and find what works best for you!


So what do I feed my pets?

* My dog is a chihuahua/poodle mix, 10lbs! I started off with Blue Buffalo with her but decided it wasn't the best choice and she was not the biggest fan of the flavor, she just wasn't excited to eat. Then I switched to Wellness Small Breed. She loved the flavor but it is a bit expensive and when we needed to cut back I switched to 4Health Small Bites. She loves it and it is a great 4 star food, inexpensive, and easy for me to buy as the tractor supply store is very close to my home. She gets fed 1/2 cup twice a day.  She gets treats here or there & chews (she loves bully sticks and pig ears- I never give rawhide) **I always made slow switches between food over a period of time.

* My cats, I have 5 of them so feeding gets expensive fast. I have done the most research on cat nutrition. I have finally decided to go with a mix of kibble (4Health Brand) and wet food. Kibble is not actually suggested as it can cause kidney problems from how dry it is and though many believe it is good for their teeth that is actually been found to not be true. Wet food is much more highly recommend. But cats are fickle beasts stuck to their ways. My cats refused to be on an all wet food diet and the price was a killer. So now I free feed dry and give wet as their staple.

* My guinea pig gets a pellet as his base food. Lots of timothy hay! And fresh veggies daily. He super loves carrots.

* For my rats I feed oxbow regal rat. They always have a full bowl of this 24/7. They get some snacks of gerber baby puffs or cheerios. Each morning and night they get a salad of whatever fresh veggies I have on hand. For pregnant mommies & babies, I supplement with extra protein like bits of meat or eggs.



For dog food I highly recommend the website http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/ pick a good 4 or 5 star food!

** I will always suggest you follow a vets advice if there is a medical/health reason. Sometimes a pet may need special food to help with a health issue. Though a second opinion never hurts :)

My new babies!

On 5/6 I got two more little rats to add to my ever growing mischief. I adopted them from the lovely breeder Great Star Rattery, website facebook The breeder was wonderful to work with.

My new boy, my husband helped with the name and I wanted something to give a wink towards him being blue. So we chose Malygos. A total nerd name, it is the name of the leader of the blue dragons in world of warcraft. He is a russian blue hooded. He is from a standard eared line carrying RED and is a blue agouti he is from a agouti to beige breeding. He is a sweetheart, very friendly and loves to explore.

Malygos

My new girl is named Sansa. She is a russian blue hooded as well (they are not related). She carries manx & dumbo. She is a lovely girl. Very curious, loves to snuggle.

Sansa

I can't wait to start a lovely blue line when they get a bit older.

Do Rats Bite?

Well first any animal that can open it's jaw wide enough has the potential to bite. Even our nicely domesticated pets can sometimes end up biting. A recent survey of dog bites in the US showed 4.5 million dog bites per year in 2001, 2002, 2003! And dogs are man's best friend!

The truth is that ofcourse your pet rat has the potential to bite you. But that being said overall rats are very docile and would much rather run away then bite you. The majority of rats will never seriously bite you, they are gentle and sweet and much more likely to give you kisses. I would imagine they share the same odds as any other family pet.

This point of this post is to give an honest experience over concern of rat bites. IMO should you be worried? Not at all, or not anymore then you would be worried over your family cat biting you. I think a dog is much more likely to bite honestly and if a dog bites you it could be very deadly.

I would classify rat bites into two categories. Nips & serious skin breaking bites.

Nips:
A nip often doesn't hurt at all though unexpected can make you jump. It doesn't break the skin or cause any bleeding. Honestly most of the time they are alittle tickle. A nip is saying one of two things. Either it is a warning, hey back off you are bothering me. Or it is just them trying to test, explore or grab something.

While rats have hands for grabbing they often grab or test things with their mouths. If they are unsure about what something is they may give it alittle nip. When raising a litter of babies they would nip at my fingernails all the time when they were little because they were fascinated and probably confused on what they were lol!

They also often think hands = food, because we give them treats from our hands. So an excited ratty may try to grab the treat that isn't there and give us alittle nip.

I want to stress that you shouldn't be worried or afraid of nips. I am a huge baby when it comes to any type of pain and a nip is absolutely nothing to worry about. It is just a light touch with their teeth. It does not hurt, it does not break the skin. It is actually kindof cute.


Bites:
These are serious booboos. They break the skin and may cause bleeding. A rat that bites is more then likely scared or aggressive. Or the animal may be sick.

Some ways to prevent bites are to know where your rat came from. If the rat has gone it's entire life up until it met you; never being held, touched, or played with; then you can expect that it is going to be a bit more frightened as with any animal. Secondly, do not corner a scared rat, or any animal for that matter. If you were backed into a corner with no escape and something scary was coming at you, then I am sure you would do all you can to fight them off. It is the same for them.

I once had an adult male rat that I rescued and only had for a few days before rehoming him. He was from a pet store and they were honest and said he had never been handled. The staff was freaked out because he was a PEW (pink eyed white) so they didn't want to touch him. It wasn't his fault. He did not like being touched. If you even touched him at all he would squeak as if you were going to kill him and try his best to escape. if you tried picking him up it was even worse! He never once bit though.

In my entire time owning rats I have only been bit twice. Both times were 100% my fault. Out of all the rats I have owned and their whole entire lives, it only happened two times. I would say that is pretty damn good. In my lifetime I have been bitten by a dog, a horse (yes seriously a horse bit me), cats - honestly one of my cats loves to bite me when he wants attention sigh. I have also had foster kittens be way too playful and get me pretty good. What I am saying is rats are not vicious animals.

The first time was with my first rat Sookie. She was a pet store rat. She had some territorial issues. She did not like people messing about her cage at all. I could open the door and pet her, give her treats but if I had my hand all inside the cage messing around, she would get cranky. She never bit from that though. Outside of the cage she was gentle and sweet. I even let my four year old niece play with her with zero worries. But one of the things she really hated was sticking things through the bars of her cage. If anything was near her cage she would pull it inside. There was a big rule where you never ever stuck your fingers through the bars of the cage. Which IMO is a good rule overall. Well one day I was being stupid and put my finger near the cage to let her sniff. I didn't think she could get me I guess. her reflexes were far better then mine and she bite down hard on my finger. It actually left a hole through my nail. I didn't bleed, but it hurt!

The second time was with my rat Khaleesi (who is now my heart rat). She came to me pregnant so we did not have alot of time to bond before she was in the throws of raging mommy hormones. After she had her babies she did not like me touching them. She was a great very protective mother and she hadn't known me all that long to trust me yet. Well I usually removed her from the cage before doing anything with it. This time I didn't...(again my fault). I actually went to feed her by using a scoop to dump the food in her dish. I think the huge scoop freaked her out and she attacked me. I got several fast bites down my thumb. I bled like crazy. One big scratch and a few smaller ones but it healed just fine. She has never bitten me since and infact loves to give kisses & licks like crazy.

All that being said, some rats are aggressive though. They may have very poor breeding, were abused or just never handled or may be sick. While an aggressive rat is best in the hands of someone experienced, they are not a lost cause. Check in with your vet to rule out any health issues first. Then slowly working with them over time they have the potential to become sweet and loving pets.


So yes rats can bite. They more then likely will not though. Be careful handling scared, aggressive or sick rats and new mothers.

Supporting good quality breeders who breed for temperament and have handled the rats since they were babies is always a great way to make sure you get a great pet!

Should we come out?

My silly girls considering if they should come out to play or if they should wait in the cage and see if I give them treats!

Play area

I have been experimenting with a play area for the rats. It needs some improvements but so far it is looking pretty fun...

Sleepy Girls

Someone wasn't too happy that I woke them up.... lol